bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
‘Highly idiosyncratic and only half tamed’: the Institute of Fine Arts libraries and art history in the United States
Authors: Hills-Nova Clare
Published: July 2016

The history of the Institute of Fine Arts library collections cannot be disentangled from the intellectual and physical history of the Institute itself. Housed in various locations since 1938, the collections have grown parallel to the interests of the IFA’s faculty, many of whom, in its early years, were exiles from Europe and brought different approaches to the study of art. Amidst New York’s array of outstanding art research libraries, the IFA’s once extremely modest collection now comprises some 175,000 volumes, divided between two libraries: the Chan Library (for art history and archaeology) and the Conservation Center Library.
Who needs subject gateways, portals or hubs?
Authors: Dodds Douglas
Published: July 2016

Early users of the internet and the World Wide Web soon realised that there was a need to gather together links to sites of interest to art and design researchers. The Art, Design, Architecture and Media (ADAM) information gateway attempted to satisfy this demand, whilst also helping to develop appropriate methodologies and standards. One of ADAM’s successors, Artifact, adopted an expanded role and provided additional services. Artifact subsequently became part of Intute: Arts and Humanities, which covers a broader range of subjects. Surveys, usage figures and social bookmarking sites such as del.icio.us suggest that some – but not all – users and potential users appreciate the services that gateways, portals and hubs can provide.
‘Art is no trivial matter’: the Barnes Foundation Archives and Library
Authors: Beaucar Barbara , Pruitt Adrienne , Rawdon Katy
Published: July 2016

The Barnes Foundation is an educational institution located near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Foundation’s world-renowned art collection and its twelve-acre arboretum serve its mission to promote the advancement of education and the appreciation of fine arts and horticulture, through classes and workshops held in the Gallery and the Arboretum. The staff of the Foundation’s long-neglected archives and library is in the process of organizing and cataloguing its collections, and has recently completed a major grant-funded project to create finding aids for several of them.

‘[A]rt is no trivial matter, no device for the entertainment of dilettantes, or upholstery for the houses of the wealthy, but a source of insight into the world, for which there is and can be no substitute, and in which all persons who have the necessary insight may share.’ – Albert C. Barnes, Preface to Art and education (Merion, Pennsylvania: The Barnes Foundation Press, 1929), vi.
The ArtAfrica project
Authors: Barata Ana
Published: July 2016

The ArtAfrica project was launched by the Fine Arts Department of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in January 2001, as part of its policy of aiding development. Its aim is to promote and stimulate knowledge and understanding of the work of contemporary African artists, in particular those of African descent resident in the five Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa – Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and São Tomé and Principe – but also those in communities of emigrants from the African continent in diasporas based in Portugal, Europe and elsewhere. The project’s goals are to create opportunities for dialogue, collaboration and the exchange of information, especially about those five countries, and in addition to provide a platform from which to launch widespread debate on post-colonialism in local contexts.
Global Memory Net and World Heritage Memory Net: documenting and preserving threatened cultures
Authors: Chen Ching-chih
Published: July 2016

Global Memory Net is a multi-year digital library project supported by the International Digital Library Programme of the US National Science Foundation. It has already digitally preserved and documented a number of art collections relating to indigenous groups, particularly in the Far East. So far it includes those of 56 ethnic groups in China and 54 minority ethnic groups in Vietnam; the Naxi Collection of the Library of Congress Asian Division; Taiwan Memory; and many others are included in its World Digital Collection which relate to relevant populations across the world. A more recent development is a partnership with UNESCO’s World Heritage Center: the establishment of the first virtual US World Heritage Digital Center, using Global Memory Net’s technology to provide multimedia and multilingual information on the 851 world heritage sites of 141 countries.
The early history of the Stedelijk Museum library: the Kloet years
Authors: Nijhoff Michiel
Published: July 2016

On 5 May 2007, the Stedelijk Museum library in Amsterdam was exactly 50 years old – although a collection of books known as ‘the library’ began long before that in the building on the Paulus Potterstraat. Louis Kloet was the first librarian. He founded and ran the library from 1953 until 1980, a period in which the collection and the number of visitors grew steadily and it evolved into one of the most important libraries of modern art in Europe.
Breaking the mould: detection, intervention and eradication at Tate Library and Archive
Authors: Pate Tim , Sloss Kate
Published: July 2016

Moulds are an ever-present threat to library collections and in 2007 a serious outbreak occurred at Tate Library and Archive. Early detection followed by prompt action ensured that any lasting damage was prevented. Services continued to be offered to users during a two-month period while collections were inaccessible as environmental conditions were improved and the mould infestation was eradicated. The keys to success were good communication with library users, advice from experts in the field of building health problems and the willingness of Library and Archive staff to clean a quarter of a million volumes.
Please give generously! Handling donations to libraries
Authors: Lietaer Mieke
Published: July 2016

The large number of donations to the Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library in Antwerp, and the inevitable expenditure of time involved in dealing with them, gave rise to the author’s research into this form of acquisition, and in turn to publication of a guide outlining the most efficient way of handling them. The article outlines and explains the steps which should be taken to manage donations, bequests and transfers from other libraries, from basic advice such as including a section on donations in the library’s collection development policy, to the importance of efficient record-keeping in order to avoid disputes.
Thinking outside the books: from printed page to web resource at the National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives
Authors: Franklin Jonathan
Published: July 2016

How does an art museum library move into the digital arena? An account of four recent and current projects at the National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives, involving the extraction of information of value from printed matter and its re-presentation on the web, throws light on this topic. The selection of resources for digitization, and the challenges of an integrated approach, have also raised issues requiring discussion and solution.
Libraries, archives and museums: catalysts along the collaboration continuum
Authors: Waibel Günter , Zorich Diane M. , Erway Ricky
Published: July 2016

How do you turn library, archive and museum collaboration from a good idea into reality? And what are the benefits of collaborative action to begin with? This article introduces the increasing rewards and risks of interdependent working relationships along the collaboration continuum, and highlights the institutional and environmental catalysts which foster collaborative action. Use these insights to assess where your institution is on the path to deeper collaboration, and which obstacles you may still need to address!
Students with disabilities in higher education: challenges and tactile solutions
Authors: Petrie Helen , Power Christopher , Swallow David
Published: July 2016

This paper highlights the increasing numbers of students with disabilities in higher education. Results from international online surveys of such students, and the professionals who work with them, show that the provision of alternative format and enhanced materials is less than ideal. In particular the provision of tactile versions of images and graphics is very poor. Methods for producing such materials for blind and low-vision students are discussed.
Small specialist art libraries in Dutch museums: two for ceramics, one textiles and one sculpture
Authors: van Elk Jantiene
Published: July 2016

In the Netherlands there are a number of subject-focused art libraries in museums that are particularly interesting because of their specialisations, even though they are quite small. This article describes four such libraries and the people who use them, their facilities and their place within the organisation. All are open to the general public, but in other ways they are quite different from one another.
Two decades of change in Dutch university art libraries
Authors: Versteeg Martien
Published: July 2016

In 1987 Chris Smeenk wrote in this journal about the libraries of the Dutch art historical institutes. In the 22 years that have since passed many changes have occurred, perhaps most notably the merging of the many autonomous institute libraries into larger ones. Has this led to a more professional approach or was it caused by a search for more efficiency? Does this really matter? The fact is that Smeenk, or any other library user familiar with Dutch art history libraries, would hardly recognise the situation at the end of the first decade of the 21st century. Maybe he would complain about the disappearance of the traditional academic institute librarian, but on the other hand he might be cheered by many other developments, such as the more central role of services for the public. Let’s take a look....
Special collections in a digital future
Authors: Pearson David
Published: July 2016

As the world of information resources becomes more and more digital, what is the role of special collections in libraries? This paper highlights their growing importance as unique and distinctive assets in an increasingly levelled landscape. It also stresses the value of opening up access to these collections through large-scale digitisation, reflecting on the role the profession should play in leading that work.
All change: switching tracks to Learning Zone 2.0
Authors: Everitt Regina
Published: July 2016

Nearly four years ago, the University of the Arts London launched its first flexible learning space for students, called the Learning Zone. The service model for the space was underpinned by an ethos of peer support. When London’s Crossrail Development project necessitated relocation, the Learning Zone team had to build the service all over again. Learning Zone 2.0 was a chance to reflect on the use and design of the space . . . and to improve on the first version. Despite personnel changes, building delays and lost furniture and equipment, the new space opened in May 2010.
Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library
Authors: Fabian Carole Ann
Published: July 2016

The Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University in the City of New York is one of the world’s great architectural research libraries. In addition to its commitment to maintaining a comprehensive collection of bibliographic and archival materials for architecture, the library, its staff and services directly support academic programs in architecture, urban planning, historic preservation, art history and archaeology, as well as the liberal arts education of undergraduates. The Avery is also home to the Avery index to architectural periodicals. As publisher of this leading abstracting and indexing resource for research in architecture and related topics, the Avery is solely responsible for all editorial, business and technical operations and serves as an authoritative source for the terminology and literature of the field.
Considering the future of art bibliography: the FAB initiative
Authors: Salomon Kathleen
Published: July 2016

The Future of Art Bibliography (FAB) initiative developed out of various conversations among colleagues in the United States and Europe. Events in the art historical community, including limited funding resources for art libraries and projects internationally, and the cessation of the Getty’s support for the production of the Bibliography of the history of art (BHA) provided the catalyst for the Kress Foundation grant to the Getty Research Institute. A series of international meetings of art librarians, art historians, publishers and information specialists ensued. The goal was to review current practices, take stock of changes, and seriously consider developing more sustainable and collaborative ways of supporting the bibliography of art history in the future.
Let a thousand flowers bloom: integrating proprietary and open access content
Authors: Fabian Carole Ann
Published: July 2016

Multiple stakeholders in the scholarly publication and bibliographic lifecycle contribute to a complex network of complementary resources and services. Together, they provide a range of high-value products and services to researchers in our field. Increasingly however, the bibliographic record fails to include emergent forms and formats of scholarship, as well as relevant content beyond the traditionally circumscribed art historical domain. As a community, we need not only to develop strategies to expand and enhance the bibliographic boundary, but also to develop systems and toolkits that allow researchers to more dynamically contribute to the bibliographic enterprise.
AGORHA: the new multi-media database at the Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art (INHA) in Paris
Authors: Annoepel-Cabrignac Sophie
Published: July 2016

The new AGORHA database at the INHA in Paris gives access to numerous information resources of value to art history researchers internationally. These include the catalogues of the Institute’s Library and its Jacques Doucet collection, which record the details of its heritage collections and archives, and the entire run of the Répertoire d’art et d’archéologie (1910-1972). It also hosts an increasing number of research databases that are a product of the research and teaching activities of the Galerie Colbert, which works in partnership with specialist education bodies throughout France. AGORHA will be online on the web by the time this article is published.
Art librarians’ professional paths: a careers survey with implications for prospective librarians
Authors: Tewell Eamon C.
Published: July 2016

Is there such thing as a ‘typical’ career path for art librarians? This article presents the results of a survey of art librarians’ motivations for selecting the profession, and also their educational backgrounds, current employment and professional experiences, and presents advice for graduate students and prospective librarians. A questionnaire was sent to six email discussion groups related to art librarianship, from which 280 responses were received from across the world. The results indicate that art librarians typically work in academic settings, chose the field of art librarianship while already employed in libraries, have an educational background in the arts at the undergraduate and/or graduate level, and selected librarianship primarily because they were attracted to the duties and work settings of the job. This study includes advice from current librarians for graduate students seeking employment as art librarians in today’s challenging job market.
Learning to live with risk
Authors: Hirtle Peter B.
Published: July 2016

How can cultural heritage institutions use new technologies to improve access to holdings for remote users when so much material is protected by copyright and the repository is normally not the copyright owner? Many American institutions have put material online even when they do not own the copyright, after taking thoughtful measures to minimize the risk that this may incur. Others have elected to forego any efforts to control the use of public domain reproductions from their holdings.
The altermodern library?
Authors: Wallace Sara
Published: July 2016

At the 2009 Tate Triennial Nicolas Bourriaud declared that postmodernism was dead and that the world was now altermodern. Many papers have been written on the effects of postmodernity on libraries, yet three years on there has been little about the post-postmodern library. This short article, adapted from a Master’s dissertation, looks at whether the 21st-century library could be seen as an altermodern library. Recent changes at Bodleian Libraries are discussed to highlight how an altermodern paradigm could better fit today’s academic libraries.
More than just a pretty interface: three recent projects at the Visual Arts Data Service
Authors: Robinson Amy
Published: July 2016

The establishment of the national image repository hosted by the Visual Arts Data Service (VADS) at the University for the Creative Arts was an early pioneering effort in the 1990s to provide shared online access and preservation for digitised visual arts collections. Over the 15 years since the VADS image repository was first launched, and as the internet has rapidly expanded and transformed, the VADS team has also sought project funding to explore and address new themes and issues that have emerged within the arts education sector. Three of these recent collaborative endeavours are detailed in this article: the Kultur II Group which is supporting the development of institutional repositories in the arts; the Spot the Difference project which is researching the emergence and extent of a perceived ‘copy and paste’ culture; and the Look-Here! project, which has worked with ten partners to foster digitisation skills and strategies in the arts.
The Franz Mayer Collection and the Rogerio Casas-Alatriste H. Library
Authors: Martínez Miriam Velázquez
Published: July 2016

The existence of the Franz Mayer Museum is due to the German philanthropist and naturalized Mexican, Franz Gabriel Mayer Traumann Altschul (1882-1975), who bequeathed to the Mexican people his library and decorative arts collection. Considered the most important of its kind in the country, it includes works from the 16th through the 19th centuries, from America, Europe and Asia. It is located in Mexico City, in a building dating from the second half of the 16th century, and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2011. The Library, which is open to researchers, is currently made up of around 22,000 volumes, and specializes in decorative arts and the history of Mexico in the 19th century, among other subjects. As well as displaying the Mayer Collection the Museum also presents temporary exhibitions on decorative arts, contemporary design and photography, while the library holds two exhibitions a year highlighting the bibliographic collections.
PORTA and NDL Search: digital archive portals at the National Diet Library
Authors: Ōba Toshiyasu
Published: July 2016

The National Diet Library (NDL) is Japan’s national library, established in 1948 to provide research facilities for members of parliament, but now used most by the general public. Similar in purpose and scope to the US Library of Congress, the NDL is a deposit library, and collects copies of all publications that originate in Japan. For nearly a decade and a half the Library has been making digital reproductions of paper documents and printed material, but the pace at which it has added to its digitised content has speeded up remarkably in recent years. It has also developed and continues to enhance integrated search services that allow users to cross-search the databases of many other museums, libraries, archives and research institutes in Japan and retrieve information resources from them. A digital archive of records of the earthquake and related disasters that struck Japan in March 2011 is under way.
The art of RDA: the Courtauld’s experience of implementing a new cataloguing standard
Authors: Lee Deborah
Published: July 2016

RDA, RDA, RDA: a three-letter initialism which has both tormented and engaged cataloguers over the last few years. The Courtauld Institute of Art was among the first UK libraries to implement RDA; however, it is not a typical UK RDA early adopter being both small and specialist. This article describes the library’s experiences of RDA implementation. Issues covered include planning for RDA, designing an art-specific RDA training programme and the challenges of fitting RDA to typical art library materials. Common themes emerge that include the high importance placed upon collaboration and sharing resources in the RDA age; dealing with the unknown and the unanswerable; and asking ontological questions about the art documentation materials being catalogued.
Asia Art Archive
Authors: Kember Pamela , Wong Chantal , Hsu Claire , Nasar Hammad
Published: July 2016

Asia Art Archive was established in 2000 in Hong Kong to document and secure the multiple recent histories of contemporary art in the region. Built through a systematic programme of research and information gathering, it is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading public collections of primary and secondary source material about contemporary art in Asia, comprising hundreds of thousands of physical and digital items, searchable via its online catalogue. A growing selection of digitised material is now also available in the Collection Online.
Chinese collections at the C. Laan Chun Library, Asian Art Museum
Authors: Stucky John
Published: July 2016

What should a research library in a small specialist art museum be? The Asian Art Museum’s research library is a unique and rich collection of material on Asian cultural history, with over 40% of its holdings dedicated to Chinese art, history, culture and religion. The author provides an overview of its history and highlights some of its Special Collections and items of interest. Current and future developments are also discussed, including an ongoing project to make pre-1998 catalogue records available online.
Interwoven connections: The Stoddard-Templeton design studio and design library 1843-2005
Authors: Britt Helena , Chappell Duncan
Published: July 2016

The historical importance of carpet design and manufacture to the West of Scotland is now largely forgotten, eclipsed by heavy industries such as shipbuilding for which Glasgow is justly famous. Yet, in their heyday, carpet manufacturers A. F. Stoddard of Elderslie, Renfrewshire and James Templeton of Glasgow Green provided employment for thousands of workers. Indeed, by the 1950s Templeton was Glasgow’s largest single employer. For decades the companies supplied carpets to the world’s ocean liners, heads of state, royalty, corporations and state institutions, yet in 2005 the combined companies filed for bankruptcy. This paper describes efforts to save and interpret the historical collections, principally concentrating on the design library now held at the Glasgow School of Art. It follows a recent research project, exhibition and publication that explored the development of the Library and its use within the design process.
The Reemtsma collections and their subsequent exploitation at the Museum der Arbeit, Hamburg
Authors: Schulte-Zweckel Astrid
Published: July 2016

The Museum der Arbeit (Museum of Work) in Hamburg, Germany, took over the collections of the remarkable Reemtsma Cigarettenfabriken (Reemtsma Tobacco Co.) almost exactly ten years ago. The traditional, German-owned international company had established and maintained a comprehensive cultural-historical collection during their approximately hundred years of trading. The collections include photographic archives, advertisement and product archives, as well as the historical tobacco collection with various library holdings. What treasures of our cultural heritage are bound to be discovered? How can we sufficiently document and research collection holdings this complex and varied in a museum?
Dodo, lame duck or phoenix? How should we view the slide library?
Authors: Godfrey Jenny
Published: July 2016

This article looks at what uses a slide collection developed for teaching art and design history to students in art schools in the UK could possibly still have now that lecture theatres have ‘gone digital’. As more and more slide collections are disposed of, part 2 of the article (to be published in ALJ 39.4) also asks UK librarians to consider preserving at least one exemplar slide library for the benefit of researchers in the future.
Collecting ‘the now’
Authors: Bury Stephen
Published: July 2016

Is it, should it be, the responsibility of an art librarian to document and collect ‘the now’? There are obvious pros and cons of this – the inevitable value-judgments, the expensive errors of unnecessary acquisition or omission, the labour involved, deviation from the institutional mission, etc. The author explores a personal journey through the acquisition of artists’ books and multiples, defending a role for the art librarian in the interstices of curatorship and the art world as it actually happens.
Art libraries in Poland
Authors: Budzinska Elzbieta
Published: July 2016

Most art libraries in Poland are in fact sections of libraries of more general scope. In the case of the National Library of Warsaw, although material on Polish art is represented in the collections there is no art section as such. Other art library collections include the library of the Institute of Art of the Polish Academy, the ‘Cabinets of Illustrations’ within other libraries attached to the Polish Academy in various cities, departmental libraries in universities and technical universities, and libraries of museums and of learned and professional societies. Public libraries disseminate information on the arts and often organise arts activities; the Art Section of the Warsaw Public Library is among the most important art library collections in the country. Although public libraries join in cooperative arts ventures, art libraries in Poland have not yet begun to work together, and so far there is no professional organisation especially for art librarians.
The Polish Art Bibliography
Authors: Wiercinska Janina
Published: July 2016

The need to document the history of art in Poland, and to provide a bibliographic record of, and access to, that documentation, is felt the more keenly because Poland’s cultural heritage has been so vulnerable to the ravages of history. The Polish Art Bibliography 1801-1944, a labour of love dating back to 1951, existed for many years as a constantly expanding card index at the Institute of Art of the Polish Academy; publication in a series of volumes began with Volume I Part 1 in 1975, and brought with it problems of editing and selection. Volumes II and III have followed; Volume IV, devoted to architecture, is in preparation.
Crossing the line: the development of archival standards
Authors: Cooknell Jennifer
Published: July 2016

For many years the archive profession in the United Kingdom has tended to view highly structured cataloguing rules as a constraint, redundant in the light of the unique material with which it deals. Times are changing however and, with the advent of three new standards over the past six years, archivists are beginning to recognise that, far from being the straitjacket they had previously imagined, such standards do in fact provide the key to freedom in the brave new world of information technology opportunities.
Canadian art archives: working to preserve Ontario’s visual art records
Authors: Meale Tina
Published: July 2016

How can the Ontario archival community best provide comprehensive documentary evidence of activities in the visual arts? A strategy for preserving the documentation needs to co-ordinate the efforts not only of the various collecting repositories in the province, but also of the people within the arts community who are generating records of their activities. Attempts already being made by Ontario archivists to ensure visual arts records are acquired and retained could be enhanced by improved education of everyone concerned.
The sad history of the Art Library at the Nationalmuseum: a case study
Authors: Gram Magdalena
Published: July 2016

30% of the 40 Swedish members of ARLIS/Norden are museum libraries. Half of these are dedicated art libraries situated in the two major cities of Stockholm and Gothenburg. Most of them serve their parent organization as well as external users. Foremost amongst them is the Art Library at the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, a somewhat tarnished crown jewel among Swedish art libraries, whose ability to serve this dual public has had a fluctuating history.
Going, going, gone: art auction catalogues from 19th-century Canada
Authors: Franklin Jonathan
Published: July 2016

The art auction trade flourished in Canada as the 19th century progressed, pitting local artists against importers of European art; yet today there are relatively few preserved catalogues to show for all this activity. The National Gallery of Canada Library has been documenting the survivors, creating records in the SCIPIO database and arranging for microfilming. Individual lots have also been indexed (some of the idiosyncracies of auction catalogue entries are described below) and a Library Occasional Paper is to be published with a bibliographical listing and historical essay on the art auction in 19th-century Canada.
The Getty Provenance Index steams ahead
Authors: Fredericksen Burton
Published: July 2016

For the past fifteen years the Getty Provenance Index has developed a series of projects that index auction catalogues, beginning with British catalogues of the 19th century and followed by French, Dutch, German and Belgian catalogues of the same period or earlier. This has led to the discovery of many previously unrecorded catalogues, most notably German and Belgian, providing a strong incentive to consider how Frits Lugt’s Répertoire des Catalogues de Ventes should eventually be revised, and even brought up to date. The Getty projects also include automating the individual items in the catalogues, which has led not only to much new data about the provenance of paintings held by museums in many parts of the world, but has also helped to identify the owners of collections found in previously anonymous sale catalogues.
HOGARTH – Helpful Online Gateway to ART History
Authors: Gilmour Sarah
Published: July 2016

Exhibition and sales catalogues are notoriously hard to locate. This problem will be soon be alleviated in the UK by HOGARTH, a project to facilitate research access to the major collections in the history of art within the concept of the distributed national collection in the subject. A second benefit will be the creation of an electronic directory of collections of art history documentation in this country. The project is currently at halfway stage and this article outlines its background, its methodology, progress to date and future developments.
Viewpoint: Waking up in a digital dawn: are we there yet?1
Authors: Lanzi Elisa
Published: July 2016

A new state-of-the-art fine arts complex for our College will soon open and it includes an Imaging Center: a physical environment that will support activities related to the teaching and research use of images. A parallel building project is happening simultaneously: the development of digital content and tools to enable imaging across the campus. The bricks and mortar effort will soon result in a spectacular sunrise. As far as content and tools go, we’re still in the deepest dark before dawn, i.e. we’re not there yet. As one faculty member put it, ‘That’s nice, but now what I really need …’. These few words speak volumes about user expectations and the extraordinary effort it takes to meet them.
Slides and their users: thoughts following a survey of some slide collections in Britain
Authors: Bradfield Valerie
Published: July 2016

Slides present problems of retrieval which have not always been solved by those responsible for their organisation. Each image can be seen, sought, and labelled in a variety of ways. Organisation of the slides themselves according to subject is essential to facilitate browsing, which is the normal method of selection on the part of borrowers, and which generates ideas and reveals new or alternative material. The borrowing of slides is a major problem which tends to be solved most effectively by relatively informal systems. The slide collection should be conveniently located so far as the user is concerned; even when this can be achieved the development of private collections by individuals or teaching departments should be regarded as complementing the central collection. An ‘ideal’ organisation is proposed, based on conclusions drawn from a survey of slide collections which included interviews with curators, users, and non-users (British Library R.&D. Report no. 5309, 1976)
Arable Sheep
Authors: Thomas J. F. H.
Published: July 2016

The management of an arable flock is more complex than that of any other livestock enterprise : it involves a more intimate crop-livestock association than exists in any other farming system, and to some extent the great decline in arable sheepfarming that has taken place during the past fifty years is due to the fact that it is a difficult way of farming ; there are of course, other reasons why the decline in arable sheep farming has taken place and I propose to deal with these very briefly.

I feel it is first necessary to point out that agricultural scientists and research workers have contributed practically nothing that would benefit the arable flock owner. Since the days of the late Professor Wrightson no eminent agriculturist has shown any interest in the fortunes of the arable sheep farmer, with the exception of the late Sir Daniel Hall, who once wrote an account of an ill-fated flock of Hampshire Downs kept on unsuitable land in Hampshire.
An Account of a Recent Investigation of Wool Growth
Authors: Palmer Nancy
Published: July 2016

In 1941 a flock of Romney sheep was made available for work on fertility and wool growth. This flock has been kept at the Animal Research Station at Cambridge. The marked seasonal variations in the quality and quantity of wool produced must therefore be considered in relation to the climatic conditions around Cambridge.

It has been found that the weight of wool and the length and diameter of the fibres change markedly with season. Wool growth is always poor in the winter and good in the summer. The question immediately arises as to whether such marked seasonal variation is due to bad nutrition, particularly in the winter.
The Behaviour of Sheep Browsing During Drought in Western Australia
Authors: Nichols DR. J. E.
Published: July 2016

The general story of the studies I am to describe is that of the tragedy of an Australian drought. The details are those of part of a series of investigations on the vegetation of the pastoral areas and its uses. I believe they may be ‘of some interest to members of the Society and the Institute, as observations on sheep behaviour played a most important part in giving us a practical solution in one locality to the main problem of saving some of the drought-stricken stocks. I should like to mention here the valuable work of G. F. Melville who carried out most of the field observations under great difficulties, and F. Lefroy, manager of Boolardy Station. First, the general picture.
Breeding of Beef Cattle
Authors: Stewart W. A.
Published: July 2016

To-day we are considering the possibilities of improvement for beef production, and it may be useful at the outset to examine briefly the methods which were successfully employed by some of the great improvers of the past.

In Bakewell's time, 1726–1795, the cattle of the English Midlands were descended from every sort which had come to Britain, except that there had apparently been little mixing with the Scandinavian hornless cattle. Hornless cattle were still confined mainly to coastal areas. The colours and colour patterns varied greatly, and some cattle were the full size of the Dutch, while others were much smaller. Some had short horns ; others had the long wavy horns which had come in with the Roman cattle, so they were generally called Longhorns. It is perhaps worth recalling that the cattle of those days were a sort of non-specialized general purpose, or actually triple purpose. The bigger beasts had been valued for draft, the cows for milk, and the carcasses of both draft-bullocks and cows were ultimately of value for beef. Incidentally, there is little doubt that the Dutch cows were the best milkers. The breeds which became the Shorthorn were dual purpose, but were bred for a long period for beef (from the 1790's to the 1870's).
The Extended Use Of The Milk Recording System In New Zealand
Authors: Ward Arthur
Published: July 2016

In New Zealand, herd recording, since the introduction of the Herd Improvement Plan in 1938, has been governed in policy by the Herd Recording Council in Wellington. In 1938 the decision was taken to extend the scope of the milk recording movement so that milk records could be used for:—

(1) improvement through breeding;

(2) studies on farm management, including the prevention of disease in dairy herds; and

(3) studies on problems of nutrition on dairy farms, em-bracing not only the feeding of dairy cattle and young stock, but also such matters as the influence of soil types, pasture species, etc.

There are six Herd Improvement Associations and a representative of each Association is elected annually to the Herd Recording Council with full voting power.
Inbreeding and Outbreeding
Authors: Robertson Forbes W.
Published: July 2016

The type of mating system we should use in any plan of livestock improvement requires very careful consideration. By reason of the particulate nature of inheritance and the behaviour of chromosomes in the cell divisions preceding the formation of eggs and sperm, the various mating systems differ in their influence upon the uniformity or otherwise of successive generations, the chances of securing improvement, the scope for control by selection, and finally, our ability to discriminate between the relative contributions of genetic and environmental variations to the population variance. Because of the genetic complexity many misconceptions have flourished about what we may expect with different mating systems, about the effects of inbreeding and the advantages and dangers of outbreeding. Different breeders have often secured different results with similar mating systems and the search for a rule of thumb guide has proved fruitless.
Beef from Dairy and Dual Purpose Calves
Authors: Mansfield W. S.
Published: July 2016

It was with some reluctance that I consented to speak on this subject this morning for two very good reasons, the first being that our experiments on this subject which are now under way at Cambridge (and which some of you at least have seen and know something of) have not yet reached the point when anything can safely be published, and the second that, apart from these experiments, I have very little to say on the subject that is new or that I can support with sufficient exact data which is not already well known to most of you.

In view of this you may very well wonder why my reluctance was overcome. The answer is simple; it was because I believe the subject to be so important, and also because I have had very considerable practical experience of it spread over many years.
The Scottish Sheep Industry
Authors: Fraser Allan
Published: July 2016

The Scottish sheep industry is today merely a part of the United Kingdom sheep industry governed centrally through national price control. Nevertheless, Scotland, considered as a geographical unit, does and will remain, and geography has, as I need not remind you here, a great deal to do with any agricultural industry, whether Scottish or otherwise.

That fact is apt to be forgotten where we have—as we have today in the United Kingdom—a planned food policy, implemented by a planned agricultural price policy. Such planning, enforced by price structure, will inevitably change the agricultural face of any country. It has already changed the agricultural face of this country.
The Farmer's Experience: South-West Scotland
Authors: Ross George P.
Published: July 2016

I have four dairy farms, two with pedigree Ayrshire herds and two with pedigree Friesian herds. We have a fifth herd we keep at home as a hobby herd, with special heifers and cows, and which my wife specially looks after.

On the four commercial farms we produce Certified milk. We milk about sixty cows; we also occasionally breed a pedigree bull; and we are interested in good records of butterfat. We find that the incidence of mastitis in pedigree cows is extremely important, because if a good-looking cow with a beautiful pedigree and a first-class record is suddenly struck with mastitis her whole history is ruined from the practical farmer's point of view. This is so important that on the four commercial farms we take regular monthly tests from each quarter of each cow. These are reported to me as well as to the veterinarian and to the herdsman who is handling the cows.
Farming in the West Midlands (Summary only)
Authors: Mercer W. B.
Published: July 2016

West Midland farming is very varied—from intensive dairying in Cheshire and Staffordshire to intensive arable work in central Shropshire; from hop growing in Worcestershire and Herefordshire to store raising in the hills and summer feeding on the heavy clays of Warwickshire.

South Cheshire is the focal point of the great milk producing country which stretches from North Wales to Nottingham. Milk is the key note of farming throughout Cheshire and Staffordshire and a great part of north Shropshire. This was the home of farmhouse cheese-making. The region is naturally fertile and has been well worked for a long time; though lime shortage is still considerable. It is densely stocked with cows and carries a high human population; smallholdings are very numerous. No area in the country carries such a high cattle stock per acre. It looks as though numbers of cows have at last reached their peak, though the output of milk is still rising. There has been a great movement towards ensilage, particularly grass ensilage, in recent years. Attestation is now going strong after a slow start.
Cattle Feeding in the Midlands
Authors: Passmore Maurice
Published: July 2016

I am going to speak on die farming area that lies between Banbury, Rugby, Northampton and runs on to Harborough and the Welland Valley. I don't know much about the northern part of this area so my remarks will be confined to an area or about 20 miles round Daventry.

This part of England has been a fattening area for hundreds of years; the soil varies from clay to a stiff loam; rainfall is about 25 in. The land is fairly well fenced with thorn hedges and much of it is in ridge and furrow. It has never been manured extravagantly but quite a bit of linseed and cotton cake was fed when they were about £6 a ton. The grassland has been maintained by careful stock management; the manure was regularly “beaten” (i.e. spread) and still is in some cases. On every farm there is the best field, and the farm usually goes into four grades. The first will finish a bullock, the next a heifer, and the third a cow, and the last is store land.
History, Organisation and Activities
Authors: Maule J. P.
Published: July 2016

The first move to establish an international society for animal breeding was made during the Fourth International Congress of Animal Husbandry held at Zürich in 1939. The idea was revived in 1946 when the Swiss Society of Animal Husbandry again took up the matter, with the result that a meeting was held in Zürich in October 1947, attended by Mr. Alec Hobson and Mr. I. L. Mason representing the British Society of Animal Production. At this meeting it was agreed that an international organisation composed of private societies directly concerned with animal production was highly desirable and a preparatory committee was elected to prepare draft statutes. The United Kingdom was a member of this committee. The secretarial work was entrusted to the FAO Temporary Bureau in Europe, and was in fact mainly carried out by Dr. I. Moskovits of the Animal Production Branch.
The Use and Interpretation of Progeny Tests in Livestock Improvement
Authors: Robertson Alan
Published: July 2016

This paper will in the main deal with the possibilities of the use of progeny testing for the improvement of livestock, in particular under British conditions. Before dealing with individual species, it will perhaps be of value to consider the problem generally and create a framework in which the practical discussion may more fruitfully be carried on.

Let us consider first then an ideal case in which we are dealing with a large population of animals all kept under the same general conditions of management. In such a situation, it is possible to predict, using recent advances in population genetics, the probable genetic improvement that could be achieved by different selection programmes. The basic factor that needs to be known for such a calculation is the heritability of the character for which selection is practised—the accuracy with which the breeding value can be predicted from the performance. From the heritability, the accuracy of a progeny test in measuring the breeding value of a sire can be calculated and by this means the probable rate of advance in a progeny testing programme can be evaluated.
Danish Pig Progeny Testing
Authors: Bishop G. R. H.
Published: July 2016

I want to correct one or two misconceptions about the way the Danes have sought to improve their native Landrace breed, to try and decide the extent of the improvements which can be fairly attributed to progeny testing, and to describe a few of the features which are characteristic of Danish methods. Owing to the shortage of time I shall refrain from giving any account of the mechanics of testing in Denmark. As this has often been reported you should have sufficient knowledge of the daily procedure at testing stations to provide an adequate background to this paper.
A Feeding Experiment with Twin Cattle
Authors: King J. W. B.
Published: July 2016

Since 1948 the Animal Breeding Research Organisation has been collecting twin cattle in the West Midlands of England. The dairy cattle population here is dense—an important factor in reducing cost of collection. Propaganda was issued in various forms all directed at getting in touch with farmers owning one-egg twins, i.e. twins originating from the splitting of a single fertilised egg as distinct from two-egg twins coming from two fertilised eggs. As the twinning rate in cattle is only 1-2% of all births, and probably only about 1 in 20 of these twins are one-egg, their purchase and collection under British conditions is rather costly. Up to the end of 1952, 103 pairs of one-egg heifers twins had been collected.
On the Post-Natal Growth and Development of Muscle in Relation to Quality in Meat
Authors: Joubert D. M.
Published: July 2016

Dividing the meat carcass into its three main component tissues, bone, muscle and fat, it is known that they develop in a well-defined order, bone being the earliest maturing and fat the latest (Hammond, 1932). Of the three, muscle is the most important from the viewpoint of human nutrition and the factors influencing its growth obviously demand serious consideration. The literature on qualitative growth contains numerous references to microscopical meat studies, but, due to the diversity of conditions under which the observations were made, the results obtained cannot easily be co-ordinated. An investigation was therefore planned in which most of the major factors influencing growth and development of muscle in general, and the muscle fibre in particular, could be studied.