Explore what's available by searching for an artist in the Art Discovery Group Catalogue.
Librarian tip: Start your research here! The SLC catalog is part of Worldcat - a global catalog that searches over 15,000 library collections around the world. You can use the catalog to search for many types of items (articles, books, films, and more) available through SLC or by request through InterLibrary Loan.
Keyword searching is how we normally start a search. Pull out important words or phrases from your topic.
Subject Terms and/or Headings are pre-defined terms that are used to describe the content of an item. These terms are a controlled vocabulary and function similarly to hashtags on social media.
| Keywords | Subjects |
| Natural language words that describe your topic | Pre-defined "controlled vocabulary" that describe what an item is about |
| More flexible search - looks for anywhere the words appear in the record | Less flexible search - only the subject fields will be searched |
| Broader search, but may yield irrelevant results | Targeted search; results are usually more relevant to the topic, but may miss some variations |
We are indebted to the MIT What are subject headings and keywords? box for some concepts displayed here.
In the Catalog, subject headings are displayed under "Description" in the record of an item. Click on the arrow to the left of "Description" and then scroll down to the section called "Subjects."
In the Databases, subject headings may be listed as Descriptors, Subjectsand/or Subject Headings and are typically located in the Abstract and/or Details of an article.
There is a multitude of Subject Terms you might want to use depending on your topic, but here is a selection of art history Subject Terms listed in alphabetical order:
Subject Terms/Headings are assigned by catalogers and are more precise than keywords. They function similarly to hashtags on social media. When you search by subject, you'll get all the items "tagged" with that exact phrase.
How to search by Subject:
From the homepage, select "Advanced Search"
Select "Subject" from the drop-down menu, then type the kind of item you're looking for. For instance, "Catalogues raisonnés.".
You can use the Subject search to find all types of items, like "exhibition catalog". It also works for primary sources. Just type in the material you're looking for, like, "letters", "speeches" or "diaries".