Architecture

Library Catalog tab

• modern architecture (search words) 
  • Example - you can use other search words or
  • combine search words, add the title of a building or an architect's name or business firm, construction term (e.g., glass), etc.
• Limit results to online content only (see top of page where online results are shown)
  • Streaming Videos and ebooks will typically show in the results. 
  • Click on the link below the title to gain access to these e-resources.

Journals tab

• IMPORTANT: Results will show:
  • Streaming videos
  • Journal titles (NOT journal article titles)
  • Ebooks and/or eBook chapters
• modern architecture (search words) 
  • Example - you can use other search words or
  • combine search words, add the title of a building or an architect's name or business firm, construction term (e.g., glass), etc.

Databases tab

• Choose a Database to search (see Database list in this guide). 
• modern architecture (search words) 
  • Example - you can use other search words or
  • combine search words, add the title of a building or an architect's name or business firm, construction term (e.g., glass), etc.

There are many ways to search the Internet. 

• Browsers
  • Google is NOT the only web browser. Consider using other web browsers to perhaps get different results or a multi-browser to view results from multiple sites.
  • Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Brave, Opera, Vivaldi, Yandex, SearchAll multibrowser

• When doing a search, you often can limit results to specific types of media, such as books, videos, images, etc. 
• After you have received your search results, look just below the search box and choose Images, Videos, or More (includes Books).
• Want more control? Do an Advanced Search. Click on "Settings" beneath the search box and choose "Advanced search."

• Search for Images:
  • Restrict the results to images or just look at the images that show in the Results. 
  • You can click on the Results to go back to the original page. This can be especially useful when looking for architectural plans. 
  • If you find an entry for Pinterest, you can look for Pinterest posting and then click on the item that Pinterest is linked to in order to see the original source for the image. 
  • Be aware of the sites that you are viewing/using and utilize website evaluation to scrutinize them and their usefulness as an academic resource.

• Search for educational institutions 
  (sites may be universities, musuems, etc.)
  • Search for your search words on sites ending in .edu 
    • example:  modern architecture site:.edu
    • example:  modern architecture OR glass site:.edu
    • See Web Sites tab in Architecture Examples and Resources box on this page for sample sites

• Search for organizations 
  (sites may be museums, arts organizations, etc.)
  • Search for your search words on sites ending in .org
    • example: modern architecture site:.org
    • example: modern architecture OR glass site:.org
    • See Web Sites tab in Architecture Examples and Resources box on this page for sample sites

OER, or Open Educational Resources are free, openly available educational resources,and you can read more about them in our OER Guide.

• They may be found in a variety of OER repositories and collections that you may have heard of, like OpenStax, OER Commons, MERLOT, and many others. Search multiple OER respositories using OASIS or use the more powerful and far-reaching Mason OER Metafinder (MOM), that also searches in OASIS. 
  • OER content can be in many document types and formats:
    • Books, images, pictures, graphics, activities, lesson plans, videos, MIT Courseware, and other open resources.
  • Not finding what you are searching for?
    • Try using fewer search words.
    • Try using different search words.
• Locate OER materials and get information about them
  • See which collection they reside in.
  • Star ratings may help you determine which items are are interest. 
  • Date noted indicates the date that the item was added to the collection, and does NOT indicate when the item was first created. 
  • At the top left side of the results, you can view "Topics," or click on "Visual" tab to look at items via a color wheel of information.
    • If you view by Topics, you can further refine results on the left side of the page by
      • Date range
      • Clusters, including Topics, Authors, Document type, Source, and Document format
  • Click on the hyperlinked title of the resource to get to the resource itself.
    • If you click on the "green" hyperlinked repository that the item is part of, you will go directly to the respository and NOT to the search item you wish to find. Going to the repository will allow you to search only that collection.
  • Mason's MOM site allows you to set up a free account, sign in, and keep searches, set up searches to be run periodically and sent to your email, share with others, print out, or print (save as) a PDF document.

Talk with your librarian for additional assistance with finding and reusing OER materials.

• Also search for your search terms in the Journals tab to find short videos.
• Other short videos may also be found using OneSearch.
• Look for specific videos in Alexander Street Press databases.

 Google Books 

Search Google Books for older digitized books in the public domain that were written around the time of or after the construction of a particular architecture movement or building. 

 Museum eBooks 

Museums may have free ebooks you can read online or download as PDFs. Some of my favorite sites include:

 Videos Online 

YouTube has many videos; be careful to evaluate who created the content. Museums, art organizations, educational institutions, and similar organizations most likely will have reliable content. Here are some good ones:

Site:.edu examples 

zaha hadid site:.edu

ancient architecture site:.edu

 Site:.org examples 

grecian architecture site:.org

peter zumthor site:.org

 Google Books 

Search Google Books for older digitized books in the public domain that were written around the time of or after the construction of a particular architecture movement or building. 

Check out other free eBook sites, as well as your local library (if you belong to one, you may have access to their ebooks and videos)

Open Educational Resource (OER) materials originate from many sources. You can search each source separately, and sometimes can search multiple sources at once. Many of the resources are licensed via Creative Commons, meaning that they may be revised, remixed, and redistributed for use. Here are some source examples:

• Digital Public Library of America
  • Many images, including posters and other artwork.
• Mason OER Metafinder 
  • Includes 21 sources for OER materials in a real-time simultaneous search (including all mentioned in these bullet points).
• MERLOT.org
• OER Commons
• Open Stax

Talk with your librarian for additional assistance with finding and reusing OER materials.