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Visual Arts: Books & Special Collections

Covers Fine Art; Foundation Diploma in Art and Design; Photography and Video Production

Finding books

Books are particularly useful for an introduction to or broad overview of a topic. The Library has both print books and E-Books and you will find both by searching Library Search.

Check the tabs below to find out about relevant shelfmarks for Visual Arts  and about the various collections of books available from DMU: 

In the library, books about the same subject are assigned the same shelfmark number which you will find on the spine of each book and listed on the catalogue. Here is a selection of shelfmarks for Visual Arts:

Animation: drawing 741.58

Art history 709

Art theory 701

Ceramics  738

Costume and fashion 391

Fashion illustration 741.672

Glass  748

Graphic design  741.6

Illustration  741.9

Photography  770

Photojournalism 070.49

Jewellery  739.27

Metalwork  739.1

Painting: fine art 750

Photography  770

Sculpture 730

Textile arts  746

Video Art  778.59

Please let us know if there is a particular book or DVD you need for your research or studies by completing this form 

DMU Special Collections comprises the Archives and Rare Books collections. We are based in Kimberlin 00.21, on the lower ground floor near the Journals. We are usually open Monday to Friday, 9 to 5. Contact us at archives@dmu.ac.uk with any queries or see our Guide here.

Special Collections holds various resources which may be of interest to Visual Arts students. The Art, Design and Architecture section of Rare Books includes many art journals and books. In the Library catalogue narrow a search by Library Location 'Kimberlin Special Collections' to view Rare Books holdings.

Pamphlets and Oversize Books

Pamphlets

  • Items too small to fit on the standard shelves
  • On the second floor at the end of the main book sequence
  • 'PAM' in front of the shelfmark on the library catalogue

Oversize Books

  • Items too large for the standard shelves
  • On the second floor after the pamphlets
  • 'L' in front of the shelfmark on the library catalogue

Check where you can find Fashion trends and predictions publications online and in the library from this guide.

Library Hub Discover (formerly Copac) brings together the catalogues of over 70 major UK and Irish libraries. In a single search you can discover  the holdings of the UK’s national libraries (including the British Library), many University libraries, and specialist research libraries.  Researchers use Library Hub Discover to save time in their research, to quickly and easily discover and locate resources, to check document details and review materials in their field. Below is a link to the Library Hub Discover search pages.