Research Librarian
Find Film & Video
Find DVD, Blu-ray, and VHS formats on A Level of Frost Library, behind the IT help desk. There are also viewing stations in this area, if you want to watch at the library. Access streaming video through these library databases or online resources:
- Kanopy Streaming Video This link opens in a new windowBroad selection of thousands of streaming films, documentaries, and theatrical releases covering a wide variety of subject areas, with regular new releases and transcripts.
- Naxos Video Library This link opens in a new windowA performing arts video library that includes operas, ballets, documentaries, live concerts, and musical tours of historic places.
- FolkstreamsFinds, preserves, contextualizes, and showcases documentary films on American traditional cultures.
- NFB.ca Indigenous Cinema This link opens in a new windowNational Film Board of Canada's Indigenous Cinema collection is a streamable online library of over 200 films by indigenous directors.
Tip: Searching for Film & Video in the Five College Libraries
Use the Books & Media tab on the Amherst Library Quick Search box to search for materials by keyword, title, author, or subject, making sure to include the format as a search term. Check Call Numbers and Availability to see where something's located and if it's currently checked out.
Find Music & Audio
Find CDs in the Vincent Morgan Music Library, located on the second floor of the Music Building. Most other recording formats, including phonograph records (LPs) and cassettes, are housed at the AC Depository, available by request through the library catalog (click "Request Item"). The Morgan Music Library also has listening stations for records, cassettes, and CDs. Access streaming audio through these library databases or online resources:
- Smithsonian Global Sound This link opens in a new windowIn partnership with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, a virtual encyclopedia of the world's musical and aural traditions.
- American Music This link opens in a new windowNearly 7,000 albums of music from America's past, including civil rights, political campaigns, Prohibition, wars, and more.
- Database of Recorded American Music (DRAM) This link opens in a new windowScholarly resource of recordings including New World, Composers Recordings (CRI), Albany Records, Mode, Frog Peak and BMOP.
- Naxos Music Library This link opens in a new windowExtensive collection of streaming classical music, including jazz, world music, spoken word, and more.
- Naxos Music Library Jazz This link opens in a new windowOne of the most comprehensive collections of jazz music available online.
- Frontera Collection of Mexican American MusicApproximately 40,000 recordings of music from the border regions of Mexico and the United States documenting many types of popular lyric songs, including the first recordings of corridos (narrative ballads on topics of the day), canciones, boleros, rancheras, and sones, including the first recordings of norteno and conjunto music.
- National JukeboxHistorical recordings of American music in all genres from the Library of Congress.
Tip: Searching for music & audio in the Five College Libraries
Use the Books & Media tab on the Amherst Library Quick Search box to search for music and other audio materials by keyword, title, author, or subject, making sure to include "sound recording" as one of your search terms. Your results will include digital as well as physical audio. Check Call Numbers and Availability to see where something is located and whether it's currently checked out.
Find Images
Find images in books by searching the Five College Library catalog (see Tip below). The library also subscribes to a variety of image databases and is the home of Amherst College Digital Collections (ACDC), a repository of images, texts, videos, and more from the Amherst College Archives & Special Collections and Art & Architecture Collection.
Access digital images through these library databases or online resources:
- Amherst College Digital Collections This link opens in a new windowOpen access repository for digitized archival collections from Amherst College Archives & Special Collections. Digitized images include photographs, manuscripts, books, and more.
- ARTstor (now on JSTOR) This link opens in a new windowThe ARTStor Collections on JSTOR include images of architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, and design as well as many other forms of visual culture.
Tip: Searching for images in the Five College Libraries
Library records for books with illustrations contain the word "illustrations". Target illustrated works in a search of the Library catalog by including illustrations, “pictorial works”, plates, or “color plates” along with your other search term(s). For example, looking for images of birds? Search for birds AND illustrations.
Tip: Searching for "hidden" images in article databases
Many indexes and multidisciplinary databases will allow you to limit your search search to articles containing images, photographs, or illustrations. Look for options to select such as "search within captions" or "search by illustration type". You can also find images in these resources by using keywords such as "illustration" in your search.
For more about finding and using images, visit the Image Research Guide.