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CGP Museum Studies: A Guide to Research

Search Tips for Databases

Databases are searchable online catalogs for research materials like scholarly journals and articles, books, primary source materials (e.g. letters, maps, datasets, or photographs), and audio/video/streaming materials. Milne Library's databases are included on our A-Z List page.

Use "advanced" search functions in databases

For best results, use Advanced Search options. Try combining a few keywords about the topic, such as the name of a region or country AND a Biology-related term to find scholarly articles. 

Filter your search results

Look for "filter" options in your search results that let you choose specific types of sources. You can filter for a publication date range, for example, if you need a recent article. If you are looking for a certain kind of research material -- like a full-text article, a book, or an audio file -- you can often filter for type, too. Look for a peer-reviewed option if you need to filter for that specific type of scholarly material. 

Find a Journal Article

Databases are searchable online catalogs for research materials like scholarly journals and articles, books, and video and audio materials. Milne Library's databases are all listed on our A-Z List. 

Museum Studies is an interdisciplinary field. You might need to search a variety of subject databases to find sources, depending on the subfield you are researching: history, art history, or education. From the A-Z list, you can select "Cooperstown Graduate Program" in the subject list and see what databases have been tagged for museum studies research.

Below are some of the best bets for research in museums studies subject areas:

  • AATA Online (Abstracts of International Conservation Literature) – free research database containing abstracts of literature related to the preservation and conservation of material cultural heritage. The database also includes selected subject-specific bibliographies produced as part of the Getty Conservation Institute’s own conservation and scientific research projects or as part of specific collaborative projects in which the Institute is involved. 
  • American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection: Series 1 – over 850,000 pages including the full-text of almost every seventeenth- and eighteenth-century American title published before 1821. Areas covered include Afro-Americana, children's literature, education, eighteenth-century imprints, leisure and hobbies, medicine, religion, the trades, and women's literature.
  • American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection: Series 2 – over 1000 full-text titles dating from 1821 through 1837. Areas covered include agriculture, entertainment, history, literary criticism, and politics.
  • American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection: Series 3 – over 850,000 pages including the full-text of almost every seventeenth- and eighteenth-century American title published before 1821. Areas covered include Afro-Americana, children's literature, education, eighteenth-century imprints, leisure and hobbies, medicine, religion, the trades, and women's literature.
  • American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection: Series 4 – a diverse record of life leading up to and during the Civil War, from 1853-1865. News from the battlefront can be found in addition to science, literature, medicine, agriculture, women’s fashion, family life, and religion.
  • American Antiquarian Society (AAS) Historical Periodicals Collection: Series 5 – over 850,000 pages including the full-text of almost every seventeenth- and eighteenth-century American title published before 1821. Areas covered include Afro-Americana, children's literature, education, eighteenth-century imprints, leisure and hobbies, medicine, religion, the trades, and women's literature.
  • Art Index (H.W. Wilson) – comprehensive indexing (with some full-text articles) of over 350 international art publications, including periodicals, yearbooks, and museum bulletins from 1984 to the present. Topics covered include art, archaeology, art history, crafts, fashion design, non-western art, painting, photography, pottery, sculpture, and textiles.
  • Fine Arts Collection (Gale) – contains over 100 full-text magazines and journals in areas such as drama, music, art history, and film making.
  • JSTOR – full-text of over 1400 core scholarly journals and Books across most subject areas.
  • Project Muse – full-text of over 100 scholarly journals and books from university presses in fields including literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural studies, political science, gender studies, and economics.

Find Books & Reference Resources

To look for print books in Milne Library, search the online catalog. Navigate to the library homepage and click on 'Advanced Search.' Then enter your search terms.

  • If you want print volumes, change the search scope to 'Library Catalog', limit to 'Books', enter your search terms and click 'Search'. Once in the results list, click 'Held by Library' to limit to print volumes only.
  • Note down the book's call number to locate it on the shelves.

Browse Books in the Shelves

How do you find art subjects in the stacks, as we call our library shelves? Academic libraries use the Library of Congress Classification system to organize our books by subject. If you know the LCC call numbers for art-related topics, you can find that area of the stacks and browse to your heart's content. But where to start? 

Go to AM for Museums:

  • AM – Museums | Collectors and collecting

Go to L to browse for Education:

  • LA – History of education
  • LB – Theory and practice of education
  • LC – Special aspects of education

Go to N to browse for Fine Arts:

  • N – Visual arts
  • NA – Architecture
  • NB – Sculpture
  • NC – Drawing | Design | Illustration
  • ND – Painting
  • NE – Print media
  • NK – Decorative arts

Other locations to browse:

  • BH – Aesthetics
  • CC – Archaeology
  • TR – Photography
  • TT – Handicrafts | Arts and crafts

Reference Resources

Reference sources, like encyclopedias and dictionaries, provide an overview or summary of your topic and are a great way to start your research. Print reference resources are currently located on in Milne Library on the 1st floor and in the sub-basement.

E-Book Collections

There are two ways to find eBooks from the library's collections. One method is to search in the Milne Library catalog. Navigate to the library homepage and click on 'Advanced Search.' Then enter your search terms.

  • If you wish to find online books, limit the search scope to 'Online Access' and change the 'Material Type' to 'Books'.

The second method is to search directly in one of Milne Library's eBook databases (in case something in a database is not showing up in our catalog). All eBook databases are available in the A-Z List, and here are some best bets:

Open Access (Online) Book Collections

There are many open access book collections available freely on the internet. Here are a few great collections:

Can't find it? Request it via Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

The Interlibrary Loan system (ILLiad) enables current SUNY Oneonta students, faculty, and staff to obtain academic and intellectual materials from other libraries. After signing up for ILLiad, your account will allow you to:

  • Borrow items or request periodical items from other libraries
  • Review the status of existing ILL requests
  • Check due dates or renew outstanding ILL loans

ILLiad Login for InterLibrary Loan (ILL)

About Interlibrary Loan (ILL)