Subject specialist
Ruth Wallach
rwallach@usc.edu
(213) 740 6917
Reference services & research help
- Research consultation and recommendations to add items to the USC Libraries' collections:
- Ruth Wallach (see curriculum vitae), (213) 740 6917, rwallach@usc.edu
- Helen Topping Architecture & Fine Arts Library, (213) 740 1956
- Standish K. Penton Family Slide Library (faculty use only)
Doing Research through USC Libraries
- Remote log-in is available for USC students, faculty, and staff only. Go to http://libproxy.usc.edu to log in.
- To find books and location of journals (but not articles): use HOMER, the USC Libraries catalog.
- To find articles in architecture: use the Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals.
- To find articles in engineering and building structures: use Engineering Village.
- To find dissertations and theses, use Proquest and select the "Dissertations and Theses" from the drop-down menu.
- To find historic articles about Los Angeles homes and urban development, use the Historic Los Angeles Times, available through Proquest.
- Use Refworks and the Chicago Manual of Style for formatting citations and bibliographies.
Research and Information Guides:
- Research Guide: Professional Sources in Architecture
- Research Guide: Sources in Architecture History
- Research Guide: Reference Sources in Landscape Architecture
- Research Guide: Locating and Citing Images
- Research Guide: Getting Permission to Use Architectural Archival Materials
- Refereed and Juried journals in the Design fields - this is a guide developed by librarians at Pennsylvania State University to peer reviewed journals.
- Core List of Architecture Journals - courtesy of the Assocation of Architecture School Librarians.
- Resource Guide: Index to the Architect and Engineer, vol. 1-95, 1905-1928. Digitized by the Environmental Design Library at University of California, Berkeley, with the permission of the California Historical Society.
- Resource Guide: Urban and Regional Planning - an excellent collection of resources compiled by Dr. Robert V. Labaree, VKC Library.
Archival and Specialized Sources:
- History and architecture of the Topping Library and Watt Hall
- Finding Aid: Drawings of Cliff May Projects
- Finding Aid: Michael Several Archives in Los Angeles Public Art
- Finding Aid: Harriet Press Freeman personal papers
- Finding Aid : Robin Dunitz California and Los Angeles Murals Files
- Finding Aid : Save Outdoor Sculptures (Los Angeles County) Files
- Greene and Greene Virtual Archives
- Resource Guide: The Los Angeles Metro Gold Line
- Public Art in Los Angeles a site affiliated with the USC Libraries, maintained by Ruth Wallach.
- Libguide to the Getty Villa, courtesy of Amy Ciccone. Creted for the USC Visions & Voices program, 2009-2010.
Professional Standards and Competencies:
- Information Competencies for Students in Design Disciplines
- Art Libraries Society of North American (ARLIS/NA) Core Competencies for Art Information Professionals
- Fine Arts and Visual Resources Librarianship: A Directory of Library Science Degree Programs in North America
Published materials on Architecture are located primarily in the Helen Topping Architecture and Fine Arts Library, Watt Hall. Urban planning materials are found in the Appied Social Sciences Library in the Von KleinSmid Center, and building sciences materials are also in the Science and Engineering Library. The collection supports teaching and research through the masters level and beyond.
The collection also supports teaching and independent study through the undergraduate level in all areas of Architecture, including landscape architecture and historic preservation.
Books and journals are in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. (Materials in the East Asian vernacular languages that are primarily text are usually collected in the East Asian Library)
Materials on the ancient world through modern times are collected for the entire world, with an emphasis on the United States (particularly California), Central America (particularly Mexico), Western Europe, Southeast Asia, and East Asia (particularly Japan). There is an emphasis on the contemporary architecture.
A wide variety of formats are collected, including
- Monographs; Serials and journals; Architecture-oriented guidebooks; Cost estimating guides; Building/Life safety codes; Conference proceedings; Electronic resources; videos and dvds.
Instruction services for faculty
To schedule a class taught by the Architecture specialist, select "Request-A-Class" below. To inquire about tours for guests or orientations for new faculty or students, contact the Architecture specialist.
