Interior Design - LPC Library Research Guide

Reference Sources
Books and DVDs: Selected Book Titles, Selected DVD Titles
Periodicals and Databases
Internet Resources
Citation of Sources

Please ask a reference librarian for assistance at any time. We will be glad to help!

Reference Sources

Use reference sources for background information, broad overviews and summaries. The reference collection includes general and subject dictionaries and encyclopedias, biographies, directories, almanacs, atlases, etc. Many also contain bibliographies for further research. Reference books cannot be checked out from the library but may be photocopied. Selected subject specific resources include:

Dictionary of Furniture, NK2205.D5 2001

Elements of Style: A Practical Encyclopedia of Interior Architectural Details, from 1485 to the Present, NA2850.E44 1991

Encyclopedia of Interior Design, NK1165.E48 1997 V. 1 - 2

Furniture in History, 3000 B.C.-2000 A.D., NK2270.P56 2003

Interior Design Handbook of Professional Practice, NK2116.I58 2002

Books and DVDs

Use the library catalog to find materials in the library. This will show you all the books and audiovisual materials both LPC Library and Chabot library own. You can search for a book or video by the author, title, subject, or keyword. A subject search allows you to find books about a topic or a person. In power search you may also LIMIT your search in many ways, for instance by type, "DVD" or type, "video" to find only DVDs or videos.

Examples of Subject Heading Searches:

Bedrooms
Children's Rooms
Color in Interior Decoration
Decoration and Ornament
Do-It-Yourself Work and Amateur's Manuals
Draperies in Interior Decoration
Feng Shui
Furniture
Furniture--History
House Furnishings
House Plants in Interior Decoration
Interior Architecture
Interior Decoration
Interior Decoration Handbooks, Manuals
Interior Decoration--Practice
Interior Decoration-Vocational Guidance (Used for Careers)
Kitchens
Lighting
Space (Architecture) (Used for the keywords Space Planning)
Textile Fabrics
Textile Fabrics in Interior Decoration
Wallpaper
Window Shades

Selected Book Titles

American Farmhouses: Country Style and Design, NK2002.R67 2002

Architectural Lighting Design, TH7703.S78 2002

Architecture and Interior Design through the 18th Century: An Integrated History, NK1710.H37 2002

Art Deco House Style: An Architectural and Interior Design Source Book, NA682.A78.C73 2001

Art Nouveau. NK775.5.A7.M547 2004

Art Nouveau: 1890-1914. NK775.5.A7.A785 2000

Bar and Restaurant: Interior Structures, NK2195.R4.F37 2003

Codes Guidebook for Interiors, KF5701.H37 2001

Construction Drawings and Details for Interiors: Basic Skills, TH2031.K54 2003

Contemporary Interiors for the Under 5’s, NK2117.C4.J66 2005

Corporate Interiors No. 5, NA6230.C677 2003

Domus: Wall Painting in the Roman House, ND2575.M39 2004

Early Georgian Interiors, NK2043 .A1.C67 2004

Fabrics: A Guide for Interior Designers and Architects, TS1767.Y38 2002

50 Favorite Rooms by Frank Lloyd Wright, NA737.W7.M28 1998

History of Interior Design and Furniture: From Ancient Egypt to Nineteenth-Century Europe, NK1710.B57 1997

Hotel: Interior Structures, NA7800.C87 2003

India: Decoration, Interiors, Design. NK2076.A1.W55 2001

Ingo Maurer, NK2115.5.W43 2003

Interior Construction & Detailing for Designers and Architects, TH2025.B35 2002

Interior Design Business Book: A Complete Guide to Profitability, NK2002.K57 2005

Interior Design Illustrated, NA2850.C45 2005

Interior Lighting for Designers, TH7975.G67 2003

Interiores Mexicanos, NK2014.I684 2000

Light Your Home, NK2115.5.L5.W55 2005

Lighting by Design, NK2115.5.L5 C88 2003

Lighting Design Basics, TH7703.K27 2004

Lighting Design Sourcebook: 600 Solutions for Residential and Commercial Spaces, NK2115.5.L5.W375 2002

Lighting: Simple Solutions for the Home, NK2115.5.L5.S76 2000

Living with Textiles, NK2115.5.F3.L68 2001

Residential Lighting: A Practical Guide, TH7975.D8.W49 2004

Romanesque. N6280.T66 2002

Soft Surfaces: Visual Research for Artists, Architects, and Designers, NK8806.J87 2000

Space Planning Basics, NA2765.K37 2004

Space Planning for Commercial and Residential Interiors, NA2765.K82 2003

Textile Style: The Art of Using Antique and Exotic Fabrics to Decorate Your Home, NK2115.5.F3.C57 2000

Time-Saver Standards for Interior Design and Space Planning, NK2110.T48 2001

Twentieth-Century Pattern Design: Textile & Wallpaper Pioneers, NK8805.J33 2002

Windows: Simple Solutions for the Home, TT390.L694 2000

Selected DVD Titles

Color in Everyday Life, DVD NK2115.5.C6 C64 2006

Dessau's Bauhaus, DVD N332.G33.D47 2004

Frank Lloyd Wright, DVD NA712.F7.F73 2001

Greene & Greene: The Art of Architecture, DVD NA737.G73.M33 2003

Lighting: Designing New Ways to See, DVD NK2115.5.L5.L55 2004

New Fabrics, Then Fibers: The Fundamentals of Fibers, DVD TS1540.N49 2003

Using Color: Creating Color Harmony, DVD ND1488.U79 2006

Periodicals and Databases

Periodicals provide in-depth analyses of events and trends, research studies on particular subjects, and professional literature. When conducting research in both the social and physical sciences it is important to know the difference between “popular” periodical literature and more scholarly publications. A good guide to recognizing the differences between popular magazines and scholarly journals can be found at the LPC Library Students web page - Scholarly Journals or Popular Magazines: What are the Differences? LPC Library Short Guide <http://www.laspositascollege.edu/ library/magazines_journals.php>.

Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) – provides full text for nearly 4,500 journals, including full text for more than 3,600 peer-reviewed titles. PDF back files to 1975 or further are available for well over one hundred journals. Under Search Options you can also limit your search in order to retrieve materials from peer-reviewed journals or full-text articles. If you are looking for something from a specific publication you can limit your search by entering the name of the magazine or journal.

Sample Search Terms

Please remember, if you are off-campus, you may need to type in your USER ID and PASSWORD before these links will work.

Bathrooms
Bedrooms
Children’s Rooms
Color in Interior Decoration
Decoration & Ornament
Draperies
Floor Coverings
Furniture
House Furnishings
Interior Decoration
Kitchens
Lighting

Articles listed will include the title and author of the article, the name of the magazine in which the article appears, the pages and the date of the issue. It will also state whether Las Positas Library owns the magazine and whether the full text article is available.

Internet Resources

You may want to explore some Internet resources to supplement or enhance your research. Always be cautious of information you find on the Web since the quality of sources varies tremendously on the Internet. It is always a good idea to check the information against another source. As with all information resources, whether in print or on the Internet, you evaluate its quality based on the following criteria:

Accuracy (Is it free from mistakes and errors?)
Authority (What are the qualifications of the author?)
Objectivity (Is there any strong bias?)
Currency (Is the information up-to-date?)
Coverage (To what extent is the topic explored?)

Examples of Relevant Web Sites

American Society of Interior Designers <http://www.interiors.org/>. Based in Washington, D.C., this organization serves as an advocate for interior design professionals and students. The site lists industry and product news as well as information on “green design,” accessible design, and relevant codes and standards.

California Legislative Coalition for Interior Design <http://www.clcid.org/>. State legislative site promotes laws which help interior designers and provides sources for continuing education programs for members of the interior design industry.

Interiors and Sources Magazine <http://www.isdesignet.com/>. Focusing mainly on commercial interior designers, this site does contain links to products, and to professional associations of interest to interior design professionals.

International Interior Design Association <http://www.iida.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1>. An advocacy organization that promotes education and research in interior design, the Knowledge Center link points to research topics and industry news.

National Kitchen and Bath Association <http://www.nkba.org/>. Educational and industry links abound on this site. A gallery of design competition winners for kitchens, bathrooms, and other rooms is posted along with floor plans and design statements.

Occupational Outlook Entry on Interior Designers <http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos293.htm>. This U. S. Department of Labor site discusses the nature of interior design work, job outlook, potential earnings, and educational requirements for interior designers.

Librarians' Internet Index <http://www.lii.org/>

Suggestion: Do a keyword search for "interior design" as in the example given here.
Or choose another descriptive keyword. Once you find a good site, click on the magnifying glass icon and try searching one of the Library of Congress Subject Headings listed.

Citation of Sources

You must cite the sources that you use. All direct quotes must be cited; all ideas or facts taken from some other writer, even though in your own words, must be cited. It is PLAGIARISM if you copy another's words without quoting or if you paraphrase another's ideas or words without giving credit to the author.

Keep printouts of your sources, or write out all pertinent information on author, title, publisher, date, or Internet address to identify where you got the information. Follow the format recommended by your instructor or ask a librarian to show you a "style manual." There are links to various citation formats on the Citation Style Guides page <http://www.laspositascollege.edu/library/cited.php>, for example, as well as the online resource, NoodleBib, a bibliography composer.

Updated by Alison Finch, Adjunct Librarian

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