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NSCAD Library: Accessing Digital Library Content During the Coronavirus Pandemic

The NSCAD Library is Atlantic Canada’s largest library dedicated to fine arts, craft, and design. It houses an extensive collection of print and media resources, online databases, and special collections to support learning in all subjects taught at NSCAD

Accessing Library Resources From Home

The Library has a wealth of online resources available to you as students and faculty to assist you in completing your assignments and doing your research during the pandemic closure.  Full-text online content can be accessed through the  Novanet Catalogue and NSCAD's Databases A-Z Page.

Interlibrary loan (ILL) requests for digital articles and book chapters can be requested through this form. Requests will be filled based on availability. interlibrary Loan requests for print materials cannot be filled at this time.

NSCAD students, faculty and staff: Requests for print materials from the NSCAD library collection may be made through this form. Please allow 3 - 5 business days for your request to be looked after, as library staff hours are reduced and we are mainly working from home over the summer.

Registering with the Library to place Interlibrary Loan requests and fully search the Novanet catalogue:
In order to see all of the material available to you in the Novanet catalogue and place interlibrary loan requests for digital material, you need to sign in to the catalogue with a library barcode and password (different from a Webadvisor username and password).
If you are a current NSCAD student, staff or faculty member, and haven't used the library, your barcode should be on the back of your ID card, and your password should be the last four digits of your phone number.*
If you are a NSCAD student, staff or faculty member who does not have a library barcode, you can receive the barcode and password by registering with the library through the Form Portal on NSCAD's Navigator page. 

If you have graduated from NSCAD, but need to continue to use the catalogue and place interlibrary loan requests for digital articles and book chapters, please email Janice Fralic-Brown to register with the library.

*If you have your barcode and password, but are still unable to log in to the catalogue, your patron account, or the Interlibrary loan request form, please contact Janice Fralic-Brown or Detta Morrison-Phillips for assistance.

Accessing Database Content:
To access database content you will need to use your Webadvisor username and password to authenticate as a NSCAD user.
For more information about off-campus access, and using your webadvisor username and password to authenticate please see our Off-Campus Access guide.  

Below you will find a list of top pick online databases for accessing full-text journals, EBooks, images, and video, as well as links to other NSCAD guides that will help you in completing your coursework and conducting research during the pandemic.

NSCAD Library Top-Pick Databases

Below is a list of top-pick NSCAD databases that will be helpful for finding resources to support your coursework. For more NSCAD Databases and online journals see our Databases A-Z page.

Full-text Periodicals Top Picks

Art and Architecture Source

This database covers a broad range of related subjects including fine, decorative and commercial art, to various areas of architecture and architectural design. Providing over 600 full-text journals, more than 220 full-text books, and a collection of over 63,000 images.

Academic Search Ultimate

Academic Search Ultimate offers students a collection of peer-reviewed, full-text journals, including many journals indexed in leading citation indexes. Includes over 9,000 active full-text journals and magazines. This database has been provided to libraries by EBSCO during the COVID-19 pandemic.

JSTOR

JSTOR is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources. NSCAD's Arts and Sciences JSTOR collections focus on art, art history, culture and communication.

ProQuest Research Library

This general database gives access to thousands of current periodicals and newspapers, many updated daily and containing full-text articles from 1986 onward.

 

EBooks Top Picks

EBooks Academic Collection

This multidisciplinary collection includes thousands of e-books covering a large selection of academic subjects from leading publishes and university presses. Unlimited Access to 201,500 E-Books Across Many Subjects: Business and economics, Humanities, Education, Social Science, Philosophy, Technology and engineering. This database is being made available to libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic by EBSCO.

ProQuest EBooks Central

EBooks Central contains thousands of ebooks to support your research.  ProQuest has opened up additional titles due to the COVID-19 situation.

Bloomsbury Fashion Central

Bloomsbury Fashion Central provides scholarly articles, textbooks, EBooks and over 17,000 images on world dress and fashion.
Fashion Photography Archive: 750,000 images, supported by hundreds of articles, designer biographies, audio and video.

Bloomsbury Design Library

Bloomsbury Design Library provides cutting-edge scholarly coverage of design and crafts worldwide, from 1500 BCE to the present day. It offers an expanding range of authoritative reference and book content, alongside a rich selection of museum object images.  Bloomsbury has made this database accessible during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bloomsbury Applied Visual Arts

Practice makes perfect with Bloomsbury Applied Visual Arts – the ultimate guide to a visual arts education. This comprehensive resource offers instant, searchable access to over 170 books which combine visual inspiration with practical advice on idea generation, research techniques, portfolio development and more, across the main visual arts disciplines. Bloomsbury has made this database available to libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bloomsbury Screen Studies

Screen Studies offers a broad range of content from Bloomsbury, Faber & Faber and the British Film Institute to support moving-image studies. Explore screenplays, critical, contextual and practical books on films and filmmaking from the late nineteenth century to the present, expert overview articles on key themes, and an interactive timeline of cinema history to enhance contextual understanding. Bloomsbury has made this database available to libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Images Top Picks

Artstor

ARTStor is a digital library of nearly one million images in the areas of art, architecture, the humanities, and social sciences with a set of tools to view, present, and manage images for research and pedagogical purposes. To use the presentation, download, or group functions sign in with your Artstor account. If you do not have an Artstor account, you can register once in the site with your NSCAD email.

Bloomsbury Fashion Central

Bloomsbury Fashion Central provides scholarly articles, textbooks, EBooks and over 17,000 images on world dress and fashion.
Fashion Photography Archive: 750,000 images, supported by hundreds of articles, designer biographies, audio and video.

 

Video Top Picks

NFB Campus (National Film Board)

NFB Campus gives instructors and students access to over 3,600 NFB titles and an extensive bank of teaching tools. **Please note you need to sign in or create an NFB account with your NSCAD email once in the site**

Kanopy

An online video streaming service that provides access to titles on a subscription basis for educational use. Kanopy has opened up additional content due to the COVID-19 situation. 

CBC Curio

Curio.ca is a subscription-based educational streaming platform targeting educational institutions from primary through to post-secondary levels across Canada. Complimentary access has been granted due to the COVID-19 situation.

Academic Video Online 

AVON delivers almost 70,000 titles spanning the widest range of subject areas including Anthropology, Business, Counseling, Film, Health, History, Music, and more. More than 14,000 titles are exclusive to Alexander Street, all with unlimited access. ProQuest has made this database available to libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic, and will be available to NSCAD users until June 30th 2020.

Bloomsbury Fashion Video Archive

Showcasing nearly 3,000 fashion videos from the YOOX-NET-A-PORTER Runway Archive Collections, the Bloomsbury Fashion Video Archive documents the era between 1979 to 2003. The videos are accompanied by scholarly articles that provide essential context to the collection, shedding light on key shows, the evolution of trends, iconic designers, and the transformation of runway spectacles to performance art. This database has been made available by Bloomsbury to libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Talk to a Library Staff Member

Have questions? need reference or research help?  Make a virtual reference appointment with NSCAD Library staff members by emailing Rebecca Young, Director of Library Services at ryoung@nscad.ca

Novanet Live Help

Live Help is an online chat-based reference service being provided by Novanet libraries. This service is designed to respond to brief questions that can be answered quickly and effectively using online resources.

Live Help Hours:

May 4th - June 19th:

Monday - Friday: 10am - 4pm

*Holiday closure on Monday May 18th

Other Helpful Guides

Open Access Resources

Below is a list of databases dedicated to open access journals and books

Mason OER Metafinder (MOM)

Project Muse 

In addition to open access content Project Muse has made available additional content due to the COVID-19 situation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)

JSTOR Open Content

Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB)

Hathi Trust Digital Library

Cats and Computers (Just for fun)

storem / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)

Wilson Afonso from Sydney, Australia / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)

Freddy2001 / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
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