Remote Access to the Fleet Library
Fleet Library Access
The library is open to holders of the following cards during our open hours. Please note: Special Collections and Archives require appointments.
- RISD Student, Faculty, Staff IDs
- RISD Alumni card
- Athenaeum Membership card
- Brown University current ID
- CRIARL card (for CRIARL faculty & staff)
- Current RISD Continuing Education students with proof of registration.
Call or email if you would like to confirm current policies. If you have one of the above cards and cannot enter through the outer building door, call the Public Safety booth at (401) 427-6916.
Others needing access to RISD's specialized resources must make an appointment in advance with a Research Librarian.
Visitors under 18 years old must be accompanied by a parent, teacher or guardian.
Access to the Providence Athenaeum: Show your RISD ID for access to the Athenaeum.
Access to Brown University Libraries: Show your RISD ID to access Brown libraries and register for a borrower account. Please be sure to have a working RISD Library account in good standing. Access to Brown's electronic subscription databases is available on-site via designated visitor computers at the Rockefeller and Sciences libraries. We continue to recommend using our Interlibrary Loan service to request items not locally available at RISD or Brown. See Brown's full policies here. Please contact a Research Librarian if you would like assistance on the RISD side.
Other questions? Email us at library@risd.edu.
Log In for Online Access
Your library account enables off-campus access to library databases as well as tools for managing your checked-out items. The VPN provided by IT Services also enables library database access - we recommend it to anyone who uses them frequently!
Get started: Visit the library homepage and click "My Account" in the top right corner. Follow the instructions on the screen.
Your Library Account login is your RISD email login.
- RISD Username: your RISD username (without @risd.edu)
- Password: your RISD email password
Still having issues? Reach out to us: researchhelp@risd.edu
Getting Started
Formulate your questions: are you interested in background information (culture, history, geography, etc.), scholarly discussion of a topic, technical guidance about writing, inspirational material? Where do you think this information might be published -- books, journals, magazines, newspapers?
The Fleet Library collection is heavily focused on art and design topics. Members of the RISD community also have borrowing privileges at the Providence Athenaeum and Brown University Libraries.
If you are having any trouble finding what you need, please get in touch with us!
Where to Search
Books:
- RISD/Athenaeum Catalog This link opens in a new windowSearch for books, DVDS, music, ebooks in RISD Library and Providence Athenaeum collections.
Articles:
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Offers over 1,000 full-text reference books (encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, atlases, thesauri) that cover a broad scope of subject areas. Image types include charts, diagrams, graphs, illustrations, maps, photos. - Encyclopedia of Aesthetics (2 ed.) This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Featuring 815 articles by distinguished scholars from many fields and countries, the Encyclopedia of Aesthetics is a comprehensive survey of major concepts, thinkers, and debates about the meaning, uses, and value of all the arts—from painting and sculpture to literature, music, theater, dance, television, film, and popular culture. - Fleet SEARCH This link opens in a new windowCombined search tool (many of our article databases + the RISD/Athenaeum Catalog)
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
An archive of scholarly articles in PDF form. JSTOR is not a current article database, typically from 1 to 5 years behind most recently published journals.
JSTOR ACCESS
To use RISD's full-text subscription to JSTOR, you must go through this link:
You can either enter your library account login, or use the RISD VPN to authenticate yourself as a RISD user. Look for this message on the top of the screen: "Access provided by Rhode Island School of Design". This will indicate that you're in the right place. If you have problems, take a screenshot or grab the URL and email us so we can help you: researchhelp@risd.edu.
Note: In general, any time you use a RISD subscription database, it is best to use the library's links, all found at Databases A-Z. - Literary Reference Center This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Information on authors and their works across literary disciplines from antiquity to present, from books, reference works, and articles published 1912 to present. Can be searched together with MLA International Bibliography. - MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Articles covering literature, language and linguistics, folklore, literary theory and criticism, dramatic arts, as well as the historical aspects of printing and publishing.
Can be searched together with Literary Reference Center. - Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Defines and traces the usage of words through quotations from a wide range of international and English language sources. - Project Muse This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Provides scholarly articles to hundreds of humanities, art, and social science journals.
Citation & Style Guidelines:
- Chicago Manual of Style This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Style guide for writing research papers.
Browsing Guide
Where to Look for Books
Library of Congress call numbers for literature (RISD and Brown both use the Library of Congress system)
P - General Language and Linguistics
PA - Classical Languages and Literature
PL - Languages and literature of Asia, Africa, Oceana
PN - Literary Criticism, Drama, Journalism & more
PQ - Romance literature (French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese)
PR - English Literature (includes former commonwealth such as South Africa)
PS - American Literature
PT - German, Dutch, Scandinavian literature
PZ - Children's literature
Research Help
Ask a Librarian
Librarians are available to help students research a topic. Make an appointment at the RISD Library Research Help Desk or by emailing a librarian directly. We're available to meet with individuals or groups. This meeting will help you clarify your ideas, provide ways to approach your topic, and identify key terms, print and online resources, and search strategies to help get you started and save time.
A meeting with a librarian usually lasts 15-30 minutes depending on the scope of the topic. You are always welcome to make follow-up appointments.