Question: What value lies in a reference work? Why should you bother to consult these books?
Answer: Reference books help create a framework around your topic. They can help guide you in asking the right questions. Reference books can help researchers become more efficient database searchers - in formulating which keywords (or search terms) to use. Scholarly reference books also contain bibliographies (!!) - a listing of some of the most respected secondary and most useful primary sources on a topic. In a nutshell.... reference books are a great way to begin your research.
Here are some awesome books to get you started on your research topic Please note: E-Books are restricted to current TRU students, staff and faculty
Use the following terms in a subject search to find related items in the library catalogue.
Subject headings to explore:
• Painting, Canadian--History.
• Art, Canadian.
• Art, Modern--20th century--Canada.
• Painters--British Columbia--Biography.
• Painting, Modern--Canada--Exhibitions.
• Group of Seven (Group of artists)--Exhibitions.
The Visual Arts in Canada by 
Canadian Art by 
Index to nineteenth-century Canadian catalogues of art by 
Oh, Canada by 
Painting in Canada by 
A concise history of Canadian painting by 
Canadian Art in the Twentieth Century by 
A national soul : Canadian mural painting, 1860s-1930s by Article databases contain information about articles, and often include the full-text of the articles as well.
While searching our discovery service will find articles for you, databases allow you do more controlled and precise searching.
Provides access to current and retrospective citations and cited references found in nearly 1,130 of the world's leading arts & humanities journals. Arts & Humanities Citation Index covers individually selected, relevant items from approximately 7,000 of the world's leading science and social sciences journals. Weekly updates.
JSTOR represents over 600 journals in the arts, humanities and social sciences. NOTE: Does not provide access to current issues of periodicals. JSTOR provides archival access to journals and access to journals varies from publisher to publisher. In most cases two to five years plus the current calendar year are excluded.
Scholarly collection, spans nearly every area of academic study. Updated daily.
Some really great resources to consult are: