Finding Sections, Plans, and Elevations  

Sections, plans and elevations, are only a few of the drawings used to study buildings.  Architectural drawings are found in books and architecture journals; below, The Art Library has gathered hundreds of books, websites, databases, CD-ROMs, etc. rich in architectural drawings.  Here’s how to use The Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals and OBIS to find architectural drawings as well as some popular titles that specialize in this area. 

The Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals.

Los Angeles: Getty Information Institute and New York: Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University
1930 – present 
Search OBIS for the title avery index.

The Avery index is an architecture database with descriptions of journal articles (not the articles themselves); use OBIS to find print and e-journals listed in the Avery Index.  The Avery Index is one of the best ways to locate architectural drawings: it covers architecture worldwide, lists articles from the early 20^th c. to the present, and each record describes the types of illustrations included in the article (under the Details):

To find this article, locate the journal in OBIS.  The journal name is listed under Source; in this case it’s the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians.

To find architectural drawings select Illustration from any drop down menu on the search screen.   Then click the black "scroll button” & select the type of illustration.  Double clicking a word enters it into your search:

 BQP 1May09