Hallmark Creative Reference Library



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Hallmark Creative Reference Library

By Katie Wheeler

Emporia State University

Audience Introduction

The Hallmark Reference Library provides information and reference for its creative professionals. Hallmark creative employees are responsible for creating content in Hallmark products. These employees are very skilled at their jobs and have a good background in what they do, in areas such as drawing, doing design or layout work, writing, or creating three dimensional products. They are usually looking for materials that supplement their current skill set or that provide them with information to help with a specific project. The library provides them with information that helps with these needs and that keeps them up to date on current marketplace and cultural design trends. The library provides drawing, design and writing reference materials on subjects such as anatomy, color mixing, types of type, layout, and computer design reference. The library provides information mainly in physical format since there is lots of free content in these areas online. Creative professionals use this content to stay current and relevant and to maintain the high standards of quality and good design that Hallmark is known for.

Bibliographic Reference

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Amazon

Bibliographic reference



Authority: Amazon is the leader in online book sellers. Their information is remarkably accurate. They do a terrific job of managing a huge volume of information.

Scope: If a desired book is available for sale, Amazon can usually find it. Products can be searched by type or topic, and results displayed in list format. When viewing a topic related books are shown as well as customer reviews. Wishlists can be created and Amazon can keep track of your viewing history if you want to refer to it later.

1.8 million free e-books alone are available. The scope of this site is enormous.

Relation to Similar Works: There are other online stores, book sellers and booklists. Amazon eclipses them. Amazon combines the best characteristics of a purely informational bibliography such as Worldcat (except library availability) with the ability to preview many books and immediately know the price for both new and used copies.

Format: Online. Easily searchable. Lots of information for each entry arranged in an easy to navigate format.

Treatment: A great resource for all ages and interests.

Arrangement: In just the section on books, products are arranged by category, list, and in a visual thumbnail list format. It is easy to wander around the site finding inspiration.

Cost: Free

Potential Use and Overall Evaluation: This is a site that is probably going to be in high use anyway. The Hallmark library gets a discount and free shipping, so it is a natural place to order books from. Creative Employees can find books they would like to put on a library acquisitions wishlist and be able to see the book’s availability. Using this resource can help facilitate a collaborative book collection development process.

Biographical Resource

The Golden Age of Children’s Book Illustration

By Richard Dalby

Biographical Resource

Dalby, R. (1991). The golden age of children's book illustrations. Edison, N.J: Chartwell.

ISBN: 0785814272 9780785814276

OCLC Number: 429390720

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Authority: Richard Dalby is a well established editor of anthologies and story collections.

Scope: This book contains biographies of more than 50 children’s book artists from the 1860’s to 1930’s, as well as illustrations from their books. PBS summarizes the years as “ushered in by Alice and ending with A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh books (1924-1928).” (These years tend to expand and contract, depending on who is doing the categorizing.) This age produced some of our most well know and well loved children’s stories and illustrations. Over 150 illustrations, both color and black and white.

Relation to similar works: While there are many books on specific children’s book illustrators, this is one of the few that covers this specific era. One of the other most authoritative biographical sources for children’s illustration is Illustrators of children’s books, 1744-1945, along with it’s supplements covering 1946-1956 and 1956-1966. The first edition has biographies of living artists at the time of publication. The supplements contain biographies of artists active during the years covered. While informative and complete, this book is quite dry and not very visually stimulating. The Golden Age of Children’s Illustration is somewhat limited in scope, but more visually satisfying.

Format: Hardcover, 2.1 pounds, 28cm., 144 pgs. 50 color plates.

Arrangement: Biographies organized alphabetically, with illustrations.

Special Features: There is a bibliography with each biography to direct the reader to other books by the same artist for inspiration.

Cost: $80.00

Potential Use and Overall Evaluation: This looks like a great book to use when looking for visual inspiration from a past, but classic, era in children’s illustration. It is meant to be eye candy with directions to further eye candy. It would likely sit in the Illustration carrel in the library.

Dictionary Resource

Visual



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Authority: Visual Thesarus is a affiliated with and , the self proclaimed, “largest and most trusted free online dictionary and mobile reference source.”

Scope: 145,00 words and 115,000 meanings.

Relation to similar works: This is a great visual tool to use with thesaurus and . There are quite a number of online dictionaries and thesaurus’s online. Merriam-Webster, Roget’s, and Wordsmyth are some of the other major online sources. MSN apparently had a thesaurus page, but has abandoned it’s online pages. The visual thesaurus does require a subscription, but is unique in it’s visual format.

and are sister companies that are terrific free options to use as well. They are easy to navigate and have all sorts of information. The danger here is in getting sidetracked by all the great things you are learning. For example, the word of the day today is zugzwang. In addition to a word of the day there is a quote of the day, there are quotes, quizzes to test your knowledge, lists of the most frequently confused words, frequently misspelled words, popular searches, a daily crossword, lesson plans, word games, flashcards, a translator and a Spanish- English dictionary. There is a microphone next to each word that you can click on if you want to hear the word outloud. There is also an app so you can take mobile.

Format: Visual thesaurus will bring up your search terms in a visual map. Your main search term will be in the middle with terms linked by light blue dotted lines. Antonyms are shown with red dotted lines connecting to the main word. Clusters of words with similar meanings are linked together. A small dot anchors the word to its line, hovering over the dot will give you the word’s meaning and the color of the dot indicates its part of speech. These words can be moved and rearranged by click and dragging them around.

The words that appear as links to the main word are also shown in a side bar under their part of speech. Each part of speech can be turned off it it’s not what you are looking for. Clicking on a word option makes it the main word. This is a terrific format for those who think visually.

The main web site features a word of the day, featured word lists (this week featured Harry Potter and the Atlantis launch.), blog highlights, and links to nine or ten columns written for a variety of interests. There are columns written for ad and marketing creatives, teachers, word lovers, students and writers. There is a crossword and a spelling bee. There are directions to email a word map to a friend. There is also a new phone app.

Treatment: This site gives lots of good information that is accurate and objective. The style, however, is unique. The visual map format is terrific for brainstorming and visual thinking.

Arrangement: The site can be searched by keyword or browsed alphabetically. Once you have a word pulled up you can browse through links from one word to another.

Special Feaures: There is a new app for your smart phone.

Cost: Individual Subscriptions: 2.95 a month, or 19.95 a year for an individual. You can look up a certain number of terms for free before the service becomes unavailable and there is a 14 day free trial available as well.

Group Subscriptions: 29.95 for two users and 10.00 for each additional user.

Institutional Subscription: Over 100 people. Contact for a quote.

Potential Use and Overall Evaluation: This product has great potential for use by creative writers and visual artists. The visual format is fun and user friendly and is a great boost in creative thinking. Words bouncing around on the screen can get ideas bouncing around in real life.

This would be a terrific tool to try out with a group of writers and artists. I would buy this on a trial basis and see how much use we got out of it on a small basis before committing to an institutional license. It might be the greatest thing out there, or free sources may fill the same need.

Encyclopedia

Oxford Art Online

Encyclopedia Resource

Oxford Art Online. (2007-2011). Oxford University Press. Retrieved from

and

 Authority:  This Database is published by Oxford University Press, a well respected leader in reference resources.

 Scope:  Oxford Art Online includes full text of The Encyclopedia of Aethetics, full text of The Oxford Companion to Western Art, and full text of The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms.

Another resource which is included, and which is one of the Main components of Oxford Art Online is Grove Art Online which includes “more than 45,000 signed articles on painting, sculpture, architecture, decorative arts, textiles, jewelry, design, photography, and other art and art history topics; more than 5,500 art images, maps, and line drawings from major collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the British Museum; more than 40,000 image links to images on museum and gallery websites; regular updates on contemporary art subjects; educational resources include world art timelines, learning resources created by the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and thematic guides; links to ARTstor, Art Resource, and the Bridgeman Art Library.” (Oxford Art Online public homepage)

Relation to Similar Works: There are many online art libraries and resources. This is one of the most complete and inclusive.  It includes informational text articles and a large dictionary of art terms, but can also be searched by image.

Format:  Oxford Art Online can be searched in a variety of ways: by keyword; by biography; by subject entry; and by images.  These can be filtered by source or database.  Advanced searches under main search, image search, biography search and bibliography search can be filtered by contributors, bibliographies, entry title and full text article.

There is a section on tools and resources that provides links to a dictionary of abbreviations, timelines of world art divided geographically, MoMA/Grove Art Learning Resource learning units, and thematic guides.

There is also a section highlighting recent updates.

Treatment: This database is obviously for adults and those wanting specific art information.

Arrangement: Federated search with alphabetic search and browsing.

Special Features:  Grove Art Online is easy to navigate with lots of images, bibliographies and external links.  Some of the most interesting features are imbedded deep in the site. I was unable to find the promised links to ARTstor, Art Resource and the Bridgeman Art Library.

Cost:  $295 for the year for an individual subscription.  No information on institutional subscriptions.  Many public or academic libraries subscribe to this database.

Potential Use and Overall Evaluation:  This database is a good place to look for specific information on all things artistic.  It will be an excellent resource for artists to go for information and inspiration.  Not knowing the institutional cost, I’m not sure if it’s a good buy or not for the number of people that will be using it.  Will the use justify the cost, or will artists be able to find what they need online or in books in the library? I might do a survey to see if there is demand for this resource.  If there is, a short term or one year subscription to determine the value for the library might be in order.

Geographical Reference

National Geographic Atlas Of World History

By Noel Grove

Geographical Resource

Grove, N., & National Geographic Society (U.S.). (1997). National Geographic atlas of world history. Washington, D.C: National Geographic Society.

ISBN-10: 0792270487

ISBN-13: 978-0792270485

OCLC Number: 37616590

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Authority: The National Geographic Society is a long lived, trusted organization. Their reputation precedes them.

Scope: This book covers world history from prehistoric times through the end of the twentieth century.

Relation to Similar Works: This is not as much of a true atlas as several others. The Atlas of World History, Oxford University Press, the DK Atlas of World History, John Haywood’s Atlas of World History, and the Hammond Atlas of World History are all very nicely done. Many of them have more in depth articles and many more maps, making them more truly historical atlases. I would love to have them all for a general library. They are gorgeous, printed on great thick paper and full of facts and information. They are nice, large coffee table type books that have a weight to them and feel nice to hold.

This particular atlas came in for a little bit of criticism, by people saying it was more an illustrated history of the world than an historical atlas. This criticism has some merit. Since this book came out in 1997, National Geographic has produced both Almanac of World History (2003) ($40.00, on sale for $26.40 at Amazon), and The Concise History of the World (2006) (selling for the same price) (an amazing over 400 page book that I would also like to get for my library.) It seems that these books are perhaps National Geographic’s world history updates to the book I have chosen. They are also full of maps and visual goodness, but aren’t designated as atlases.

That being said, I loved the layout of this book, which, for whatever reason, National Geographic has not continued in the later books. I was looking for eye-candy for artistic illustrators, and this book delivers in spades. The timeline across the top of each page ties events together and gives you an idea of what was happening in other places at the same time, while the main part of the page discusses a particularly important event or concept in world history during that time. This is an inspiration book, or a book for someone wanting to skim through the main events of history. It is not an in depth scholarly treatise. There are plenty of maps to keep this book grounded as a historical atlas, but it delivers the visual stimulation I wanted in a book for a library providing reference material and brainstorming ideas for creative professionals. The book is a bit dated, but the historical data doesn’t change much.

Format: Hardback, 400 pgs, 3.7 pounds, 29 cm. Timeline format across the top of each page, a main event or events or concepts discussed in longer articles below.

Treatment: Written for a general audience. Could be enjoyed by all ages.

Arrangement: Separated into 6 sections by time. Lots of illustrations and maps. Index at the end.

Cost: Currently on sale for $6.48 on Amazon.

Potential Use and Overall Evaluation: This is a book to use for visual brainstorming and getting a quick check on some visual historical reference points.

Government Documents

Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2011

Government Sources

United States., & United States. (2010). Statistical abstract of the United States, 2011. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.

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Authority:  Published by the US Census Bureau annually since 1878, this is the most authoritative source available.

Scope:  This is a summary of statistical data concerning the United States.  “It is designed to serve as a convenient volume for statistical reference and as a guide to other statistical publications and resources.”  Sources for more detailed information on specific topics are identified in this volume.

Relation to Similar Works:  This book is the forrunner in statistical summary regarding the United States. 

Format:  Hardcover, 1028 pgs, 2.6 pounds, 24 cm,  mainly tables, some illustrations, maps.

Treatment:  Entirely Objective.  Statistics provided for interpretation.

Arrangement: Arranged by topic for easy searching.

Cost:  $27.99

Potential Use:  This product has potential use in marketing and product development.  Knowing regional statistics is vital in making commercial and creative business decisions.

Index Resource

Complete Color Index

By Jim Krause

Krause, Jim. (2009). Complete Color Index. How Design Books.

ISBN-10: 1600613330

ISBN-13: 978-1600613333

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Authority: Jim Krause has been working as a designer for almost 30 years. He has worked for clients such as Microsoft and McDonalds. He has a breadth of design experience that make him knowledgeable in this area.

Scope: This is actually a two book set that includes the books Color Index and Color Index 2. The books are a great resource for design professionals. They include color palettes based on color theory, mood and dominant color. Color charts list colors both CMYK and RGB formulas. Colored tabs along the page edge make these books quick and easy to search. 2600 color combinations. “Each palette includes a swatch, an example of the colors used in a design, and accurate CMYK and RGB formulas.” (Amazon)

Relation to Similar Works: There are a few other color conversion and color palette books out there.

2000 Color Combinations by Garth Lewis is a great resource for learning color theory (lots and lots of basic color theory). But it has conversion numbers for its colors and has some nice charts for creating the illusion of transparency when colors overlap.

Color Inspirations by Darius Monsef IV is nice too and contains 3,000 color palettes created by users at . It has a nice section that converts CMYK and RGB formulas to HEX numbers for use in HTML.

Color Harmony Compendium: A Complete Color Reference for Designers of All Types, 25th Anniversary Edition had some nice information, but was annoying in some ways. They assigned each color in the book a number, starting with 1 and working their way up. That color kept the number through the book. At the end of the book there was a chart so that you could convert that color to CMYK or RGB. It seemed like a lot of extra work.

The book that absolutely should be bought as a companion to The Complete Color Index is Color – Messages & Meanings: A PANTONE Color Resource. (2006) ($39.99 list price, on sale for $26.39 at Amazon.) This has the conversion charts in the back that will allow you to convert all the CMYK colors to PANTONE colors. (Unfortunately the charts at the end of this book do not include conversions to RGB or HEX colors, which is why both books would be needed to work well together.)

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It would also help to buy the Pantone Reference Library of color swatches ($849) (buying a smaller palette selection is cheaper) to get all the PANTONE swatches so you can see them in person. Luckily this includes a free download of PANTONE COLOR MANAGER software so that you can use your PANTONE colors in ADOBE creative suite products. (PANTONE also has free or nominal apps to help with color conversion if you have bought one of their products.) PANTONE is highly proprietary and has gone out of its way to make sure that there are no conversion charts for its colors available for free on the web. However, since they are generally the industry standard, having their swatch library for color accuracy is nearly essential in a professional design environment.

Interestingly there are only a few places that have color conversion charts for free on the web. Once you have found them they need to be prominently bookmarked. Using the books seems as easy as typing all the numbers needed into a conversion chart.

Format: Paperback. Two books together in a case. Each book is approximately 6” by 4.5” and approximately 360 pages. 2.8 pounds total. Easy to flip through.

Treatment: Accuracy in color charts is essential in design work. The color numbers ensure that everyone working on a project knows exactly what a color should look like. Good color communication eliminates confusion. PANTONE has long been the industry standard for color matching. Combining these books with the PANTONE materials will be a terrific resource.

Arrangement: Color Index is organized by mood desired and Color Index 2 is organized by color families. The color bars along the side make it easy to search.

Special Features: Color swatches can be downloaded for use in Adobe creative products for free from the HOW books website.

Cost: $45.00. $29.70 on sale.

Potential Use and Overall Evaluation: These books have the potential to be in constant use. May need to purchase more than one.

References:

“Editorial Reviews: Product Description.” (n.d., para. 2) In listing for Complete color index. Retrieved from

Eiseman, L. (2006). Color: Messages and meanings : a Pantone color resource. Gloucester, Mass: Hand Books Press.

Lewis, G. (2009). 2000 Color Combinations: For graphic, textile, and craft designers. New York: Barrons Educational Series, Inc.

Marks, T., Sutton, T., MINE (Firm : San Francisco, Calif.), & Origin Design (Houston, Tex.). (2009). Color harmony compendium: A complete color reference for designers of all types. Beverly, Mass: Rockport Pub.

Monsef, D. A. (2011). Color Inspirations. Cincinnati, Ohio: HOW Books.

Pantone Graphics. Reference Library. Retrieved from

Ready Reference

Adobe Type Library Reference Book (3rd Edition)

Ready Reference

Adobe Systems. (2008). Adobe font folio 11: Type reference guide. Berkeley, Calif: Adobe Press.

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Authority: Adobe is the design standard, and their products are reliable.

Scope: More than 2,300 type faces organized alphabetically by type family and style. This is the place to go when you don’t want to scroll through all the type faces on your computer. It is easy to narrow down what you would like to use by family. Current type innovations are discussed and there are directions for finding and buying fonts if you don’t own the one you want to use.

Different languages around the world are supported as well as character and glyph sets.

There is a terrific bibliography as well as a keyboard shortcut guide to foreign language characters or glyphs.

Relation to Similar Works: There are some terrific typography books out there. There are many that give the history of type and guides to learning about type and how to use it. This was one of the few I found that was essentially a visual reference guide to types of type. These are difficult to find. It seems to be assumed that designers will scroll through their computer type libraries to find what they need. The problem is that this is sometimes overwhelming and a book that provides quick visual type reference can save time.

This book was last updated in 2007. It’s last previous edition was in 2003, so hopefully there is a new one coming out soon, since the collaborative nature of the web has sped up the evolution of print types exponentially.

Format: A quick dictionary type visual guide to type.

Treatment: Terrific reference for visual and graphic designers.

Arrangement: Alphabetical by type name and by style. A foreign language character guide and bibliography at the end.

Special Features: Web addresses for type downloads and purchase.

Cost: $45.00 on sale for under $30.00

Potential Use and Overall Evaluation: This book is perfect for the audience. A quick reference guide to type can come in extremely handy when you are having a hard time keeping your top choices of type for a project in your head as you scroll through the ones you own.

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