Arts & Humanities Reference Service
The Fine Arts reference desk is located outside of room 458 in E.S. Bird Library. Staff members provide reference and instructional assistance in online searching and other research needs. The Fine Arts reference collection consists of standard fine arts dictionaries, encyclopedias, bibliographies, and other arts research sources. The Arts & Humanities staff provide reference assistance by email, telephone, electronic request forms, and through online chat, as well as by appointment. Additionally, faculty may request a library instruction session for a class. We also offer orientation tours of the reference collection located on the fourth floor and guidance to other resources available.
Architecture Reading Room
The School of Architecture maintains a reading room of core titles, architecture reserve books, current architecture periodicals, and other specialized resources such as prints of working drawings. The reading room is located at the downtown warehouse. Loan periods are posted in the reading room and on the Library’s web site at library.syr.edu/information/architecture.
More information about the reading room and its resources can be found here.
Belfer Audio Laboratory and Archive
The Belfer Audio Laboratory and Archive holds a distinguished collection of historic audio recordings that includes late 19th and early 20th century commercial classical, popular, and jazz recordings, as well as spoken word materials, broadcasts and recordings of Syracuse University events. All Belfer services and resources are provided through the Arts & Humanities Reference Desk.
More information about the archive and its resources can be found here.
Biblio Gallery
Visit the Biblio Gallery on the 4th floor, Room 448, to study and view student artwork. Art exhibit proposals are accepted on an ongoing basis. Entry guidelines and more information about the gallery are available at library.syr.edu/information/finearts/bibliogallery.html
Book Collection
Books on arts and humanities subjects are shelved according to the Library of Congress call number system, as indicated by SUMMIT, the Library’s online catalog. Dewey Decimal music scores (780s) are on the fourth floor opposite the service elevators.
Limited Access Collection
The Limited Access Collection, located in Room 457, contains heavily used essential titles intended primarily for use in the Library. Materials from this collection can circulate for limited time periods. The collection includes catalogues raisonnées of major architects and artists, scores for Broadway musicals, and a variety of texts in architecture, music, and the arts. These materials are located in an enclosed reading room, accessed through the corridor behind the reference desk. Materials in this reading room are listed in SUMMIT, the Library’s online catalog, with the location “Bird-4th Floor, Fine Arts Limited Access.”
Music Recordings and Listening Area
In addition to music books and scores, the Library maintains a collection of records, compact discs, and music cassette tapes. The collection contains music ranging from classical (Western and non-Western), jazz, folk, world, and popular music genres to musical theater. These materials are available for use in the library. Circulation outside the Library is limited to faculty and students using recordings for class projects.
Digital Image Collection
The library has a growing collection of digital images related to the arts. These image databases can be found under the Arts & Humanities section of the database page at library.syr.edu/information/finearts/aic. Additional image resources are frequently added to support faculty and the curriculum.
Slide Collection
The slide collection, located in room 433, consists of over 300,000 2" x 2" slides covering architecture, painting, sculpture, prints, photography, cinema, the decorative and commercial arts, music, and other areas. Slides are available for use by faculty and students. See library.syr.edu/information/finearts/tour/slidetour.htm for more information on accessing the slide collection. Users might find the following finding aids useful: Architects Finding File; Artist Authority File; Buildings File.
