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Connecting from Off-Campus: VPN & Proxy Tutorials
The Library's online subscription resources can always be accessed from computers and wireless networks on campus. However, off-campus access is restricted to current UCLA, students, faculty, and staff who have set up their computer using one of the methods below. Click on the other tabs to see how four Bruins got their computers set up and ready to go for remote access!
If you still need help, you can contact the UCLA IT Support Center at (310) 267-4357 or help@it.ucla.edu. They provide 24/7 phone support.
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Virtual Private Networking (VPN)A program you can download and install, or use the built-in version on many computers or mobile devices. VPN software must be logged on manually before you access a restricted site, but works for all programs on your computer. It stays connected until you log off.
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UCLA OnLine Proxy ServerA simple browser setting which will automatically divert you to a UCLA logon page when you first access a restricted site.
VPN on Mac with Natalie
"I chose VPN for my mac because I need to be able to access the full text of articles on different browsers." - Natalie, Environmental ScienceDownload a UCLA VPN
VPN on Windows with Michael
"I chose VPN because I like the security it provides and the control it gives me as a user to manually enable or disable it when I'm browsing online." - Michael, Public AffairsDownload a UCLA VPN
VPN on Chromebook with Nadia
"I chose VPN because it is really simple to use!" - Nadia, Public AffairsDownload a UCLA VPN
Proxy on Mac with Kate
"I chose Proxy because I prefer logging in through a web browser without having to download any software on my computer." - Kate, Ethnic StudiesProxy Server
Major Online Sources
These online sources are good places to start researching most architecture and urban design topics. Consult the sources listed under the categories listed on the left of the page for additional suggestions.
- Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals This link opens in a new window
- A&AePortal (Electronic Art and Architecture) This link opens in a new window
- Oxford Bibliographies Online: Architecture Planning and Preservation This link opens in a new window
Spotted in the News
- Books of the DecadeBarbara Opar's list of the most influential architecture books of 2010-2020. (ACSA News; AASL Column, January 2020)
- 125 Best Architecture Books for Architects and StudentsArchDaily’s editors’ picks. (Sept. 2018)
Library Catalogs
There are a number of library catalogs available to UCLA researchers.
- UCLA Library Catalog (excluding articles) This link opens in a new windowThe UCLA Library Catalog scope searches holdings of the UCLA Library but does NOT include journal articles.
- UC Library Search This link opens in a new window
Looking for E-Books?
- A&AePortal (Electronic Art and Architecture) This link opens in a new windowThe Yale Art & Architecture ePortal is an authoritative e-book resource that features important works of scholarship in the history of art, architecture, decorative arts, photography, and design.
- Architecture Library -- Bloomsbury This link opens in a new windowThe Bloomsbury Architecture Library is a leading digital resource for the study of architecture, urbanism, and interior design. Includes access to the 21st edition of Sir Banister Fletcher's global history of architecture.
- Design Library - Bloomsbury This link opens in a new windowThe Bloomsbury Design Library gives comprehensive global coverage of the history, theory and practice of crafts and design, from prehistoric times to the present day. Architects are included in the Designer Biographies.
- E-books at UCLAA research guide to help you find the 1000s of e-books available in the UCLA Library.
- Getty Publications Virtual LibraryMore than 300 Getty Publications books available to read and download for free
- HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new window
A repository of scanned books contributed from academic institutions across the United States, including UCLA. Books still in copyright are scanned and searchable, but the full text scans will not become available online until their copyright expires.
- Internet Archive: eBooks and TextsScanned public domain books from numerous research libraries, including some from the UC system.
- MIT Press Direct eBooks, 1943-2021 This link opens in a new windowThousands of e-books from MIT Press, including works in arts, architecture, humanities, social sciences, and sciences disciplines.
- Routledge Handbooks Online This link opens in a new windowHandbooks covering a wide range of humanities, social sciences, psychology and some science topics, published by Routledge, Ashgate, CRC Press, and others.
- O'Reilly for Higher Education This link opens in a new windowOver 24,000 technology, digital media, and business books. Individual chapters can be printed, but not downloaded as a PDF. Provides a search engine to search across all books. Extra authentication required by selecting institution name.
- SpringerLink This link opens in a new windowContent is in 13 subject areas, including Architecture & Design, Professional Computing & Web Design, and much more.
- Wiley Online Library This link opens in a new windowFifteen databases, plus individual journals and e-books. Includes 2011-present IEEE-Wiley books.
Looking for E-Journals?
- DETAIL Inspiration This link opens in a new windowProject documentation (detailed architectural drawings, sketches, and photographs) from more than 55 years of DETAIL: Zeitschrift für Architektur & Baudetail & Einrichtung and other DETAIL publications including Structure and DETAIL Green. Updated regularly with all of the projects published in current DETAIL issues.
- Art and Architecture Archive This link opens in a new windowIncludes an array of titles, such as Architectural Review, British Journal of Photography, Graphis, Print, and many others, with searchable text and article level indexing.
- Architectural Digest Magazine Archive This link opens in a new windowIncludes Architectural Digest issues from 1922-2011 as well as AD100, the magazine's list of top 100 architects and interior designers worldwide.
- BrowZine Library This link opens in a new windowBrowse selected scholarly journals on your computer, tablet, iPhone or Android smartphone. Available titles are arranged by subject. Access the web version here, and learn more about both the app and BrowZine features via the Library guide.
- Building Green This link opens in a new windowIncludes Environmental Building News, case studies, and a suite of specialized tools.
- US Modernist LibraryThe "world's largest open digital collection of major US 20th-century architecture magazines, with over 3 million downloadable pages - all free to access."
- Wiley Online Library This link opens in a new windowScientific, technical, and scholarly journals published by Wiley-Blackwell, including 35 architecture and planning journals.
- Find Journals at UCLATwo ways to search: Enter a journal title in the search box.
Use the Journals by category option to browse journals by broad subject category. - Free-access, digitised art, architecture, design and craft journals on the InternetA designinform Research Guide that provides links to digitized journals that are freely available on the Internet.
- DOAJ This link opens in a new windowThe Directory of Open Access Journals covers free, full text, quality-controlled scientific and scholarly journals. Aims to cover all subjects and languages.
Consult the Article Indexes and Databases page to locate articles through databases.
Additional information about locating online journals is available on the Arts Library Browsing Guide.
Google Scholar
Google Scholar provides a simple way to search for scholarly articles, theses, and books, from academic publishers, professional societies, universities and other web sites. Users will need to set-up a proxy server or VPN to gain access to Google Scholar.
New Architecture and Urban Design Books
This is an RSS feed (Beta) of new UCLA Library acquisitions, based on a combination of call numbers and keywords correlated with architecture and urban design subjects.
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Newly received online collection:
UCLA Links
- Off-Campus (VPN or Proxy Server) Access to Library eResourcesHow to access licensed online content from off-campus.