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Architecture: Architecture Resources Overview

Last Updated: Nov 6, 2024 9:55 AM

Key Library Links

  • OneSearch – to locate any item that is available in our libraries, including books, journals, newspapers, and audio/visual materials. Refine your search by using the links below the search bar: Books, Articles, Journals, Video/Films, Newspaper articles
  • Course Reserve: a collection of books or articles (pdfs) set aside at the Circulation Desk by your instructor.
  • Databases A-Z: Databases contain full-text articles or citations to articles published in academic journals, magazines and newspapers.
  • Top Architecture Databases- A curated list of architecture research databases
  • Research Tips – an online guide designed to help you perform research at the University at Buffalo’s University Libraries, includes citation help. Center for Excellence in Writing- 17 Norton.
  • My Account & Delivery+ –  use for book renewal and interlibrary loan. Journal articles and book chapters are delivered electronically to your email and physical items are made available for pick-up at the UB library of your choice. (free of charge)

Borrowing/Loan Periods: Your UB Card serves as your library card. Current UB students, faculty and staff may use their cards to check out books and other materials at any campus library.

Self-check out kiosk/Check-out App - instructions for downloading the app and using the self-check out kiosk.

UB Print Anywhere - UB students receive a semesterly quota of free pages to print assignments at any of 40 print station kiosks. Learn how to easily print your assignments from any computer, a computing site, your smartphone, a USB drive and more.

Best Starting Points:

Additional Resources:

Google Books
Well over 15,000,000 books and magazine issues may be searched in Google Books. The numbers grow daily as Google moves forward with its mission of scanning literally all the world's books and magazines. Even materials that are not readable full text are nonetheless searchable. Some texts (pre-1923) may be read in their entirety; while others may be read across a limited number of pages (20% of the book) in 'preview' mode and some are only viewable in snippet view. The latter is the least useful to researchers. 

Google Scholar

  • Click on "Settings" in the upper right-hand corner.
  • Click on "Library Links" on the left-hand side
  • On the next screen, type University at Buffalo into the "Library Links" box.
  • Scroll down and click on "Save"
  • Start searching.
  • When you link to a full-text article from off campus you will be presented with a log-in screen. Log in with your UBIT name and password.

Useful Reference Books:

Key Architecture Database for Finding Floor Plans:

Images/plans:

  • ARTstor Digital Archive Collection: The ARTstor Digital Archive Collection contains nearly one million images and associated catalog data from notable art and architecture collections worldwide. The collection spans many times and cultures and encompasses architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, and design, as well as many other forms of visual culture.
  • Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals (PDP): Use "Physical Description’ to limit to diagrams, portraits, plans, maps, etc…se
  • Digital Sanborn Maps- New York: The UB Libraries has a subscription to the digital edition (available to the UB community), providing electronic access to Sanborn fire insurance maps of cities and towns in New York State (1867-1970).
  • UB Building Floor Plans: RESTRICTED ACCESS
    UBIT name and password required to view the floor plans Access to the building floor plans is for use by authorized faculty or staff for university purposes only. Students can request access to the floor plans for work related duties ONLY. Requests for class projects where students require floor plan information are handled on a case by case basis.

ArcGIS

ArcGIS Desktop allows you to create maps, perform spatial analysis, and manage data. You can import multiple data formats and use powerful analytical tools and workflows to identify spatial patterns, trends, and non-obvious relationships.

UB affiliates are eligible for a free UB ArcGIS Online account, provided by the College of Arts and Sciences.

This includes a license for ArcGIS Pro, which can be installed on personal or UB-owned computers. Additional Esri software/apps are available -- ArcGIS StoryMaps, ArcGIS Urban, ArcGIS CityEngine, ArcGIS Business Analyst, ArcGIS GeoPlanner, ArcGIS Insights, and ArcGIS Tracker.

Once you have an organizational account, you can download the ArcGIS Pro installer here.
Select Licenses from the left.

Existing ArcGIS Online users can log in here: Gallery for University at Buffalo, College of Arts and Sciences

Websites/blogs:

Special Journals:

El Croquis is a Spanish architectural magazine that is kept behind the APL/HSL Circulation desk. To look up an architect use this index: http://www.elcroquis.es/Shop/Issue/List?mID=1, then go to the Circulation Desk for issue of the journal. The journal is also indexed in Avery.

EndNote and Citation Guidance

EndNote: a software tool for managing references. EndNote helps you organize bibliographic references to journal articles, book chapters, Web sites and other information sources. References can be downloaded from UB Libraries' databases directly into a personal EndNote database known as a Library in EndNote terminology. Bibliographies can be created and formatted in over a thousand standard style formats including APA, MLA, Chicago, Vancouver, and others..

Annotated Bibliography: an annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each citation is followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph, the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the sources cited.


Research guide on:  Literature Reviews, Scoping Reviews, Systematic Reviews: Differentiating the Three Review Types

Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL): a detailed guide to APA, MLA, and Chicago citation styles, access "Research and Citation" on the left to for citation style help.

Librarian

Profile Photo
Rose Orcutt
Contact:
Architecture & Planning Library
303 Abbott Hall
Buffalo, NY 14214
rmorcutt@buffalo.edu
(716)645-1325