In researching your thesis topic, there may be a need to delve into a specialized subject such as Healthcare Design or Sustainability, find images to illustrate your research paper or presentation, or search through an online materials database to see what's available to you as a designer. The NYSID Library offers access to specialized databases which address these needs, and all are accessible from home with your academic login. Read the descriptions below to find out which database may be right for you.
If your topic is related to sustainability, healthcare design or wellness, Building Green may be a good resource to consult. BuildingGreen is an online resource providing case studies and topical articles about subjects related to sustainable design and green building materials. It has both an extensive Knowledge Base which you can browse by subject, or a targeted keyword search option. BuildingGreen is located under "Other Resources" on the Library's homepage.
The Library subscribes to Material Connexion Digital Library, an online, searchable database with detailed information about new and innovative materials, focusing on the materials' sustainability, life cycle, and processing. Searching through Material Connexion will get you familiar with what is available to you as a designer, and it will also get you thinking about materials you could potentially use for the design portion of your project.
You can access Material Connexion via on the Library's homepage under "Other Resources". Once you've created an account on the site, you can access the site from home. Visits can also be made to Material Connexion here in NYC to view their library materials in person.
Here's an example what a material profile looks like on their database:
