#3 RISD/ATH Catalog
RISD Library + Providence Athenaeum Library
RISD Library and the Athenaeum Library share an online catalog which is why it's called RISD/ATH Catalog
Once a search is done, look at an item's LOCATION for the abbreviation ATH or RISD to indicate in what library the item resides. 
From the RISD/ATH Catalog you can also search Brown's catalog by selecting
Library Item Locations
RISD Library item locations are designated in the following ways:
RISD - 1st floor
RISD Main
RISD Media
RISD Media in Reserves
RISD Oversize
RISD Periodicals
RISD Ref Master's Thesis
RISD Reference
RISD Reserve Desk
RISD Storage - in the basement. Request Storage items at the Reference Desk
RISD - 2nd floor
RISD Archives
RISD Artists Books
RISD Picture Collection
RISD Special
RISD Special Folio
RISD Special Oversize
RISD and Brown Libraries use the Library of Congress call number system
The Providence Athenaeum Library 251 Benefit Street
- located diagonally across the street from College Building
In the Athenaeum Library, the majority of the collection locations are designated in the following ways:
ATH
B - biography
F - fiction
M - mystery
non-fiction is organized using the Dewey Decimal call number system
RISD Students may have 5 Athenaeum books or videos checked out at a time.
DVD checkout is only available to Athenaeum Student members ($35 annual fee)
If RISD/ATH or Brown doesn't have your journal, book or media, fill out an Interlibrary Loan request or Suggest a Purchase.
New Integrated Search Engine
Search RISD Databases + RISD/ATH Catalog
Search RISD/ATH Catalog
There are 4 main entry points to search the catalog:
Keyword, Title, Author, and Subject
A sound search strategy uses multiple approaches to find information on a topic.
Search by KEYWORD
Keyword searches are an easy entry point to searching the catalog.
We use natural language when searching by keyword - it's the usual way we search the internet.
The catalog searches the entirety of each record for keywords in this type of search.
Look at an individual record for your keywords highlighted in red.
Use truncation to find all variants of keywords. It results in a more comprehensive search and is a fast way to locate plurals of the root word. To truncate, use the asterisk (*) after the root of the word.
example: wood engrav* exhibit*
engrav* searches for engrave, engraver, engravers, engraving...
exhibit* searches for exhibit, exhibits, exhibition, exhibitions
Once a relevant title is found, use the subject links in an item's record to find other related books and media.
This is a good way to uncover additional items on your topic.
Search by TITLE
Use this when you know the exact title of a book, exhibition catalog, or journal.
example: Brilliant Line: following the early modern engraver, 1480-1650
Turps banana
Search by Artist/Author
Search by AUTHOR
Think of the ARTIST as AUTHOR of his/her own work.
Author searches locate monographs of the artist's work and an artist's writings.
example: Gober, Robert (last name, first name)
Mehretu, Julie
Think of the Museum or Gallery as AUTHOR
Author searches will generate a list of publications by Galleries and Museums.
example: Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Search by SUBJECT
Locate and scan the list of subject headings on your topic to discover new facets. Use this as part of the brainstorming phase of research to gather vocabulary terms and related subjects. Subheadings within a broad subject can focus one's search.
Note the subject headings that are most relevant to your search.
Re-use them to search the library's article and image subscription databases.
examples: Comic Books Strips Etc -- 16 Related Subjects
Materials -- 8 Related Subjects
Prints - 18 related subjects
Search Brown from the RISD/ATH Catalog
Once an initial search is done in the RISD/ATH Catalog
you'll see the icon on the right-hand side of the screen.
By selecting this icon you'll be transferred to Brown's catalog; your search query will be repeated and a list of Brown's holdings will appear.
RISD Students may have 5 Brown books checked out at a time.
If RISD/ATH or Brown doesn't have your journal, book or media, fill out an Interlibrary Loan request or Suggest a Purchase.