Jen Library Reference Department

The Little Blue Whale - Color Key, Storyboard 16B - via the Don Bluth Collection of Animation

Great news! SCAD Libraries have just launched several new digital collections. These are materials residing in SCAD Libraries that have been digitized so that they may be accessed online, anywhere, 24/7. New materials will be added to the collections on an ongoing basis. These include…

Graduate Theses. SCAD Graduate Theses from Fall 2010 forward are now available digitally, rather than in printed form. PDFs and files of additional multi-media content are available to view. (Past, printed theses are not added to this collection.)

Don Bluth Collection of Animation. View SCAD’s collection of Don Bluth animation and related materials  – it includes selections from various animated features, concepts, and video games.

Images of Savannah. Images of historic Savannah as depicted in stereographs, postcards, slides, and other materials; categories include Aerial Views, Churches, Downtown Buildings, Hotels, and Schools.

Click the links above to view the collections. For more information, see the recent blog post by SCAD Libraries’ Special Collections Department.

Just a reminder that all of SCAD’s libraries will be closed on Christmas Day, December 25th and New Year’s Day, January 1st. Jen Library in Savannah will close its doors a bit early tomorrow, Christmas Eve, at 3:00.

Though it’s a balmy 50 degrees in Savannah, we’re dreaming of snow. Please enjoy these images from Flickr’s Creative Commons licensed search. And a happy and safe holiday to all, no matter where you are.

Keywords to try: snow, blizzard, glacier, snowglobe, snowman, snow day, winter, snow flakes, ice sculpture

Clockwise from top-left: images by Napanee Gal, Erica Marshall of muddyboots.org, Dead Air, and seriykotik1970

Clockwise from top-left: images by Meer, AnnieBee, Andrea_R, and TM- the crocheteer!

SCAD Libraries have just acquired access to two fabulous new online resources: Stylesight and Reference USA. Like all of our databases, these can be accessed anywhere, 24/7. All you need to do is login with your last name and SCAD ID card number. Please give them a try and let us know what you think!

Stylesight is an incredible resource for those who are studying fashion, fibers, interior design, and marketing. It provides:

• up-to-date fashion news
• trend and color forecasting
• coverage of events and trade shows
• create custom color palettes and fashion collections

My favorite feature, though, are the 2 million+ images of the runway and street, store displays, interiors, vintage fashions, royalty-free graphics, and even a wide selection of inspirational themes to get your creative juices flowing. Use the links in the left-hand column to start browsing – and budget lots of time, because it’s visually addicting!

Anyone seeking information on U.S. and international businesses will want to give Reference USA a close look. Search for a business to learn about its:

• brands and products
• names of executives and managers
• business size
• stock analysis
• recent news
• historical data

Reference USA also indexes residential data from around the U.S., making it an ‘online phone book’ for finding individual contact information.

SCAD’s fall quarter begins next Monday. Welcome to all of our students, whether you’ve just arrived in Savannah for the first time, or are coming back after summer break. Staff at the Jen Library are rooting for your success in the new school year.

In honor of this occasion, please enjoy these photos of yesteryear’s college students! The pictures come from Flickr Commons, a place where museums worldwide share some of their best images. We have posted about this great resource in the past; it’s just a superb place to look for great public domain works. Explore the Commons to see thousands of pictures from the Smithsonian Institution, the New York Public Library, and others. And now… on to the students.

Ah, the days when drawing classes were gender segregated:

What if synchronized dancing was part of the SCAD curriculum…

…or faculty were required to wear robes?

Even back then, the library was THE place to be.

And don’t forget the importance of college sports.

Whatever you do, SCAD librarians are here to help you towards a bright and happy academic future!

Update 9/14: links have been added to the pictures so you can see the collections they come from.

Image by Flickr User Stuck In Customs

The Acropolis. Michaelangelo’s Medici Chapel. Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye. While there’s no substitute for actually being there, the ARTstor database provides the next best thing: interactive, panoramic views of thousands of architectural icons. Sites and buildings from across the world, from antiquity to the present day, are available. Viewers can virtually place themselves within the image by looking around, up and down, as well as zooming in and out. And all it takes to get there is one simple search term.

While architects and art historians will appreciate the ability to closely inspect important details, I can easily see a game designer examining ancient temples while creating a Tomb Raider-style action sequence, or an interior designer gathering ideas for adding old-world library touches to a client’s study. Not to mention, the images are just fun to play around with!

To get started:

• Access ARTStor from SCAD Libraries’ list of databases (you will need your MySCAD ID to login)
• Type QTVR in the search box (with other keywords, if you like)
• Within the list of results, click the word “QTVR” which appears below the thumbnail (instead of the image itself)
• Enjoy!

And as with all of the material in ARTstor, SCAD students and faculty can use the images for research and classroom purposes, worry-free.

Some important institutions, including the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian, have been placing historical photographs online on Flickr Commons.  The goal of these projects are to get the public to look at and tag photos.  Oregon State University has now joined in and this week placed some of their images from their agriculture, environmental and other collections online. The Chronicle of Higher Education talks about the image collection in today’s issue.

Take a look at some of the tags and see what you can find!