LibGuides: Art Resources: Books & eBooks

Search the West Sound Academy Library Catalog

Find books, digital resources (ebooks), WebPath Express websites, and Open Educational Resources (OER).

WorldCat

What is WorldCat?

WorldCat represents a “collective collection” of the world’s libraries. WorldCat.org lets you search the collections of libraries in your community and thousands more around the world.

What's in WorldCat?

When you search in WorldCat you'll find all of the physical items you're used to getting from libraries - books, music CDs and videos—and new kinds of digital content, such as downloadable audiobooks. You may also find article citations with links to their full text; authoritative research materials, such as documents and photos of local or historic significance; and digital versions of rare items that aren't available to the public. WorldCat libraries serve diverse communities in dozens of countries, so resources are available in many languages.

WorldCat Stats: As of April, 2024, WorldCat has 3,446,566,579 holdings and 559,887,458 bibliographic records. WorldCat gets a new record every second. As of May, 2023, the percentage of non-English records is 61% and the number of languages and dialects represented is 490.

How Can WorldCat Help Me?

You can search many libraries at once for an item and then locate it in a library nearby. A WorldCat record always lists which libraries hold any particular item, showing the libraries that are closest to you first.

What If the 'Closest Library' Holding an Item Isn't My Public Library?

If you need a book or other item for your research that's held by a library other than your own public library, you can request an Interlibrary Loan.

Search WorldCat here: https://search.worldcat.org

Interlibrary Loans

What is an Interlibrary Loan?

An Interlibrary loan (ILL) is a service where a patron (user) of one library can borrow books or receive photocopies of documents that are owned by another library.

How do Interlibrary Loans work?

The patron makes a request with their local library. This local library identifies the institution that owns the desired item (probably using WorldCat!), places the request, receive the item, makes it available for the patron to pick up at their closest branch, and arranges for the return.

How long can I keep an Interlibrary Loan?

The lending library determines the loan and renewal period for the item. If you need an ILL item longer, you should contact your local library at least three business days before the due date and ask them to request an extension from the lending library.

Can anything be borrowed with an Interlibrary Loan?

Some libraries have items in reserve or reference collections that cannot be borrowed. If the item you want is owned by a library that you could visit on your own (for example, at the University of Washington) you should plan for a research visit to look at the resources you need, take notes, and make photocopies.

How long does it take to get my Interlibrary Loan item?

Plan ahead! If the lending institution agrees to loan the item you want to your local library, it could take three weeks or more before the item actually arrives at your local branch, ready for you to pick up.

How much does an Interlibrary Loan cost?

Good news! An ILL is a free service provided to library patrons. The only cost will be if the lending library charges your local library a processing fee for microfilm or copy requests.

See below for links to Interlibrary Loan request forms for regional libraries.

KRL Interlibrary Loan Request - Book/Audio/DVD/eBook
Online form for requesting an Interlibrary Loan for an item not held by Kitsap Regional Library. You'll need to have a KRL library card number to fill out the form. You can also indicate a "needed by" date so that the librarians can know how soon you need the item.

PTL Request for Library Materials - Book, Audiobook, DVD (Interlibrary Loan)
Online form for requesting an Interlibrary Loan for an item not held by Port Townsend Library. You'll need to have a PTL library card number to fill out the form. You can also indicate a "needed by" date in the Comments section so that the librarians can know how soon you need the item.

PTL Magazine Article Request Form (Interlibrary Loan)
Online form for requesting an Interlibrary Loan for a magazine or news article not held by Port Townsend Library. You'll need to have a PTL library card number to fill out the form. You can also indicate a "needed by" date in the Comments section so that the librarians can know how soon you need the article

Regional Libraries

Kitsap Regional Library
Kitsap Regional Library (KRL) has nine community libraries in Kitsap County. KRL has more than half a million physical items in its collection, bolstered by online access to downloadable e-books, audiobooks and music, and free access to dozens of online research tools.
City of Port Townsend Public Library
The City of Port Townsend Public Library has print and digital books, magazines, and audiobooks, along with subscription databases for research.
Seattle Public Library
Kitsap Regional Library (KRL) cardholders can get a free Seattle Public Library (SPL) card. Bring your KRL card, valid identification and proof of home address to any SPL location.
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With a Seattle Public Library card, you can:
check out books, movies and music CDs; download e-books, audiobooks, music and videos; place holds on items in person or online; use online resources (SPL databases)
University of Washington Libraries
Links to resources held at the 18 libraries at the University of Washington, including articles, encyclopedias and dictionaries, research guides, collections and archives.
Washington State Library
Search the Washington State Library's digital collections (historic newspapers, historical maps, and photos, full-text eBooks on Washington history), state and federal government publications, Washington state newspapers, and more.

WSA Databases with eBooks

This list of WSA databases with eBooks - including links and database descriptions - can be a starting point for your research.

WSA Databases with eBooks
This is a list of WSA databases with eBooks; it includes links to the databases along with descriptions of each resource. The databases here cover a wide range of subject matter.

EBSCO eBooks Academic Collection

EBSCO eBooks Academic Collection This link opens in a new window
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- Why search here?
  EBSCO eBooks Academic Collection has academic eBooks on most academic subjects.
- What's included?
  It contains thousands of eBook titles and features e-books from leading publishers and university presses. Coverage in eBook content is 1963 to the present.
- How do I cite it?
  Click the ‘Cite’ button in the upper right, then select either MLA 9th Edition or Chicago 17th Edition (Notes & Bibliography) from the drop-down menu for Style. Click ‘Export Citation’, then click ‘Export to NoodleTools’. In the new window, check that the reference and project for it to be added to are correct, then click ‘Import’.

Gale eBooks

Gale eBooks - Art ebooks
A group of ebooks on topics in the arts in Gale eBooks. Titles include Arts & Humanities Through the Eras; Encyclopedia of World Biography; Fashion, Costume, and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear Through the Ages, and Schirmer Encyclopedia of Film.
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Login with your WSA Google email for remote access.

Gale eBooks Database Pointers - Purdue University Library

JSTOR (Open Access eBook Collection)

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- Why search here?
  JSTOR is a digital library of journals, academic ebooks, images, and primary sources in the humanities, social sciences and sciences. Use JSTOR to find historical information rather than current articles.
- What's included?
  It includes thousands of full-text scholarly articles, some dating back to the 1800s, along with open-access eBooks and the entire Artstor image collection of over 2.5 million images. JSTOR also features audio content with searchable transcripts for spoken word content.
- How do I cite it?
  Look for the Cite this item button on the left. Click the COPY button next to your preferred style, then the Export to NoodleTools link to import the citation directly to your open NoodleTools project. If you want to copy and paste the citation instead, be sure to take the "Remote Access URL" provided.

Taylor & Francis Open Access eBooks

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- Why search here?
  The Taylor and Francis eBooks platform has open-access eBooks on most academic subjects.
- What's included?
  Over 3,100 books with open-access content are available, either as full books or select chapters.
- How do I cite it?
  Click the Click the 'Get Citation' link and copy the citation provided. All provided eBook citations are in American Psychological Association (APA) style, so will be slightly different than citations in Chicago or MLA style.

Digital Libraries

Cambridge Digital Library
Cambridge University Library has built a vast collection over the past six centuries, with an extraordinary accumulation of books, maps, manuscripts and journals. The Foundations of Faith strand of content includes important works from many religious traditions, particularly Judaism, Islam, Christianity and Buddhism. The Foundations of Science content begins with the papers of Isaac Newton, includes the papers and drafts that led to Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species, and also the Papers of the Board of Longitude.
Digital Public Library of America
DPLA brings together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world. The portal provides innovative ways to search and scan through the united collection of millions of items, including by timeline, map, virtual bookshelf, format, subject, and partner. "Discover 50,753,061 images, texts, videos, and sounds from across the United States."
Library of Congress Digital Collections
Access to print, pictorial and audio-visual collections and other digital services of the Library of Congress, including American history and culture (from American Memory), historic newspapers (from Chronicling America), historic sound recordings (from National Jukebox), collections, articles and special presentations on music, theater and dance materials (from the Performing Arts Encyclopedia), prints and photographs (with over 1 million digital images), Veterans History Project, U.S. Legislative information, and collections of archived web sites.
University of Washington Digital Collections
A-Z listing of the UW Digital Collections, covering a wide range of topics and media, including historical photographs, architectural drawings, historical books, musical scores, a moving images collection, and materials related to important historical events in the Northwest, including the activities of the Industrial Workers of the World, the lumber and fishing industries, and the building of Grand Coulee Dam.

MetPublications

Five decades of Met publications on art history, available to read, download, and/or search for free.

MetPublications
MetPublications is a portal to The Met's comprehensive publishing program with over 1,600 titles, including books, online publications, and Bulletins and Journals from the last five decades. MetPublications includes a description and table of contents for most titles, as well as information about the authors, reviews, awards, and links to related Met titles by author and theme. The full contents of out-of-print book titles may be read online, searched, or downloaded as a PDF.

Art Resources: Books & eBooks

Finding Books and eBooks