bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
‘In close co-operation’: eight years of ARLIS/Flanders in Belgium
Authors: De Clippeleir Béatrice , Scheltjens Saskia
Published: July 2016

After several previous attempts to co-operate in post-war Belgium, art librarians in the Dutch-speaking part of the country have since 2000 grouped together under the name Overleg Kunstbibliotheken Vlaanderen (OKBV). The international acronym ARLIS/Flanders symbolises the close connection that is felt to the other art library organisations around the world. A year after its establishment, OKBV became the first official ‘intersectoral’ committee of the Flemish Library Association (Vlaamse Vereniging voor Bibliotheek, Archief en Documentatiewezen – VVBAD). The activities that have been organised since then are many and diverse. Meetings and projects about automation, cataloguing, collection development, promotion, professional development and the preservation of art publications have received the attention and support of many, the main goal always being to stimulate co-operation among art librarians in Flanders and – even better – in Belgium and beyond.
Collection development and management in the art library of the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen
Authors: Lampens Dieter , De Pourcq Ingrid , Rogiest Peter
Published: July 2016

As stated in its collection policy, the library of the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen supports the goals of the museum through collecting, indexing and providing access to documentary information to support art historical research within and outside the institution. The library’s collection development has a double focus: the exhaustive collecting and indexing of collection documentation, and the collecting of information about Western art history from the 13th century up to and including the 20th century (in analogy with the museum collection). While very specialised in content and in its in-depth indexing system, the library scans a broader scope to satisfy the fluctuating information needs of the museum staff. Today, collection development and management is becoming more and more co-operative, through various partnerships in Antwerp and also those with similar art libraries, especially where online access to datasets and electronic resources is concerned.
An emerging picture: some recent UK digital visual arts initiatives
Authors: Flynn Martin
Published: July 2016

Is the development of UK digital visual arts initiatives driven by professional ideology more than user need? Is the vast treasure trove of images and metadata being produced still difficult to identify and locate? A brief overview of a selected range of recent key initiatives finds a mixed picture. Content is still mainly accessible to users with an informed expectation of its existence, and the full potential of the internet has not been fully absorbed by the providers. However, there are optimistic signs of improving visibility and access.
Contemporary glocal: positioning a national mandate within a global context
Authors: Tayler Felicity , Latour John
Published: July 2016

Libraries and other information providers in the visual arts have had to adapt to an environment of changing research patterns, due to the widespread adoption of information technologies for personal use, the blurring of disciplinary boundaries, and shifting notions of geographical representation. As a small and independent arts organization, Artexte must navigate the obstacles and challenges raised by this dynamic environment. To do so, it has had to take into consideration the relevance of its original purpose – to focus on contemporary Canadian art within a national arts community. How can Artexte become more active in bringing Canadian art practices and critical discourses to larger, international networks? This article looks at the factors that define the current situation, and the ways in which Artexte bridges the gap between ‘local’ and ‘global’ contexts.
Challenges in using moving images at the MAC/VAL, Vitry-sur-Seine
Authors: Latil Céline
Published: July 2016

This article describes the documentation centre at the contemporary art museum MAC/VAL in Vitry-sur-Seine in the Val-de-Marne, outside Paris, and in particular its audiovisual collections. It outlines the problems that have to be faced when seeking to make this material – documentaries and artists’ videos, whether purchased or produced in-house, even the museum’s audiovisual archives – available to the centre’s users.
Doing it yourself: Coventry University Library’s streaming project
Authors: Gibbs Jane
Published: July 2016

This case study provides an overview of the logistical aspects of introducing a DIY streaming service, from original idea to implementation, at Coventry University. The study includes reflection on practical problems such as the structuring of file names and complying with the terms and conditions of the ERA licence. It concludes with a short discussion of the impact of the new ERA+ licence on levels of use, together with possible future developments in streaming in the UK Higher Education sector.
Changing times and art librarians
Authors: Weijsenfeld Cora , Wolffe Mark
Published: July 2016

Excellent organisational and communication skills, familiarity with available digital technology, and the ability to anticipate new developments are attributes art librarians require if they are to continue to be respected and valued professionals. Collaboration between museums, knowledge-sharing and merging library collections will cause individual museum libraries to disappear or be transformed into knowledge centres affiliated with museum collections. These will be a forum for discussion and the exchange of ideas between researchers and intellectuals who share a common passion. The infrastructure for art-related information will be a digital research environment where the indexing of research material is both unambiguous and exhaustive and integrally available.
The practical and changing tools of materials research
Authors: Pope Margaret
Published: July 2016

The author of this article set up one of the first materials libraries in the UK, and here discusses her work in researching and sourcing materials and products for use in design disciplines, both in academic institutions and in private practice. The article describes the practical and changing tools of materials research, recommending trade fairs and journals, commercial materials libraries, specialist books on materials and electronic sources including blogs. It lists industries at the cutting edge in developing innovative materials, and gives advice about the best way to approach companies for information as well as the practical aspects of keeping samples and literature.
Nostalgia and renewal: collections and collaborations
Authors: Newington Linda
Published: July 2016

This article describes some unusual ways of working with the special collections in the University of Southampton Library of Winchester School of Art. Two of these collections have proved particularly fruitful: numerous successful activities centred on the Knitting Reference Library have aroused great interest, and there is now a strategic aim of making it the primary research resource for knitting for artists, students, and researchers in the University, and also for the wider community locally, nationally and globally. The contents of the Artists’ Books Collection too are being shared with a new audience, through exhibitions, events and participation at artists’ books fairs.
The libraries of Spain’s national museums: an undiscovered heritage
Authors: Zamora Rosa Chumillas , Lacave Eugenia Insúa , de Lis María Prego
Published: July 2016

The libraries of the national museums in Spain were established during the 19th and 20th centuries. Their holdings are the result of a long tradition of collecting, and together constitute an invaluable bibliographic legacy. With the objective of bringing to light and publicising this rich heritage, these libraries have developed an art libraries network, BIMUS, whose first achievement has been to create an online union catalogue. The project will continue to develop in stages, and its eventual aim is to help the Spanish museum libraries become a reference point for research into art history and the cultural heritage.
Questions of authenticity: challenges in archiving born-digital design records
Authors: Helfrich Kurt G. F.
Published: July 2016

Born-digital design records are among the most interesting and challenging digital objects that archivists have to preserve. Currently transitioning from 2-D to 3-D computer-aided design imaging applications in proprietary file formats, design firms and their future archivists face real obstacles in preserving and making these materials accessible in the long term. This article examines three recent web projects/resources in Europe and North America that have attempted to establish guidelines and standards for archiving these objects, and discusses upcoming projects at the British Architectural Library’s Drawings & Archives Collections to tackle collecting born-digital design records.
Content, digitisation and intellectual property rights: an institutional perspective
Authors: Bailey Matthew
Published: July 2016

Cultural institutions the world over share certain key characteristics: the care of the items in their collection, the means of enabling access to these items, and the task of sustaining their ability to do both of these things. In the past decade, digitisation and supply of digital content has become increasingly important for museums and galleries wanting to disseminate their content to a global audience. What processes are involved in doing this, and how have they impacted on organisations and their working practices? What role do intellectual property rights play in this, and what are the associated challenges and opportunities in this area? This article will present the perspective of the National Portrait Gallery, London, investigating the history of its digitisation activities and its ongoing commitment to access and responsible IPR management through Picture Library licensing and image management activities.
Evolving archival interfaces and the University of Brighton Design Archives
Authors: Breakell Sue
Published: July 2016

The University of Brighton Design Archives, strongly embedded in the research context of the university’s design practice and history activities, has participated in a number of collaborative higher education initiatives to digitise groups of material for cross-collection searching or in learning packages. Such project-based activities, common to many archives, may not reflect the catalogue hierarchies of the collections from which they are drawn, and consequently the full evidential value of their context. But does this matter when we consider the myriad ways in which an ever-wider range of audiences may now engage with the material, thanks to recent technological developments both inside and outside the archival community?
Reconnecting library architecture and the information space
Authors: Van Acker Wouter
Published: July 2016

This article explores how our understanding of the materiality of knowledge has changed during the 20th century and how these meanings got incorporated into the concept of information. Special attention is given to Paul Otlet, the founding father of documentation, and to Norbert Wiener, the founding father of cybernetics. Furthermore, there is the question of what these changes that surround the notion of information imply for the architectural conception of the library. If the current discourse treats the library no longer as a space of books but as an information space, what implications does this evolution have for the architecture of the contemporary library? What is this information space that architects are required to articulate and to interpret?
Heritage received and multiplied: Russian art libraries as collectors and translators
Authors: Guy Anastasiya , Kolganova Ada
Published: July 2016

The librarians of two important theatre libraries in the Russian Federation – the Russian State Art Library and the St. Petersburg State Theatre Library – here outline the histories of their institutions and give an idea of the coverage and use of their collections. They discuss how they are tackling the problems of preserving their unique material, much of it iconographic, and the principles by which they select contemporary acquisitions. They also consider the challenges and benefits posed by digital material.
Dewey and the visual arts: some thoughts on the scheme and its application
Authors: Cripps Jill
Published: July 2016

The Dewey Decimal Classification system, frequently used to arrange arts collections, has a number of commendable aspects but also some significant shortcomings. Evidence suggests that visual arts library users can further their creative ideas by browsing library shelves, and the author considers this should inform classification practice. Dewey, approached from a user perspective and applied with attention to the scheme’s potential, can provide a shelf order that promotes browsing. The common perception that Dewey is most suited to general library collections is perhaps not entirely justified. Within the visual arts, it possibly accommodates specialist resources rather better than is sometimes imagined, particularly with judicious adaptation. A number of modifications are easy enough to achieve and may be applied across a range of visual arts resources.
Optimism and enthusiasm – and doubts: from UDC towards hybrid cataloguing in the library of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Authors: Nijhoff Michiel
Published: July 2016

UDC was used in the library of the Stedelijk Museum until 1994, but initially only for a small minority of the books: those that were neither monographs nor exhibition catalogues. With the introduction of an automated system UDC was thrown overboard, books were shelved by size, and the catalogue now works with a thesaurus (more like a keyword list) loosely based on the AAT. Most questions from customers are for artists’ names, so that is the focus of the indexing effort, even for group exhibitions involving up to 30 or 40 names, while for the Stedelijk’s own catalogues, all the artists are always indexed.
Frances Loeb Library at the Harvard Graduate School of Design: a 100-year history
Authors: Whiteside Ann Baird
Published: July 2016

The Frances L. Loeb Library at the Harvard Graduate School of Design has served the needs of the teaching faculty and students of the University, and of architecture, landscape architecture and urban planning design scholars worldwide, since the beginning of the architecture program in 1900. During that period the library has had two different homes, and the collections have grown through a combination of purchased acquisitions and gifts from faculty and alumni of the School. The library has been an integral part of the School throughout its history, working closely with faculty and students to support design education.
P.J.H. Cuypers’ Art Library in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam: a room dedicated to arts and science
Authors: Vogel Melanie
Published: July 2016

With the construction of the Rijksmuseum by Cuypers in 1885, the art museum acquired its first rooms solely dedicated as a reference library. This was a direct consequence of the growing demand for scientific libraries in the 19th century. In contrast to established concepts of that time, the room for the books – usually a rather plain stack room – was sumptuously decorated. This expresses the idea that arts and knowledge should be regarded as one unity.
Copyright issues for US archivists
Authors: Maher William J.
Published: July 2016

Despite the overall complexity of United States copyright law, the basics that an archivist needs to understand are relatively straightforward and manageable if taken element by element. This article highlights ten core issues that archivists, both in the US and elsewhere, would be well-advised to study.
Illustration, book history and research facilitation: some observations
Authors: Attar Karen
Published: July 2016

What role does book illustration play in teaching book history, and how can libraries best support it? This article looks briefly at the lack of interest in book illustration as part of traditional historical bibliography and its increasing importance in the wider field of book history. Using the example of the London Rare Books School, an international summer school, it outlines the nature of the books needed and the extent to which a teaching collection may supply them. It further discusses how and why librarians and teaching staff can collaborate fruitfully to satisfy demand.
Art in the digital age: a comparative study of the adoption of electronic visual resources in the UK, Ireland and North America
Authors: Brown Victoria , Worrall Catherine
Published: July 2016

Love it or loathe it, digital is here to stay. This article explores the enormous effect that digital visual media and the ubiquity of the internet have had on the supply and delivery of images at higher education institutions, on both sides of the Atlantic. It observes the levels at which regulated digital visual resources have been adopted and looks at the problems inherent in rapidly evolving technology and the demands of the ‘millennials’ and ‘digital natives’. It also examines the barriers preventing a more fluid adoption of legal, good quality resources and the role that image specialists bring to the mix.
Latin American art resources north of the border: an overview of the collections of the New York Art Resources Consortium (NYARC)
Authors: Kempe Deborah , Lawrence Deirdre E. , Hughston Milan R.
Published: July 2016

The New York Art Resources Consortium (NYARC), consisting of The Frick Art Reference Library and the libraries of the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), houses significant collections of material on Latin American art that document the cultural history of Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America, as well as the foundation of New York City as an epicenter of US Latino and Latin American cultural production since the 19th century. Ranging from historic archeological photographs to contemporary artists’ books, the holdings of the NYARC libraries are varied in their scope and record the contributions of Latin American and Latino artists to the international art scene. With the creation of Arcade, the shared online catalog of the Frick, MoMA and Brooklyn Museum, the ‘collective collection’ of material about and from Latin America has been strengthened in ways both expected and unanticipated. Techniques for integrating Latin American bibliographic information into discovery platforms, strategies for increasing the visibility of these collections, and ideas for providing improved access to the Latin American subset of the NYARC collections are being explored, and many further opportunities exist to engage in co-operative collection development in this area, across the NYARC consortium and with other peer institutions.
Transaction log analysis of the use of art information resources at the São Paulo Museum of Art
Authors: Costa Ivani Di Grazia , Napoleone Luciana Maria , da Rocha Viviane Gomes
Published: July 2016

The São Paulo Museum of Art is one of the most important art museums in Brazil. This paper presents the experience of its Library in structuring and making two databases available on the internet – the online catalogue and the controlled vocabulary of arts and authorities catalogue – and the results of a first analysis of the transaction log files of these databases.
Exploring bibliographic resources for Latin American art in New York City
Authors: Lucker Amy
Published: July 2016

Librarians at Columbia’s Avery Library, New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts, and the Research Division of the New York Public Library are working together to offer a two-day symposium directed towards bibliographic resources for the study of Latin American art in New York City. The symposium, Latin American art bibliography: a continuing conversation, will celebrate the collections of these three institutions, placing them within the context of the field and the larger bibliographic and library landscapes. Supported in part by the Humanities Initiative at NYU and the Institute on the Study of Latin American Art the symposium will feature papers and talks, as well as tours of local landmarks.
Electronic ephemera: collection, storage and access in Tate Library
Authors: Callaghan Holly
Published: July 2016

The Tate Library holds an extensive collection of print ephemera that includes private invitation cards, press releases, postcards, and promotional material from artists and galleries. In 2006, library staff began to notice a trend for an increasing amount of born-digital ephemera, circulated via email and vulnerable to loss, deletion and disintegration. In 2011, they undertook an internal research project to develop a strategy for collecting, storing and providing access to born-digital ephemera. As the creation and dissemination of electronic ephemera continues to grow rapidly, we need to ask how we can bridge the gap in our technical knowledge and apply current digital preservation research to our library collections. How can we establish a low-cost working best practice for collection, storage and access? And is there future potential to create external partnerships with other institutions facing the same issues?
Art libraries and art documentation in Japan, 1986-2012: progress in networking museums, libraries and archives and the ALC: Art Libraries’ Consortium
Authors: Mizutani Takeshi
Published: July 2016

In 1989, the Japan Art Documentation Society (JADS) was born, with inspiration received from members of overseas art library organisations – ARLIS/UK and Ireland, ARLIS/NA, ARLIS/ANZ and others – who attended the 52nd General Conference of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) in Tokyo in 1986. However, JADS was very definitely JADS: it did not try to become ARLIS/Japan. What reasoning lay behind the choice of the society’s name? And after its establishment what path did JADS follow: what role did it take on for itself as the framework for joint projects in the art library community in Japan? What were the activities that it aimed to provide to enhance collaboration between museums, libraries and archives? Focussing mainly on the growing interest in Japan in recent years in creating networks between museums, libraries and archives, and on the opening in 2004 of the Art Libraries’ Consortium (ALC), a union catalogue of art libraries based in the Tokyo metropolitan area which has been steadily expanding, this article gives a chronological overview of the developments that have taken place in art libraries and art documentation in Japan from 1986 to 2012.
The e-artexte digital repository: Promoting open access in the Canadian contemporary arts research and publishing community
Authors: MacDonald Corina , Neugebauer Tomasz , Latour John
Published: July 2016

How can an open access publishing and distribution model benefit research in contemporary art? In 2013 Artexte, a non-profit organization dedicated to documenting contemporary art in Canada, launched the e-artexte open access digital repository to offer self-archiving services to publishers, authors and artists in Canadian contemporary art. Although the fine arts community has generally been slow to adopt open access, Canadian contemporary arts publishers, many of whom have small budgets and limited resources, are finding the open access e-artexte repository an effective means of increasing distribution of and access to their publications.
The new Rijksmuseum library: how a 21st-century research library became an exhibition room
Authors: Vogel Melanie
Published: July 2016

The greatest art library in the Netherlands returned to its original rooms inside the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. How can this library with its own rich history serve the demands of a 21st-century user? What might be the appropriate measures to counter the struggles of the first weeks after the grand re-opening? After more than a decade of reconstruction and renovation the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam was reopened on 13 April 2013. The inside of the museum has been completely transformed and the building itself has been restored to its original splendour. The largest art research library in the Netherlands has become accessible to the general public, seven days a week from 10 am to 5 pm. More then 10,000 visitors a day are eager to explore the museum as well as its unique 19th-century reading room designed by P.J.H Cuypers. But how can the original concept be adapted to present day demands?
Independent art publishing in China
Authors: Millichap John
Published: July 2016

China’s publishing landscape today remains a harsh environment, dominated by the state industry and hostile to outside intruders. A few small independent art publishers, design studios and self-publishing artists have appeared in recent years in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other cities, a series of developments that signal new directions for the future of art publishing in this country.
Interviews and documentary sources in Chinese contemporary art research: Towards the critical use of polylogues
Authors: Gladston Paul
Published: July 2016

This article gives an account of the research methods and editing procedures used to inform the production of two recent books,Contemporary Art in Shanghai: Conversations with Seven Chinese Artistsand‘Avant-garde’ Art Groups in China, 1979-1989, focusing on issues related to the use of interviews and documentary sources in Chinese contemporary art research. As well as drawing attention to a range of contingent factors impinging on the reliability of interviews and documentary sources within the particular discursive contexts of China and to ways of mitigating their effects, it argues for the productive possibilities of the serial use of interviews in combination with other texts as critical polylogues.
Chinese art: A survey of collections and research materials in the United States
Authors: Xu Min
Published: July 2016

During the 20th century a range of museums in the United States were engaged in acquiring Chinese art objects, developing major collections of painting and calligraphy, ancient bronze, Buddhist sculpture, ceramics and other decorative arts. Research materials on Chinese art have been collected by art libraries in major museums and the East Asian libraries of the main research universities. The author surveys significant Chinese art collections in museums and research libraries in the United States today.
At home with books: resuscitating the history of 18th-century reading and readers at the Geffrye Museum
Authors: Fleming Hannah
Published: July 2016

Diaries, letters, commonplace books, marginal notes, visual and inventory evidence all speak to the possession of books by the middling sort in the 18th century and the presence of books in their homes. But how can this knowledge be translated into acquisitions for the museum and how should the stories of these books be told? How do museum displays and interpretation move beyond the fact of possession to uncover and represent the histories of readers, their engagement with texts, and the variety of historical reading habits?
Dodo, lame duck or phoenix, part 2? Can or should we preserve a slide library for research?
Authors: Godfrey Jenny
Published: July 2016

In part one of this article, published in vol. 39, no. 3 2014, I described how the History and Theory of Art and Design Slide Library at Cardiff is to be reinvented as a visual resources collection by being put to new and creative uses. Here in part two I consider possible arguments for safeguarding at least one exemplar slide library to be preserved intact and exactly as it was when used for art school lectures. The arguments put forward are derived from the Florence Declaration to which ARLIS/UK & Ireland is a recent signatory. Were the arguments successful in persuading the art and design and library communities that such a collection should be preserved? I end by profiling the set of circumstances I believe would need to co-exist before any institution would find such a project to be practically, financially, culturally and intellectually viable.
A collaborative approach to the use of archives in information literacy teaching and learning in an arts university
Authors: Martin-Bowtell Adele , Taylor Rebekah
Published: July 2016

Why do significant parts of our art libraries collections remain undiscovered and unused? Seemingly invisible to students and staff, the university archive strong room creates a barrier, preventing our students and researchers from accessing and browsing materials, as they would with our open shelf collections. What happens when archive materials are freed from their confines, brought out into the studio and explored and used by arts students? Better still, what happens when librarian, archivist and academic collaborate to make this happen, enabling increased awareness of these resources and facilitating information literacy skills learning? Conclude this with an artistic response to this method of teaching and learning and you have the Animation Archive Day at the University for the Creative Arts. The day formed part of a longer term initiative put together by the archivist and librarian to raise awareness among students and staff of the opportunities to utilize archives in their subject specific creative arts learning and education. The project recognizes the importance of allowing students to steer and interact creatively with archive use in a library context.
Book Works’ Archive: a partial response
Authors: Di Franco Karen
Published: July 2016

Since 2010, Book Works has been digitising material from its archive – whether finished works, ephemera, correspondence, photographs, or manuscripts – to give access to the working processes of the organisation (at www.bookworks.org.uk). The archive database is constructed around a chronological timeline and includes a search facility that allows visitors to filter and select material using a bespoke classification system. It currently comprises detailed content relating to two case studies from Book Works back catalogue: After the Freud Museum by Susan Hiller and Erasmus is late by Liam Gillick, as well as ephemera and material from other works. The project has been developed in collaboration with Ligatus Research Centre, University of the Arts London, with support from the AHRC Knowledge Transfer scheme.
The Warburg Institute, 1933-1944 A precarious experiment in international collaboration
Authors: Sears Elizabeth
Published: July 2016

Rarely does a research library travel. In 1933, the year the Nazis came to power, the Warburg family in Hamburg negotiated with British sponsors to enable the Kulturwissenschaftliche Bibliothek Warburg (Warburg Library for Cultural Study) to find safe haven in London. An initial three-year agreement was followed by a seven-year arrangement and, at the end of 1944, with Europe still at war, the Warburg Institute was incorporated into the University of London. The story of the first eleven years in London – highly productive years in which the staff sought to pursue their original mission while assimilating into British academe – reveals the working of complex politics and shows the degree to which, early on, the fate of the Warburg Institute was linked to that of the newly founded Courtauld Institute of Art.
Otto Pächt in the Bodleian Library
Authors: Kauffmann Martin
Published: July 2016

Otto Pächt came to England already formed as an art historian of the Vienna school. His natural orbit was the Warburg Institute, but with the outbreak of war he moved to Oxford and began to catalogue the illuminated manuscripts in the Bodleian Library. The catalogue was destined to have a major impact on the field; but by the time it was published Pächt had taken up the chair of art history in Vienna, one of the few refugee scholars to have returned to live and work in his native country.
Cabinet d’Estampes ou Bibliothèque d’Images? Les materiaux hétérogènes dans les Collections Graphiques de la Bibliothèque Jagellone
Authors: Hordyfński Piotr
Published: July 2016

Should a collection of prints and graphic materials include only items of undoubted artistic worth, or can it also include items which are valued primarily as historical evidence and because they vividly illustrate the past? This question is raised by the variety of materials accumulated in the graphic collections of the Biblioteka Jagiellonska in Cracow, ranging as they do from artists’ prints to photographs and postcards, and including a unique collection of material arising from the political struggle in Poland during the 1980s. Typically, graphic collections accumulate by gift and chance, without any intention that they should serve only a single aim; since visual images of all kinds lend themselves to being looked at and used in different ways, a visual collection, especially in a public library, should serve many purposes and a wide range of users. (A full English version follows the original text in French).
Researching fashion in New York libraries and beyond
Authors: Hills-Nova Clare
Published: July 2016

By the 1990s, fashion studies’ relegation to the marginalia of art historical discourse had greatly diminished. During the same period, US fashion itself emerged from European domination, with the action centring on New York City. Conveniently, New York’s art, design and fashion libraries, archives and special collections were already the most wide-ranging anywhere and, propelled by multi-disciplinary-, multi-media-driven interests, they have continued to expand their collections in all areas of fashion research and design, as well as in fashion’s innumerable contiguous fields. While discussing the multiple research resources available to New York-based historians of dress, fashion designers and clothing industry affiliates, this article examines issues of choice and magical serendipity in the context of an at-times overwhelming plethora of information.
The architecture of museum libraries: an overview of the years 2000 to 2003
Authors: de Chermont Isabelle le Masne
Published: July 2016

In recent years many museums and art galleries in Europe have remodelled their libraries, often funding the physical changes by means of sponsorship, while at the same time re-thinking access and the services to be provided. This article analyses some current examples in Paris, London and the Netherlands and describes a range of different approaches. But it finds most successful the British Museum’s Paul Hamlyn Library, housed in the famous circular Reading Room and open to all visitors: these will discover, that, alongside modern databases, the Library has kept its traditional links with the book.
1, 2, 3, 5: building a collection of artists’ books
Authors: Bury Stephen
Published: July 2016

Because artists’ books can be expensive to buy and to keep, institutions need to have a clearly articulated rationale for collecting them. This could range from documenting the history of art, and contemporary art in particular, to a survey of how artists have used the book format to explore their ideas. This latter approach would support the use of artists’ books in practical workshops leading to the creation of yet further artists’ books.
Artists’ books in the National Art Library, Victoria and Albert Museum
Authors: Farmer Jennie
Published: July 2016

The National Art Library’s collection of artists’ books is described here by one of the librarians, who is herself trained as a book artist, having completed an MA in Book Arts at Camberwell College of Art. She has built upon this knowledge through working with the large numbers of artists’ books at the NAL and begins this article by discussing the terminology relating to the book arts, going on to talk about the history of the NAL’s collection and touching on its future. She finishes by highlighting a few very distinctive items available for consultation.
Censorship of art books in the Soviet Union and its effect on the arts and on art libraries
Authors: Sinitsyna Olga
Published: July 2016

Although official censorship in the Soviet Union ceased over ten years ago, the effects in art and art libraries are still felt. Censored books were marked with a hexagon and relegated to closed stacks, which for many years were off limits to the public and library staff alike. Some of the banned material in the All-Russia State Library for Foreign Literature is analysed here in an attempt to establish the reason why certain items were seen by the authorities as too harmful to be acceptable for general circulation. The fate of the second “enemy” perceived by the Soviet censors, the original works of art and architecture, is also described.
Digital interactive publishing: off- and on-line, some observations
Authors: Rees Jeremy
Published: July 2016

Many problems beset early digital interactive publishing on videodiscs and LaserDiscs, while the rapid development of the Internet, technically and in terms of user base, has in most fields now supplanted the CD-ROM. The future for off-line digital resources in the cultural field will depend on one hand on the success of the current (very slow) launch of DVD with its greatly increased storage capacity compared with CD-ROM and, on the other hand, on the widening and cheapening of Internet bandwidth. And the launch of high definition digital television will almost certainly change everything yet again.
Printed shows: exhibitions and their catalogues during the last fifty years
Authors: Jahre Lutz
Published: July 2016

In the last half-century exhibition catalogues have completely changed in appearance. Fifty years ago they were usually small pamphlets, which often simply listed the works of art in a show. Today catalogues are frequently substantial monographs, generally profusely illustrated. But a more complex change has also taken place, in line with major developments in the museum and exhibition world. This change can be illustrated by looking at some of the features of catalogues today, such as their production costs, function, and distribution.
Providing access to international primary research resources in the humanities
Authors: Camp Anne Van
Published: July 2016

Gaining access to primary research materials is critical to the support of research and learning. The Research Libraries Group’s initiatives to make archival materials, and museum objects and their records, available in an electronic environment are exploring the technical possibilities of achieving international, integrated access to textual and visual materials. That seamless web of resources so desired by researchers is getting ever closer to reality.
The Melva J. Dwyer Award
Authors: Zimon Kathy E.
Published: July 2016

The Melva J. Dwyer Award was established in honour of Melva Dwyer, a founding member of CARLIS, upon her retirement after 31 years of distinguished service on behalf of Canadian art librarianship and as Fine Arts Librarian at the University of British Columbia. The award is presented to the best Canadian art reference work, broadly interpreted, produced by a Canadian author. Unlike other awards, the Dwyer Award is a limited edition print by Calgary artist Susan Ford that incorporates both the concept and title of the prize. Eight awards have been presented so far, in addition to the first of the ten prints which was presented to Melva Dwyer in 1987.
Canada West: the new homeland
Authors: Moir Lindsay
Published: July 2016

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, various government departments and several private companies engaged in an aggressive campaign to populate and develop western Canada. The cornerstone of this campaign was its publication programme. Over 300 pamphlets and brochures were published to advertise the ‘free’ lands of the Northwest. The advertising programme promoted rural settlement, depicting an idyllic landscape strongly reminiscent of ‘home’ and appealing to a young, male Anglo-Saxon population. While the campaign was successful in attracting immigrants, the reality was not always so idyllic and many settlers left. Despite the difficulties, others stayed and built rewarding lives in ‘Canada West: the new homeland’.
An open library in an open museum
Authors: Timasheva Irina
Published: July 2016

Should museums open their libraries to the general public? This is a delicate question, widely discussed within and outside the museum community. The lack of a consensus on this topic made it one of the key points at the Libraries in museums – museums in libraries conference, held in Moscow in May 1999. While the recently-established ‘Open Museum’ Association in Russia aims to make all museum activities open to the public, and to develop interactive communication with both real and virtual museum visitors, libraries are not yet one of its priorities. However Irina Timasheva firmly advocates changing the role and mission of museum libraries, as has been done at the Samara Museum, and demonstrates the benefits to both museum and local community. Even if this ‘first swallow is not yet a Spring’, there is already a quite noticeable trend towards the open museum library in Russia.
Viewpoint
Authors: Houghton Beth
Published: July 2016

Much is made of the way in which technology has transformed libraries – as indeed it has; but not out of all recognition and not particularly markedly as yet in the case of art libraries. We still seem to have a fewbooks around; we may be becoming acutely aware of the perils of the e-journal but most of us haven’t actually got many of them yet; I suspect that we talk more about digitisation than we digitise; and many of the materials which are specific to art libraries are likely to be well back in the queue for transformation.
SOS (self-help or spoonfeeding): teaching students the art of retrieving architectural information
Authors: Latimer Karen
Published: July 2016

This paper looks at the way architecture students at Queen’s University are educated in the art of information retrieval from their undergraduate to their postgraduate years. Particular emphasis is paid to the role the librarian plays in the first year project to research, and produce a model of, a seminal building and to the development of PADDI (Planning Architecture Design Database Ireland) as a teaching tool for researching local architecture. The impact on library management is examined in relation to effective deployment of decreasing staff resources in the face of increasing student numbers; the raising of the profile of library staff within the Faculty; the more focused allocation of budgets through involvement with course planning; and the growth of new services, arising from an improved awareness of student needs.
Lecturer/librarian partnerships for effective learning in art and design
Authors: Gaimster Julia , Downing Richard
Published: July 2016

Lecturers and librarians are often working separately to achieve the same goal: facilitating student learning. This paper describes a workshop that addresses these issues, examines tradition and practice that reinforce the separation and identifies strategies for closer collaboration.
Open concepts: museum digital documentation for education through The AMICO Library™
Authors: Trant Jennifer , Richmond Kelly , Bearman David
Published: July 2016

As education and research institutions struggle to come to terms with networked resources, new kinds of organizations and partnerships are emerging to support the distribution of networked cultural heritage information. The Art Museum Image Consortium (AMICO) provides an example of how museums have collaborated, in a manner that respects the requirements of education and research, to enhance access to the digital multimedia documenting their collections. AMICO has responded to librarians’ concerns about administration, economics, access and use in this new information environment, leveraging resources and - it is hoped - providing cost-effective, unprecedented access to cultural multimedia.
Handling Slides Single-Handed
Authors: Pacey Philip
Published: July 2016

In 1975 the Library at Preston Polytechnic undertook the task of reorganising and developing a collection of slides previously in the custody of the School of Art and Design. Circumstances dictated that the collection be organised for maximum use and minimal maintenance. The slides have been classified by 18th Dewey and housed in transparent sheets of pockets suspended in filing cabinets, enabling borrowers to browse and help themselves.
Slides at the Bibliotheque Forney
Authors: Lelieur Anne-Claude
Published: July 2016

The slide collection at the Bibliotheque Forney is an extension of this library’s documentation of the decorative arts and crafts for the benefit of the craftsmen and public of Paris. The collection consists mainly of sets of slides, copies of which are available for loan.
General Survey of the Sheep Industry
Authors: White R. G.
Published: July 2016

In 1937-38, the total value of the agricultural output in Great Britain, excluding subsidies on cattle and wheat, was roughly £265,000,000 sterling. Of this total, livestock and livestock products accounted for £187,000,000—or just over 70 per cent. The total value of mutton, lamb and wool sold off the farms in the same year was a little more than £24,000,000—about 9 per cent, of the total, and only about 13 per cent, of the output from all forms of meat and livestock products. The question may, therefore, well be asked—why we propose to devote the whole of the second meeting of the newly-formed Society of Animal Production to discussion of an animal which would appear to a pure economist to be of rather minor importance in British Agriculture. Before the war, pigs and poultry each brought in a substantially greater return, and—if we exclude the mountainous regions of Scotland and Wales—both pigs and poultry leave sheep well behind as a source of gross income.
Sheep for Long Leys
Authors: Bywater T. L.
Published: July 2016

Great changes have been brought about in British farming by the war. Of these changes the most obvious as well as the most important have been, firstly, the conversion of large areas of grassland into arable to grow much needed human food crops, and secondly, the decline that has taken place in the numbers of all classes of farm livestock other than dairy cattle.

There are now welcome signs that the European war may soon be brought to a successful conclusion and the time is appropriate, therefore, for taking stock of British farming as a whole as well as of its component parts, in order to decide what developments are necessary to bring farming in this country into a sound and healthy state, so that it may yield its full profit to farmers themselves and to the nation as a whole.
Food Preferences and Habits in Dairy Cows
Authors: Blaxter K. L.
Published: July 2016

Experiments in Denmark and America and studies in this country have shown that the law of diminishing returns applies to the complex relationship between the food intake of the cow and her milk yield, that is, as the food intake of the cow increases, milk yield increases but at a constantly declining rate, so that a higher level of feeding produces a greater additional quantity of milk when the plane of nutrition of the cow is already low. The optimal level of feeding dairy cows for profit cannot therefore be fixed for it must vary with both the cost of the cow’s food and the selling price of milk.