State of the Art Survey of Reference Sources in the Fine Arts and Crafts Available to Purchase

Art reference publishing has not been quite as voluminous this year as last year, but there is some evidence of greater selectivity and organization in the tools produced during the period of this survey. The continued publication of the Repertoire International de la Litterature de l'Art (RILA Abstracts), now complete through the 1977 volume, is helping to fill some of the vast gaps which previously existed in current bibliographical coverage of modern art and contemporary art historical research on an international basis. Retrospective bibliographical coverage is slowly but surely being filled in by the subject, country, and period bibliographies on which many scholars and several publishers have been concentrating in the past few years. Some excellent examples of these may be found in three established series of continuing value: the “Art and Architecture Information Guide Series” from Gale Research Company, “Art and Architecture Bibliographies,” published by Hennessey & Ingalls, and selected titles from the “Garland Reference Library of the Humanities.” In addition, there are outstanding titles to be found in some bibliographical series with broader subject bases, such as the “Information Resources Series” from ABC‐Clio.