bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Art Libraries and Research Resources of the Smithsonian Institution
Authors: Martinez Katharine
Published: July 2016

The Smithsonian Institution, a public organisation established in 1846 “for the increase and diffusion of knowledge”, includes ten museums and several research bureaux. Most but not all of the associated libraries are linked through the Smithsonian Institution Libraries; they include several art libraries which contribute significantly to the overall provision of art library service to the American people but do not of themselves constitute a “national art library”. Most of the Smithsonian’s libraries enter their records in a database (SIBIS) which is accessible online via OCLC. Co-ordinated collection development has been pursued since 1984. In two areas in particular, American and African art, Smithsonian libraries aim to provide a national service.
Art libraries in Israel
Authors: Teichman Carmela
Published: July 2016

The Israel Museum Library at Jerusalem is Israel’s largest art library; it maintains the Archive of Israeli Art and an index of periodicals and it serves a national audience. It is complemented by other museum, university, and college libraries, and by the public library network.
The electronic museum of graphic design history at Rochester Institute of Technology
Authors: Remington R. Roger
Published: July 2016

Much of the original and printed material which constitutes the history of graphic design is in danger of being lost. The efforts of libraries and museums to preserve this material can be enhanced by the use of interactive videodisc to record, and to facilitate access to and exploitation of, the contents of graphic design archives. At the Rochester Institute of Technology, a project which aims to create an ‘electronic museum’ alongside an extensive archive of graphic design has achieved the production of a prototype videodisc and of accompanying software. While the Rochester Archive is focussed on American graphic design of the 1930s to 1950s, an international network of graphic design collections, and of electronic databases, is envisaged.
Research outside the mainstream
Authors: Crowe Edith L.
Published: July 2016

Needlework with a political theme is an example of the kind of art ‘outside the mainstream’ which tends to be documented inadequately or not at all. Information is likely to be unpublished, ephemeral, or not indexed. In supposedly free societies, this can be the result of a cultural conspiracy which allows, while ‘ignoring, condemning, or belittling’, the creative activities of women and of racial, ethnic, or class minorities. Librarians should ensure that library collections do not merely reflect the ‘mainstream’, in spite of the problems of collecting non-mainstream material and of making it accessible. In addition, librarians should be prepared to argue the case for acquiring such material, and should be active in promoting it. Librarians are in a unique position to help redefine art and culture.
The new trend to share research materials and information among national art museums in Japan
Authors: Mizutani Takeshi
Published: July 2016

During the last fifteen years, Japanese museums and institutions, which previously kept art historical information very much to themselves, have begun to take steps to make information and research materials more accessible. In several cases, museums have founded their own research and information centres. At the same time, the use of computers has been introduced in the humanities, and the potential of the computer as a means of organising, exchanging, and providing access to art historical and bibliographical data is being explored. These “new trends” are being spearheaded by art historians and museums; art librarians are now contributing to the dialogue, and although the concept of the “art library” remains relatively undeveloped in Japan, the time is ripe for art librarianship to flourish.
Stage dans des Bibliotheques d’Art en Grande Bretagne organise par la BPI et le British Council
Authors: Picot Nicole
Published: July 2016

During October, 1987, Nicole Picot, arts librarian of the Bibliothèque Publique d’Information at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, worked at the National Art Library at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. She also visited several other British art libraries in order to gain a wider view. Her report is printed below. As part of the same arrangement, Gillian Varley from the National Art Library spent two weeks, in June, 1988, at the Bibliothèque Publique d’Information; her report, and extracts from the diary of her visit, are also published in this issue of the Arts Libraries Journal.
ARLIS Norge: the first five years
Authors: Markussen Åse
Published: July 2016

Since its formation in October 1983, ARLIS Norge, a society of Norwegian art libraries and librarians, has provided a professional focus for art librarians within Norway while at the same time maintaining a high level of participation in international activities. A directory of Norwegian art libraries has recently been published. (An English version of an article first published in ARLIS-nytt, 1988 no.4 p.3-8)
The serials policy of ARLIS/UK & Eire
Authors: Varley Gillian
Published: July 2016

ARLIS/UK & Eire has developed a thorough and practical strategy regarding the national provision of art serials in libraries. The keystone of this strategy is the ARLIS Union List of Art Periodicals, shortly to appear in its fourth edition. Titles of new serials are noted in the ARLIS News-sheet. Data in the Union List facilitates co-operation between, and co-ordination of the holdings of, different libraries, and is used in particular to identify those libraries which are the only locations for specific titles. ARLIS is determined that all art journals covered by the major indexes and abstracts are accessible in the U.K. and Eire; at the same time, the attention of publishers of indexes will be drawn to serials which are not indexed. ARLIS is represented on the advisory boards of major indexing and abstracting services, and in addition has completed a survey of ‘in-house’ indexes maintained by different libraries. Further developments are likely to depend, not merely on the co-operative efforts of members and on co-operation with other bodies, but also on the availability of funds and, hopefully, of a researcher.
Contemporary art and fashion: from Pop to Populist
Authors: Tong Darlene
Published: July 2016

During the 1970s and 1980s, a number of American artists have made use of clothing as an art medium. Their work constitutes a new art movement, drawing on, and straddling divisions between, Pop Art, performing arts, popular culture, and fashion; it merits more thorough and accessible documentation, and there is a need for art libraries to make available the elusive information which does exist.
The documentation centre of Polimoda
Authors: Marchi Tiziani
Published: July 2016

The Istituto Politecnico Internazionale della Moda or ‘Polimoda’, located in Florence and Prato, was founded in 1986 to provide for the training needs of the fashion industry. Its documentation centre, in Florence, specialises in contemporary fashion and the clothing industry. A wide range of materials – including periodicals, slides, videos, forecasts, and a small collection of actual garments – is mostly on open access, and is represented in its entirety in a database which allows for different kinds of online searching.
Les bibliotheques d’art en France et les nouvelles technologies de l’image
Authors: Melot Michel
Published: July 2016

In an age in which so much information is communicated through images, libraries can no longer exclude the ‘new technology of the image’. It is essential for libraries to respond to the challenge of the media, and to recognise, for example, the importance of television, which has a very visible and vital presence in the Bibliothèque publique d’information at the Pompidou Centre in Paris. Ever since the invention of photography, France has been the home of a lively tradition of active, innovative interest in photography. This is reflected in the existence of the Centre national de la photographies and the Ecole nationale de la photographie, in collections and exhibitions of photographs, and recently in the use made of videodiscs, by both museums and libraries, as a means of storing images and making them accessible. Telecommunications offer the prospect of online access to a network linking image collections together as a single visual resource. The most serious obstacles to be overcome are neither technological nor financial: the legal question of copyright has to be addressed, while the muted interest of historians does not as yet represent an overwhelming demand for such a service, and much may depend on librarians to stimulate the enthusiasm of potential users.
Les Archives de la critique d’art
Authors: Poinsot Jean-Marc
Published: July 2016

Material amassed by art critics in pursuance of their work, and according to criteria different from those of museums and academic institutions, can have its own archival value but is seldom preserved. The Archives de la critique d’art, newly established at the University of Rennes with support from AICA and FRAC-Bretagne, aims to remedy this situation, initially for France and ultimately for Europe as a whole, by collecting and preserving material of this kind, and by creating a database of information on art criticism worldwide.
La Seccion de Arte de la Biblioteca del Centro de Estudios Historicos de Madrid
Authors: Lizán Pilar , Sánchez Maria Jesús
Published: July 2016

The Art Section of the Library of the Centre for Historical Studies in Madrid inherited part of the art library of the former Centro de Estudios Históricos (CEH) and the entire collection of the Instituto de Historia del Arte y Arqueologia ‘Diego Velazquez’. The Art Section is particularly well endowed with monographs on painting from the 15th to the 18th centuries, and on silver, and with guides and catalogues relating to regional art. The collection of periodicals is one of the best of its kind in Madrid. Other notable holdings include the manuscripts of the Catálogos Monumentales Nacionales, a collection of auction catalogues, and a magnificent collection of photographs. The CEH Library has been part of a libraries automation programme, the Programa de Informatización de Bibliotecas del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (PRIBIC) since 1988, and in 1989 made a start on the retrospective conversion of the catalogue records of the Art Section. The Art Section collaborates with other art libraries in Madrid and contributes data to documentation centres such as ISOC and to the Répertoire d’Art et Archéologie (now succeeded by the Bibliography of the History of Art). Projects currently under consideration include indexing and automating the auction catalogues, and copying the photograph collection onto videodisc.
Breve historia de la Biblioteca del Instituto de Conservacion y Restauracion de bienes Culturales Especializada en Temas del Patrimonio Artistico Español
Authors: Medina Alicia García
Published: July 2016

The library of the Instituto de Conservación y Restauración de Bienes Culturales was founded in 1961. The library is specially dedicated to Spanish art, architecture and restoration. Now it has about 20,000 volumes and 450 serial publications. The advent of the computer has revolutionised the ability of librarians to respond to their clientele, making libraries truly information centres: the computer system of this library is used to perform such operations as information retrieval and the creation and maintenance of individual in-house generated databases concerning the Spanish cultural heritage.
The National Art Library: into the 1990s
Authors: Wateren Jan van der
Published: July 2016

The National Art Library, at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, seeks to fulfil its national role by becoming the focal point of a wider network of libraries. In order to support this role, and to carry it forward into the 1990s, the Library has redesigned its management structure, developed a role as a training library for the art library profession, and applied a professional approach, involving the collection and consideration of management data, to the Library’s administration. Collection development has been redefined, shifting the emphasis from the past to the present; this has resulted in an increased intake of material, in spite of a frozen budget, with a consequent need for more space which will be provided through a reorganisation of the Library’s existing accommodation. A plan for the conservation of items in the Library’s collections is being devised. Automation, installed in 1990, brings with it further possibilities and the critical question of whether to prioritise the development of the collections or the development of access to the collections.
[no title]
Authors: McRae Linda
Published: July 2016

Like most librarians, I spend a large part of my time organizing information and helping others to find it, but as an artist, I sometimes find an image more interesting to appropriate than to classify.

The word “appropriation” as applied to art has in some ways supplanted the concept of the found object. Appropriation refers to the use of images (taken from many sources, including art history) that have been not only removed from their original context, but re-combined with other images to form a new context, a new work of art.
Authors: Trepanier Peter
Published: July 2016

I entered art librarianship thinking that it would be but an adjunct to my activities as an artist. I have come to realize that the reverse has occured. My art has come to elaborate on my role as a librarian in an architectural museum library.* It reflects and redefines my constant exposure to architectural imagery and criticism. This example is from a series of mixed media works which resulted from a trip I made to India two years ago.
Collections, acquisitions and activities in the Library of the State Hermitage
Authors: Makarova Evgeniya
Published: July 2016

The Library of The Hermitage at St Petersburg traces its origins to the library which Catherine II brought to the Winter Palace in 1762, and which took its place alongside her collections of fine and decorative arts. It was only later, under Alexander I, that the Library began to be conceived less as a collection in its own right and more as a study collection serving the needs of the other collections. From the 1850s, the Library was located in “The Hermitage”, purpose-built to house the Imperial collections. After a number of setbacks, the Library recommenced its development in 1919, gaining a separate building and acquiring some noteworthy collections from private hands and other sources. Currently the Library possesses some 570,000 volumes, accommodated in a central collection and in seven departmental libraries; it was perhaps the leading art library in the former USSR. Its activities include the lending of books to other libraries, and the provision of training opportunities to students of librarianship.
The art book: the idea and the reality
Authors: Esteve-Coll Elizabeth
Published: July 2016

Concurrently with developments in art history which have challenged the simple notion of “the art book” as artist’s monograph, the library profession has been obliged to look beyond both the traditional book format and related methodologies. Art librarians have led the way in adopting new technology, not for its own sake but in response to the nature of art information and the needs of their clients; they are aware that “there is no such thing” as “the art book”, and that in reality this term embraces a plurality of formats among which the codex book continues to flourish not only as a vehicle of information but also, for example, as a medium exploited by artists. In all its manifestations, but not least in those which are novel, innovative, and unfamiliar, art information challenges art librarians to adopt a dynamic and proactive role in making it available and promoting and facilitating its use.
Art book publishing in Canada
Authors: Dwyer Melva J.
Published: July 2016

Canadian publishing was inhibited from the beginning by Canada’s colonial origins and dependence on Great Britain and the USA. Few art books were published until quite recently; the relatively small, scattered population, the flooding of the market with British, American and (in Quebec) French books, and limited (at best) or non-existent sales outside Canada continue to be constraining factors. The necessity to include both English and French texts adds to the cost of book production in Canada. The publication of art books, and of exhibition catalogues, depends on the availability of government grants. Publications on the art of the North American Indian and Inuit peoples are an exception, attracting widespread interest and leading in some instances to co-publishing initiatives. In addition to the larger publishing houses, a number of small presses produce occasional art books, thanks to grants and in a few cases with the added benefit of sales abroad achieved through international networking. A government programme of support for Canadian publishing, launched in 1986, is continuing.
Art book publishing in Germany
Authors: Evers Bernd
Published: July 2016

Publishing of art books in the former Federal Republic of Germany expanded after 1945, but with an ever-widening divergence between academic and popular titles. Important scholarship, even when published in the form of inexpensive but over-elaborate catalogues, is relatively inaccessible, whereas popular art books cover the same ground over and over again and leave vast areas of art untouched.
Artists’ books in UK & Eire libraries
Authors: Ford Simon
Published: July 2016

An overview of the author’s research into the collection management of artists’ books in UK and Eire libraries, dealing with their selection, acquisition, processing, cataloguing, storage, conservation, and exploitation. Much of the information derives from a questionnaire distributed to 127 art and design libraries in the UK and Eire during 1992. Various policies are compared and the case of the National Art Library, at the Victoria and Albert Museum, is examined in detail. Artists’ books are seen to illuminate fundamental issues concerning both contemporary art and contemporary librarianship. Future prospects are discussed and recommendations for better use, management, promotion and understanding of the material are offered. A selection of 25 definitions of artists’ books is appended.
The National Art Library and the Indian Collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Authors: der Wateren Jan van
Published: July 2016

The V&A Museum possesses the largest collection of Indian art outside the Indian sub-continent, dating from the acquisition of items from the Great Exhibition and of collections acquired by the Honourable East India Company. The Nehru Gallery of Indian Art, which opened in 1990, enabled a great deal of this material to be displayed. The Indian Collection is served by its own small research library, the records of which are currently being incorporated in the catalogue of the National Art Library at the Museum, while the National Art Library itself provides scholarly material on Indian art, especially the fine and decorative arts, in the major European languages. Some sources for obtaining new publications from India are noted.
Le metier de bibliothecaire dans une bibliotheque d’art
Authors: Viaux Jacqueline
Published: July 2016

Art libraries are different from other libraries; they require of art librarians a broad knowledge of art, with a more detailed knowledge of any aspects of the subject in which the particular library has a special interest. This kind of knowledge cannot be acquired entirely from books, but must also be gained from direct encounters with works of art, and by immersing oneself in different places and cultures. Art librarians must also be prepared to learn about art librarianship from colleagues at home and abroad, and about the needs of library users from the users themselves. Yet on occasion the demands of users, as well as the meddling of administrators, must be resisted. Art librarians must apply their knowledge not only to the selection of books, but also to the provision and organisation of visual resources, and to assessing both the value and the limitations of databases. [An English version of this paper appeared in ARLIS NORDEN INFO 1992 no. 2/3; the French text is published here for the first time, and is followed by a new English translation].
Reflections: Directions: Projections
Authors: Chamberlain Ken
Published: July 2016

Reflections on three facets of professional art librarianship as experienced by the author over the past twenty years: the status of librarians, the status of the art library, information storage and retrieval. The University of Manitoba Faculty Association was one of the first in Canada to accept professional librarians as equal to faculty, a major step for the profession. Canadian librarians have played significant roles in the development of the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) which from the beginning interested itself in collection development, technical practices of art libraries, and the needs, qualifications and physical surroundings of art librarians. The major technological development of the eighties for art libraries was not the widespread automation of major academic and public libraries, but the introduction of relatively inexpensive personal computers and attendant technology, which gives any library the capacity to access national and international databases and to assemble their files in a format which makes them readily available to a wider public.
Today is for tomorrow: the National Gallery of canada Library collection policy in context
Authors: Beglo Jo
Published: July 2016

Art librarians in Canada find themselves in the position of Janus, who simultaneously turns one face to the past and the other toward the future. They have the responsibility to care for collections from the past; at the same time they face a future of continuous change, escalating costs, dwindling resources and institutional agendas. Long-range planning is essential, and an up-to-date collection development policy is fundamental for identifying strengths and weaknesses, confirming commitments and setting priorities. The National Gallery of Canada Library (NGCL) has recently developed a draft collection policy which is now under review within and outside the Gallery. In addition to considerations of selection and bibliographic control, the policy deals with related companion activities such as evaluation, interpretation, and preservation.
Issues in art librarianship in Canadian universities
Authors: Lerner Loren
Published: July 2016

Advances in visual arts research are significant, easing the gathering process and expanding the horizons of historical investigation. As visual arts scholarship changes, the vocabulary of art is evolving to describe new concepts, perspectives and concerns. Computer technology has made the location, description and retrieval of art information easier. The computer’s capacity to interrelate text and visual data through image processing has led to new types of reference and research tools. Communication amongst art researchers through electronic networks will transform academic discourse. All of these changes impact on the concept of the art library and the role of art librarians and visual curators in university libraries.
The national role of the Library of the National Gallery of Canada
Authors: Waddington Murray
Published: July 2016

The financial situation of cultural institutions is becoming increasingly perilous, and two years into its new national mandate the Library of the National Gallery of Canada finds its resources absorbed by internal needs and local use. To sustain a vital presence in the community of art information specialists the Library must restrict its contributions to those which have modest or no resource imperatives: generously shared collections; well conceived services which are publicized and accessible; strengthened cataloguing to be shared; attention to preservation; development of expertise to be shared with colleagues and students; initiation and promotion of collaborative projects. As a federal body the National Gallery of Canada is excluded from funding sources available to others, but will support the projects of others. A national task force is needed to outline and develop a Canadian strategic plan for art libraries.
Dual Master’s degree in art librarianship, Indiana University, USA
Authors: Irvine Betty Jo
Published: July 2016

In 1985 the dual master’s degree program in art librarianship was developed at Indiana University by the head of the Fine Arts Library, working with faculty members in the School of Fine Arts/Art History and the School of Library and Information Science. This program is designed to prepare students in the United States for professional library and information specialist positions in fine arts libraries and information centers. The student is offered a coordinated approach to achieving two masters degrees — one in art history and the other in library and information science — and must be admitted to both schools. For this program the course ‘Seminar in Art Librarianship’ was devised, covering topics such as administration, collection development, reference services, and visual resources management. Further requirements include a research bibliography course in art history and fieldwork experience in the Fine Arts and Slide libraries. This program seeks to meet the need for a marketable combination of subject–specific and library/information science education for art library and visual resources professionals.
Making the vision work
Authors: Varley Gillian
Published: July 2016

How has the vision of the pioneers of ARLIS translated into the activities and achievements of the Society and its members in the present? The relationship of ARLIS and the National Art Library at the Victoria and Albert Museum has radically improved; collaborative projects in the areas of periodicals, slides and exhibition catalogues have yielded fruits in the form of union lists, surveys and directories; the longstanding Directory of members has been joined by a new directory documenting art, design and architecture resources in the UK and Ireland. However, as the Follett Report shows, the demands on libraries in the UK are heavier than ever before and will continue to increase, meaning that libraries will have to find new strategies to keep abreast of demand and take advantage of the new technologies. ARLIS should broaden its membership and may be able to achieve some of its long-term goals through the Visual Arts Library and Information Plan.

This article is a revised version of a paper delivered to the 25th Anniversary Conference of ARLIS/UK & Ireland, London, 7th-10th April 1994.
‘To promote art librarianship’: twenty-five years of ARLIS publications
Authors: Coulson Anthony J.
Published: July 2016

From the outset ARLIS has consistently published serials, from the ARLIS Newsletter to the present Art Libraries Journal (with its international role) and the ARLIS News-sheet (for current and domestic information). An annual Directory of Members has provided vital information about ARLIS membership. Monographs and occasional publications, some published by ARLIS and some in collaboration with other publishers, have included a variety of manuals, guidelines, directories, indexes and union lists. A full list of publications is appended.
‘A grapevine round the world’: the development, through 25 years, of the international role of ARLIS/UK & Ireland
Authors: Pacey Philip
Published: July 2016

Between 1969 and 1979, while it was establishing itself, ARLIS attracted the attention of art librarians in other countries, publicised and encouraged their activities, and in particular developed a close relationship with the new ARLIS/NA (ARLIS/North America). This phase culminated, in 1976, in the launch of the Art Libraries Journal, and in the organisation of an international conference at Brighton which inaugurated a new era of collaboration between art librarians around the world, initial plans for an ‘ARLIS International’ being put aside in favour of working within the framework of IFLA. ARLIS subsequently participated in the activities of the IFLA Round Table of Art Librarians and its successor, the IFLA Section of Art Libraries. More recently, ARLIS responded to the growth of an international community of art librarians by changing its name to ARLIS/UK & Eire (and later to ARLIS/UK & Ireland) and by relaunching the Art Libraries Journal; the winding up of its International Committee, far from representing a decline in the Society’s international activities, was a logical consequence of the fact that an international outlook had come to pervade virtually all of its work. ARLIS/UK & Eire hosted the IFLA Section of Art Libraries Pre-Conference at Brighton in 1987, and the Section’s Fourth European Conference, at Oxford, in 1992. While international activities may sometimes seem remote from the day-to-day work of art libraries, most British art librarians probably do now recognise the value of’a grapevine round the world’; furthermore, by ‘acting locally’ we are all helping to build the larger world of art librarianship.
The art library – a moving target
Authors: Greenhalgh Paul
Published: July 2016

Art libraries are plural entities in that they have multiple functions and serve a variety of users. In the United Kingdom, as elsewhere, academic art libraries provide visual resources for artists and art students; they also provide a wide range of texts for students of increasingly specialised branches of the history of art and design and of ‘visual studies’. Their librarians should collaborate with academic colleagues to develop the library to serve the institution’s needs; at the same time the institution should recognise the role of the library. The broader spectrum represented by the ‘new art history’ challenges the art library to widen its scope, although this must be done through networking as well as by means of collection development. Scholars realise that they must generally expect to have to go to the major libraries and archives for primary source material, although smaller art libraries often have valuable materials and some scholars might be encouraged to share their own research collections through the libraries of their institutions. Information technology has become the key to tracing material, but is no substitute for direct interaction with the materials themselves.
How the collections of graphic arts in the Russian State Library serve the needs of artists
Authors: Artamonova Svetlana N.
Published: July 2016

Use made of the graphic arts collections of the Russian State Library demonstrates the value of art libraries, and especially of collections of graphic arts and of pictorial materials, to artists. Among the artists who are most likely to benefit are illustrators and graphic designers, who are themselves engaged in the production of publications, and film makers. Conservators of buildings and of works of art also use art libraries. Libraries such as the Russian State Library can promote their collections by mounting exhibitions.
Information systems of the Ministry of Culture: a first enquiry into the present state of the Latin American and Caribbean arts collections in the city of Havana
Authors: Molinert Zenaida Terry , Piedrahita Lourdes Alfonso , Isax Verónica Lavín , Fraga Michel García , Sauri Teresa Mier
Published: July 2016

Art libraries have a vital role to play in documenting and disseminating the dynamic cultural identities of Latin American and Caribbean peoples. In Havana, some eight libraries and information centres share the task of documenting the art of Cuba itself, and of other Latin American and Caribbean countries. However, their collections are under-resourced and, in most cases, out-of-date; automation is overdue, and there is an urgent need to create a union catalogue and to develop a network of cooperation. (The text of a paper presented to the IFLA Section of Art Libraries at the IFLA General Conference at Havana, August 1994).
Towards a democratic arts and culture dispensation for South Africa: The Report of the Arts and Culture Task Group June 1995
Authors: Botha Elize
Published: July 2016

After the democratic elections of April 1994 in South Africa, a new Ministry of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology was established, the first of its kind in the history of the country. The Minister has appointed an Arts and Culture Task Group (ACTAG) to formulate proposals for a new arts and culture policy, after wide and intensive consultation, workshops and public hearings, taking into account numerous submissions from the arts community, professional bodies, the academic sphere and civil society. The proposals, contained in a Report presented to the Minister on 31st July 1995, centred on an envisaged National Arts and Culture Council, complemented by three autonomous bodies: a National Film Institute, a National Heritage Council and a National Council for Libraries and Information.
The George Fullard Electronic Art Book Project
Authors: Kirby John
Published: July 2016

Sheffield Hallam University possesses a large number of drawings by the sculptor George Fullard (1923-1973). Concern regarding the conservation of these drawings led to a discussion of how to provide access to them in the future. The result was an electronic book, available as a multimedia CD-ROM but which could also be made available on networks, and which can be approached from a variety of intellectual and interest levels.
Le Centre d’information Artexte: Medi(t)ations autour du catalogue d’exposition et de la francophonie
Authors: Léger Danielle
Published: July 2016

Founded in Montréal in 1980, the Centre d’information Artexte is a non-profit organisation devoted to the collection and distribution of information on all aspects of contemporary visual arts. The organisation has developed two subject areas in support of its objective (the exhibition catalogue and Canadian art) and sponsors activities on 3 fronts (documentation, distribution and publication). The Centre d’information Artexte’s collections are noted for their comprehensive holdings in contemporary art (1965-). A bibliographic database was developed by the Centre to support advanced research in contemporary art. A bilingual tool, it indexes indepth information found within the exhibition catalogue. Artexte serves both the French and English communities in Canada and promotes Canadian publications in contemporary art abroad.
The provision and use of information on Chinese art in London Libraries
Authors: Zheng Haiyao
Published: July 2016

London is a major international centre for study of and research into Chinese art. Four libraries - the British Library, the library of the School of Oriental and African Studies, the library of the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, and the National Art Library at the Victoria and Albert Museum - are perhaps the main providers of information on Chinese art, although information is also available from several museum libraries, from the library of Christie’s auction house, and from public and other libraries. A survey of users of information on Chinese art indicates that provision is generally satisfactory, although the degree of user satisfaction varies from one library to another. More effective networking between the key libraries would bring about significant improvements.
Imágenes digitales y Valoración de costes: La Experiencia Española
Authors: Docampo Javier
Published: July 2016

The Spanish National Library’s Memoria Hispánica project aims to provide networked access to a digital database, the Biblioteca Nacional Digita, including every item in its collection. The first phase of this project is scheduled to take place between 1996 and 1998. This follows an earlier project, the Sistema Integrado de Información Heráldica, which involved digitising the text and images of a major work on heraldry. Two ongoing projects comprise the production of an optical disc of Spanish portraits in the library’s collections, the Iconografía Hispana, and of a CD-ROM documenting an exhibition, mounted by the library from its collections, of prints and drawings by Goya. In both cases, the projects are being implemented and funded by external bodies who expect to recoup the costs from sales. It is likely that the Memoria Hispánica project will be funded in much the same way.
Art librarianship in Denmark
Authors: Lollesgaard Anja
Published: July 2016

Art libraries in Denmark mostly fall into one of two categories: art departments’ in public libraries, and research libraries attached to colleges, universities, and museums. Librarians in research libraries are in many cases scholars in their own right, while library staff at the Kunstakademiets Bibliotek are responsible for the Bibliografi over dansk kunst (sadly not published since 1981) and for Danish contributions to the BHA. The Royal Library and some art libraries hold collections of visual resources and of archival materials; in addition, there is an autonomous national archive of Danish artists, Weilbachs arkiv. An art librarians’ section of Bibliotekarforbundet (the Union of Danish Librarians), Kunstfaggruppen, was initiated by art librarians in public libraries, but is open to other art librarians too; Danish art librarians also work together within ARLIS/Norden. Professional training in Denmark is largely confined to general librarianship; art librarians in public libraries tend to be trained librarians with a personal enthusiasm for art, whereas librarians in research libraries are in some cases graduates but are not necessarily trained librarians. While the public library system took advantage of standardization, automation, and networking, the research libraries could not so readily embrace change, but two recent initiatives are beginning to bring libraries of all kinds together — DanBib, the Danish online union catalogue, formed in 1995 by merging the two separate databases for public and research libraries which both originated in the 1980s, and Kulturnet Danmark, a government-sponsored scheme involving the Internet.
A major dictionary of artists in Nova Scotia
Authors: Robson Scott
Published: July 2016

In over three-quarters of a century since Harry Piers read his paper ‘Artists in Nova Scotia’ before the Nova Scotia Historical Society, there has been no comprehensive publication about the history of art in Nova Scotia. An unpublished typescript does exist, however, written by Donald Cameron Mackay in the 1970s. This text is being developed for publication to make it available for study and to serve as groundwork for further research.
The National Museum of Photography at the Royal Library, Copenhagen
Authors: Jonge Ingrid Fischer
Published: July 2016

The Royal Library, Copenhagen has made many attempts over the years to organise the huge collection of photographs held in its Department of Maps, Prints and Photographs into a formal museum of photography. Finally in 1996 the Royal Library created such a museum, and named it ‘The National Museum of Photography’. This museum within a library will be located in the new building at the City’s harbour front called The Black Diamond. The displays will show new as well as older photography from the collection, which is important both artistically and historically. Digitisation and cataloguing of the collection are under way, and the first couple of thousand items are already available to a wider public on the Internet.
Collaboration between artists and librarians in a German magazine
Authors: Jahre Lutz
Published: July 2016

In 1997 the German art libraries magazine, AKMB-news: Informationen zu Kunst, Museum und Bibliothek, began a series of collaborations with contemporary artists, who provide original visual or conceptual contributions for some issues of the journal. The artists’ work refers mostly to the context of museums and libraries.
The ‘Nachtwacht’ is not a restaurant: the DutchESS guide to quality information on the Internet
Authors: Peereboom Marianne , Wishaupt Maggy
Published: July 2016

DutchESS (Dutch Electronic Subject Service, formerly NBW) is an Internet guide for the academic community produced by the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (the national library of the Netherlands) in co-operation with a number of Dutch academic libraries. The resources are selected by subject specialists who evaluate Internet information according to academic quality standards and make selections relevant to their own specific user groups. DutchESS has (as yet) no geographical restrictions, although it aims to cover Dutch resources as completely as possible. The service includes all disciplines, but the content depends on the contributions of individual subject specialists as well as on the bias of the participating libraries. A large number of art sites can now be found on the Internet, but many of them are superficial, lack substantial informative content, and/or are not relevant for academic research. Only a relatively small number meet the quality criteria of DutchESS and have been added to the database so far. Future developments of DutchESS may include participation in a European network of subject-based Information Gateways.
The Treasury of the Delft University of Technology Library
Authors: Eijk Freek Van
Published: July 2016

The Delft University of Technology Library, the oldest technical library in the Netherlands, is the national focal point for collecting literature on the applied sciences and technology. A major part of this collection covers applied and visual arts, with works from the sixteenth and seventeenth century based on Vitruvius, others by Palladio, Serlio or Dutch architects like Hendrik de Keyser, and contextual material on architecture and the fine arts. The Treasury aims to be both a nationally and an internationally known collection of technological literature.
L’Institut national d’histoire de l’art
Authors: Laclotte Michel
Published: July 2016

Le projet d’Institut national d’histoire de l’art (INHA) a une longue histoire, qu’il serait trop long de détailler dans le cadre de cet article. Je préfère me réjouir de la bonne nouvelle: l’INHA va enfin voir le jour.

L’INHA doit s’installer rue Vivienne et rue de Richelieu, dans une partie des locaux libérés par les Départements des Imprimés et des Périodiques et par certains services de la Bibliothèque nationale de France. Le bâtiment Colbert, rue Vivienne, abritera les activités de recherche et d’enseignement au niveau du 3e cycle, ainsi que les espaces destinés à l’accueil, aux rencontres scientifiques et aux expositions, tandis que la bibliothèque et l’iconothèque documentaire seront rassemblées rue de Richelieu.

La Mission interministérielle des Grands Travaux a conduit une étude de programmation. Elle a permis de prévoir, dans le détail, l’utilisation des lieux dans le bâtiment Vivienne et de tracer les grandes lignes d’une implantation de l’Institut dans le quadrilatère Richelieu, à côté des Départements spécialisés de la BnF, appelés à se redéployer: Département des Estampes et de la Photographie, Département des Manuscrits, Département des Cartes et Plans, Département des Monnaies, Médailles et Antiques, Département de la Musique, Département des Arts du spectacle.
Artists’ lives
Authors: Courtney Cathy
Published: July 2016

Since 1990 the National Life Story Collection has documented the lives of almost eighty of Britain’s visual artists by means of in-depth tape-recordings, often completed over many months. Cathy Courtney, Project Officer of Artists’ Lives, describes the evolution of an initiative which will subtly alter the context in which historians of the future come to assess the art of our time.
Bottom up: a UK approach to art library co-operation
Authors: Houghton Beth
Published: July 2016

What is library co-operation, what is its current relevance and how is its nature and purpose changing in today’s information world? What are the particular types of co-operative activity that art librarians have taken part in, and what have been their successes and failures? This article examines a range of projects carried out by ARLIS/UK & Ireland and others, from directories and union lists to cataloguing and indexing and disposal of stock. It considers the relationship between cooperative initiatives which can best be undertaken at local level and those where a national strategy and infrastructure are necessary. Finally it draws practical and realistic conclusions from a combination of past experience and a little crystal ball gazing.
The birth of an exhibition
Authors: Mahurter Sarah , Johanknecht Susan
Published: July 2016

The recent exhibition James Joyce’s typewriter and other stories: books at the London Institute was jointly curated by a librarian and an academic tutor. The aim was to demonstrate how six special collections in the London Institute’s Libraries and Learning Resources were relevant to the courses the students follow. In parallel, students from the Institute’s Book Arts MA created artists’ books influenced by one of the collections, and these were displayed in the exhibition alongside work by bookbinding and print media students.
A Poesy: a postscript
Authors: Murchison Janet F.
Published: July 2016

Curating is not a question of self-indulgence, self-expression, it’s a question of certain duties …. A guest curator muses on her role in setting up an exhibition in the new facility in the Library and Archives of the National Gallery of Canada, and describes the double-edged sword of freedoms and perils presented by an exhibition area that is sited within a museum setting but remains other.
Eat yourself fitter: John Latham and Clement Greenberg’s Art and Culture
Authors: Ford Simon
Published: July 2016

In 1966 John Latham and some friends began chewing Clement Greenberg’s book Art and culture: collected essays. The resulting art work, entitled Art and Culture (1966-1969), is now recognised as a seminal conceptual art work and is part of the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Latham, however, had borrowed the book from St. Martin’s School of Art library and when he was unable to return it in a suitable condition his teaching contract was not renewed. This essay looks at the history of the work, the ideas behind its creation, and the issues it raises for the culture of the book today.
Public Libraries in Ireland II. Public libraries and the visual arts today
Authors: Ellis-King Deirdre , Sliney Marjory
Published: July 2016

In recent years increased interest in the visual arts has led public libraries to increase stock to support this area, to organise exhibitions and to make connections with other arts-related bodies. The recognised extent, quality and value of the public library network lie both in its service to users and in good-quality and centrally located buildings. Imaginative links have been made between the library service and other cultural institutions in Ireland and elsewhere in Europe, particularly in the many thinly populated areas of the country which could otherwise be isolated from the cultural facilities available in the larger conurbations.
Finnish art libraries and Baltic co-operation
Authors: Rämö Eila
Published: July 2016

Small countries – small libraries: is it possible to benefit from co-operation? Finnish art libraries have been establishing a co-operative network with the art libraries in the neighbouring Baltic countries throughout the 1990s. One of the aims has been to get Baltic and Nordic art libraries to work more closely together.