Earlham Libraries Home: Encyclopedias & Dictionaries: Visual and Performing Arts

Art

Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new window
Background information about art and artists.
Contains the 34-volume reference set, The Grove Dictionary of Art, the Oxford Companion to Western Art, the Encyclopedia of Aesthetics and more.

Oxford Reference Online - Art and Architecture
Contains the complete texts of Oxford University Press dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference titles.

Wiley Online Library (formerly Blackwell Reference Online) This link opens in a new window
Books and articles in life, health, humanities, social sciences, and physical sciences.
Includes the complete texts of almost 300 encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, and other reference works from Wiley Blackwell Publishing in the Wiley Blackwell Reference Online collection. Also contains description-only citations of over 21,000 other online books, journals and articles.

Music

Oxford Music Online This link opens in a new window
Encylopedia entries on all aspects of music
Contains the full text of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd edition, 2001), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (1992), and The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, (2nd edition, 2002).

Oxford Reference Online - Music
Includes 7 music dictionaries and encyclopedias, including companions for American musical, opera, and dance.

Naxos Music Library This link opens in a new window
Streaming audio for a variety of musical genres.
Over 100,000 CDs, equivalent to over 1.5 million tracks, available for streaming, Each month over 800 new CDs are added. Includes music notes, cover artwork, tracklist, instrumentation and publisher information. Advanced search enables search by 10 different categories, including playing time, year of composition, label, instrument and category. Limited to five simultaneous users -- log out when finished.
Pop Culture Universe This link opens in a new window
Overview essays on American popular culture by decade, 1900s through 2000s.
Overview essays on American popular culture by decade from 1900s through 2000s. For each decade includes sections on Architecture and Housing; Books and Literature; Business, Advertising, and Consumer Culture; Clothing, Fashion, and Appearance; Film; Food and Drink; Music; Performing Arts and Theater; Recreation and Leisure; Sports; Technology and Media; Television and Radio; Transportation and Travel; and Visual Arts. Includes media.
Biography Reference Bank This link opens in a new window
Brief biographical information about a number of well-known people.
Offers the in-depth, original profiles from the Current Biography and World Authors series, the thorough periodical coverage of Biography Index and the specialist biographical content of Junior Authors & Illustrators. It provides biographical full-text articles, page images and abstracts from today’s leading magazines and journals.
Biography Reference Source This link opens in a new window
Full text biographies on notable people.
This database offers a collection of full-text biographies and unique narrative biographies. Including coverage for several of the most popular and heavily-researched biographies and genres, including those contained within Biography Today and Biography (both dating back to the first issue published).

Theatre

Oxford Reference Online - Performing Arts
Contains the complete texts of Oxford University Press dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference titles.

Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion by Valerie Steele
ISBN: 9780684313948
Publication Date: 2004
From diapers to Dior, saris to serapes, the world of clothing is nearly as vast and as ancient as the human race. Tracing the stylistic and functional threads that unite clothing across time and cultures, as well as delving into the divergent styles and significance of apparel, this A to Z encyclopedia is the essential resource for exploring the relationship between culture and couture.
Fashion, Costume, and Culture: Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and Footwear through the Ages by Sara Pendergast, Tom Pendergast & Sarah Hermsen
ISBN: 9781414498485
Publication Date: 2003
Provides a broad overview of costume traditions of diverse cultures from prehistoric times to the present day. Examines more than 430 items of human decoration and adornment, ranging from togas to turbans, necklaces to tennis shoes. Explores how and why items were created, the people who made them, and their uses. This set shows how clothing, headwear, body decorations, and footwear reflect the different cultural, religious, and societal beliefs.