Showing papers in "Art libraries journal in 2002"
TL;DR: The Art Museum Image Consortium (AMICO) as mentioned in this paper 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.
Abstract: 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.
16 citations
TL;DR: ArtSTOR as discussed by the authors is a digital imaging initiative of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation that aims to create digital image collections that respond to the needs of scholars, curators, teachers and students in the history of art and related fields of study.
Abstract: ArtSTOR is a digital imaging initiative of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. ArtSTOR seeks to create digital image collections that respond to the needs of scholars, curators, teachers and students in the history of art and related fields of study. As a public utility, it also aims to create a secure, regulated, networked space, defined by a framework of licensing agreements that embraces content providers, subscribers and service administrators - a precinct in which educational and scholarly activities can flourish in ways that simultaneously respect intellectual property rights and encourage the ‘fair use’ of digital media.
8 citations
TL;DR: Based on an informal survey via the ARLIS e-mail discussion list, it appears that the Dewey Decimal Classification is not only the most commonly used class scheme, but the one most art libraries choose when they reclassify their library.
Abstract: Subject access to physical or electronic resource collections can be divided into two complementary areas: searching and browsing. Searching involves the use of subject headings, indexing terms from a controlled vocabulary, or natural language keywords. Browsing, whether along a shelf or through a subject tree on the Web, requires the application of some kind of taxonomy or classification scheme. This article looks at what class schemes art libraries are using to arrange their book collections in the UK today. Based on an informal survey via the ARLIS e-mail discussion list, it appears that the Dewey Decimal Classification is not only the most commonly used class scheme, but the one most art libraries choose when they reclassify their library.
6 citations
TL;DR: The National Art Library merged with Prints, Drawings, and Paintings to form the Word & Image Department at the Victoria and Albert Museum as mentioned in this paper, with the aim of making a contribution across the full range of material culture as represented in the V&A's collections.
Abstract: Archives, libraries and museums have for some time been trying out the advantages, for themselves and for each other, of working together and sharing long-term aims. These independent sorties were given a coercive impetus in April 2000 when the Government-funded Library & Information Commission and the Museums & Galleries Commission were replaced by the single-word Resource, to bring together ‘strategic advocacy, leadership and advice to enable museums, archives and libraries to touch people’s lives and inspire their imagination, learning and creativity’. At the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Art Library, which already included the Museum’s Archives, has recently merged with Prints, Drawings and Paintings to form the Word & Image Department. The integration of the National Art Library with a department that has traditionally put greater emphasis on its curatorial role has suggested new paths of development for us all and, in particular, an enhanced contribution for the new Department across the full range of material culture as represented in the V&A’s collections. Thus the merger has acted as a catalyst to put into practice aspects of the Government’s agenda within a single institution. This article outlines some of the developments proposed for the Word & Image Department, with particular emphasis on implications for the National Art Library, its staff, collections and users.
5 citations
TL;DR: Conceptual art is not, and was not, a "movement" as discussed by the authors, but more a broad area of activity which privileges the idea over the material and the sensory.
Abstract: Conceptual art is not, and was not, a ‘movement’, but more a broad area of activity which privileges the idea over the material and the sensory. The ideas, process or activities of artists were documented in the form of text, photography, sound recordings, film, written or typed instructions and publishing.
3 citations
TL;DR: The Getty Research Institute (GRI) as mentioned in this paper is one of four programs of the J. Paul Getty Trust, an international cultural and philanthropic institution devoted to the visual arts, all of which reside at the Getty Center.
Abstract: The Getty Research Institute (GRI) is one of four programs of the J. Paul Getty Trust, an international cultural and philanthropic institution devoted to the visual arts, all of which reside at the Getty Center situated high on a beautiful hilltop in Brentwood, California. (The other programs of the Getty Trust are the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Conservation Institute, and the Getty Grant Program.) From the beginning it was understood that the GRI would develop a research program in the discipline of art history and more generally the humanities, and that a library would support its work. Since its founding the GRI has, in fact, developed a major library as one of its programs alongside those for scholars, publications, exhibitions and a multitude of lectures, workshops and symposia for scholars, students and the general public. What is now known as the Research Library at the GRI has grown to be a significant resource and this article focuses on its history, the building that houses it, its collections and databases, and access to them all.
3 citations
TL;DR: More than 20 million images are to be found at the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), in the form of book and periodical illustrations, manuscript illuminations, maps and plans, prints, drawings and photographs as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: More than 20 million images are to be found at the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF), in the form of book and periodical illustrations, manuscript illuminations, maps and plans, prints, drawings and photographs. The editorial context of these images means they are to be found in all fourteen collections departments of the library. However, it is the department of Prints and Photographs that, thanks to legal deposit for published images instituted in the 17th century, possesses one of the richest iconographic collections in the world: prints, posters, drawings, photographs, postcards, etc. These images have to be consulted in the reading rooms of the library’s different collection departments, which are at five different sites (François-Mitterrand (Tolbiac), Richelieu, Arsenal, Opéra, Avignon - Maison Jean Vilar). The introduction of digitisation should bring many changes to this traditional means of research, although we are still only at the beginning, with a programme that started little more than ten years ago.
3 citations
TL;DR: The way architecture students at Queen’s University are educated in the art of information retrieval from their undergraduate to their postgraduate years is looked at.
Abstract: 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.
3 citations
2 citations
TL;DR: The HOGARTH project as discussed by the authors is a project to facilitate research access to the major collections in the history of art within the concept of the distributed national collection in the subject of art.
Abstract: Exhibition and sales catalogues are notoriously hard to locate. This problem will be soon be alleviated in the UK by HOGARTH, a project to facilitate research access to the major collections in the history of art within the concept of the distributed national collection in the subject. A second benefit will be the creation of an electronic directory of collections of art history documentation in this country. The project is currently at halfway stage and this article outlines its background, its methodology, progress to date and future developments.
2 citations
TL;DR: This overview of the London Institute Library and Learning Resources website, the i page, focuses in particular on issues involved in selecting and evaluating high quality resources in an academic context.
Abstract: This overview of the London Institute Library and Learning Resources website, the i page, focuses in particular on issues involved in selecting and evaluating high quality resources in an academic context. The article begins by detailing the philosophy, design and initial construction of the site, and gives an outline of the structure. The most heavily used section of the i page is the web guides and the evaluation criteria applied to web resources selected for inclusion are examined, with reference to the digital art web guide. The main criteria of content, structure, authority and subjectivity are looked at in detail. The process of user feedback is highlighted and, as the site is now over two years old, pertinent issues relating to its future growth and development are also discussed.
This article is a revised version of the paper given at the ARLIS/UK & Ireland conference in London, 1 July 2001.
TL;DR: The National Art Library at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London has always seen itself as primarily an educational institution, with training as an integral part of its fabric as mentioned in this paper, and there are two fundamental strands to this training the provision of training by our librarians to the users, and the training the staff receive in order to develop and better perform their jobs.
Abstract: The National Art Library at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London has always seen itself as primarily an educational institution, with training as an integral part of its fabric. There are two fundamental strands to this training the provision of training by our librarians to the users, and the training the staff receive in order to develop and better perform their jobs.
TL;DR: Art and art history resources on the Web abound as discussed by the authors. Yet the process of identifying scholarly art information online is typically inefficient, leading many researchers to abandon Internet sources for traditional printed reference works.
Abstract: Art and art history resources on the Web abound. Yet the process of identifying scholarly art information online is typically inefficient, leading many researchers to abandon Internet sources for traditional printed reference works. Locating websites that focus specifically on art and art history timelines can be an even greater challenge: these resources simply have not been available on the Web in any large number or degree of comprehensiveness. In recent years, however, new Web-based art timelines have been published, most notably by art educators, museums and other non-profit organizations. This evaluative webliography of selected art and art history timelines not only highlights the variety of resources that are currently available, but also illustrates that the majority of these Web resources focus upon the art of the Western world.
TL;DR: The library of the Institut national d’histoire de l’art in Paris has recently conducted detailed research into the classification which will be used for the large amount of stock, and the final recommendation was adoption of the Library of Congress Classification.
Abstract: The library of the Institut national d’histoire de l’art in Paris has recently conducted detailed research into the classification which will be used for the large amount of stock which will be on open access to its users. A working group was established which, after rejecting the idea of a specially created scheme, looked at what other systems were available, comparing those currently in use in the largest art and archaeology libraries in France and abroad. They also studied the two encyclopaedic classifications – Dewey and UDC. The final recommendation was adoption of the Library of Congress Classification and work to implement this decision is now under way.
TL;DR: The Hyman Kreitman Research Centre for the Tate Library and Archive opened at Tate Britain in May 2002 as mentioned in this paper, comprising storage for up to 20 years and reading rooms for around 40 people.
Abstract: The Hyman Kreitman Research Centre for the Tate Library and Archive opened at Tate Britain in May 2002. The Library (covering those areas collected by the Gallery) and the Archive (covering British art since 1900) together constitute a centre of excellence for the study of modern art, particularly British. The new Centre, comprising storage for up to 20 years and reading rooms for around 40 people, has been built in a refurbished area of Tate Britain. The design aimed to comply with BS5454 and issues of compact storage, security, reading rooms without daylight, fire and flood hazards have been addressed.
TL;DR: Palmer's excellent book Museums and the Holocaust as discussed by the authors is a well-organized, eminently readable work that concentrates mainly on deprivations inflicted by agents of the Holocaust and on the museums and galleries which are alleged to have received spoliated material.
Abstract: On the Upper West Side of Manhattan stands the rather curious Nicholas Roerich Museum. Founded in memory of the Russian-born emigre artist, preservationist and near-mystic visionary, it commemorates this 'passionate promoter . . . of an increased appreciation of the value to the world of the cultural heritage of all nations, and of the ways in which this appreciation can help achieve peace throughout the world'. Having witnessed the destructive impact of World War I and the Russian Revolution on national and international cultures, Roerich so powerfully promoted his peace-pluspreservation principle that in 1935 he convinced the 21 member nations of the Pan-American Union to sign, in the presence of Franklin D. Roosevelt, what came to be known as the Roerich Pact. Roerich was by no means the first to appreciate the critical relationship between war and cultural heritage preservation. In his lxttres a Miranda (1796), AntoineChrysostome Quatremere de Quincy condemned the artistic avariciousness of Napoleon Bonaparte, whose Italian conquests had resulted in an inordinate number of art treasures being transferred to Paris.' Unfortunately, neither Quatremere de Quincy's letters nor Roerich's principle seem to have penetrated the consciousness of 1930s Europe (nor, for that matter, the Far East). Indeed, it was precisely the Nazi understanding that the destruction of a group's or a nation's culture could contribute significantly to the termination of that group's or nation's identity that encouraged the oppressors to denude, or obliterate outright, their victims' cultural symbols. The impact of this particular aspect of the war's devastation was so shocking that it ultimately led to the 1954 Convention for the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict. Legal redress seems not to have been high on the agenda of most post-World War II states. This was due both to Cold War considerations and to the fact that until the late 1970s cultural property was not regarded as a financially significant commodity.' With the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991, however, the situation changed radically. Art became a significant object of commerce, and art law a burgeoning field of study. During the 1990s the number of publications addressing the impact of World War II on cultural property despoliation increased notably. Perhaps the two most significant markers were the publication of Lynn Nicholas's The rape ofEuropa (1994) and the mounting of the Bard Graduate Center's Spoils of War symposium (1995), the first occasion on which cultural representatives from Western Europe and the former Soviet bloc assembled in what at times was an overwhelmingly tense, multi-lingual gathering/' Two important new journals also appeared during this period: the International journal of cultural property (1992) and Art, antiquity and law (1996). To date, however, few texts have served as research resources for this field (although The AAMguide to provenance research was published with this objective in 2001).* Professor Palmer's excellent book partly fills this lacuna. Written with five specialist contributors, Museums and the Holocaust is a well-organized, eminently readable work. It is published by the UKbased Institute of Art and Law (also the publisher of the above-mentioned Art, antiquity and law, of which Norman Palmer is editor in chief). This institute has assumed an extremely active role in Europe, publishing its journal, a monographic series (of which Museums and the Holocaust is part), and a series of seminar papers, organizing some important art law conferences, and sponsoring a number of high-profile lectures on the subject.'' As Professor Palmer states in his preface: 'This book is about works of art taken or displaced during the period 1933 to 1945: the discoveries and claims that are being made and the solutions which are being advanced. It concentrates mainly on deprivations inflicted by agents of the Holocaust and on the museums and galleries which are alleged to have received spoliated material' (p.xiii). He also notes the unique role in the World War II context of'forced' (pseudo-consensual) transactions (some of which make for disturbing reading) and their consequences for subsequent claims. The failure of post-World War II curators to research (let alone acknowledge) the questionable provenance of some of their post-1933 acquisitions has been subject to both journalistic and legal scrutiny during the 1990s.\" In the US many important museum and university libraries have compiled in-house bibliographic guides to the field or are conducting extensive provenance surveys of their collections.\" This emphasizes the need for a work gathering and analyzing relevant data. As Palmer also observes, the field is swiftly evolving, but he has succeeded in providing a thorough, well-balanced, international overview of its many facets. The most salient (and, possibly, surprising) of these make up his chapter and appendix headings: (1) Art and the Nazi terror, (2) The modern upsurge in claims, (3) The
TL;DR: The Union list of art, architecture and design serials as discussed by the authors is an online database of periodicals on fine and applied arts, film and television held by academic, public, national and special libraries throughout the UK and Ireland.
Abstract: The Union list of art, architecture and design serials, an online database of periodicals on fine and applied arts, film and television held by academic, public, national and special libraries throughout the UK and Ireland, has been some ten years in the making and work is still progressing. In autumn 2000 funding was obtained to allow for greater progress on this critical research tool, extending the coverage of participating libraries and enhancing the bibliographical records. However the work of increasing the level of participation in the Union list has largely been taken forward by direct approaches to individual institutions and by July 2002 there will be over 60 participating libraries as well as fuller bibliographic citations.
TL;DR: The Imaging Center as discussed by the authors is a state-of-the-art fine arts complex for the University of Southern California, which includes an Imaging Center: a physical environment that will support activities related to the teaching and research use of images.
Abstract: A new state-of-the-art fine arts complex for our College will soon open and it includes an Imaging Center: a physical environment that will support activities related to the teaching and research use of images. A parallel building project is happening simultaneously: the development of digital content and tools to enable imaging across the campus. The bricks and mortar effort will soon result in a spectacular sunrise. As far as content and tools go, we’re still in the deepest dark before dawn, i.e. we’re not there yet. As one faculty member put it, ‘That’s nice, but now what I really need …’. These few words speak volumes about user expectations and the extraordinary effort it takes to meet them.
TL;DR: These guidelines for disaster planning in art libraries serve as a tool in the process of disaster planning and can be customised to the individual situation of each library.
Abstract: Because art institutions in The Netherlands all too often do not include library collections in their emergency response programs, ARLIS/NL decided to prepare guidelines for disaster planning in art libraries. These guidelines, now on the website of ARLIS/NL, serve as a tool in the process of disaster planning and can be customised to the individual situation of each library. This article describes the setting up of the project and its results.
TL;DR: A wealth of primary documentation has been produced and collected by artists and artist-run organizations since the 1970s as mentioned in this paper, and documentation has become essential as a means to study and understand the intent, the actualization and the impact of artworks.
Abstract: A wealth of primary documentation has been produced and collected by artists and artist-run organizations since the 1970s. Alternative art activities were often time-based and experimented with form and material, and documentation has become essential as a means to study and understand the intent, the actualization and the impact of artworks. What are the key issues for artists, archivists and researchers interested in the collection, preservation and provision of future access to the archives of the avant-garde?
TL;DR: In this paper, a sales pitch for pictures is presented to encourage librarians to visit the online United States national library often, and also to offer more of their own collections through the World Wide Web.
Abstract: This article is a sales pitch for pictures, even though art librarians already value visual materials highly. A decade’s advances in online access at a major documentary picture provider, the Library of Congress’ Prints and Photographs Division, should encourage librarians to visit the online United States national library often, and also to offer more of their own collections through the World Wide Web. Despite the beneficial digital image navigation features introduced into the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC), many improvements are still needed and there is a long list of desirable future developments. Reference librarians, catalogers, curators, digital conversion specialists and web designers are all invited to contribute to online reference aids as well as online catalogs, to help people succeed more often in finding pictures.
TL;DR: For artists, these changes offered a way to reformulate the art world system in accordance with their vision of what mattered, and thus to diminish the authority of big museums, commercial galleries and glossy trade magazines, whose main function seemed to be the promotion of art not as a mode of critical inquiry, but as a luxury product for ‘Establishment’ elites as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: As the underpinnings of High Modernism were everywhere being called into question in the 1950s and 1960s, the art world endeavoured to reinvent itself in new ways. For example, the view that meaning in art need not be embodied in static, timeless objects of supposedly universal significance was challenged by the idea of art as time-based, context-specific, or ephemeral. For artists, these changes offered a way to reformulate the art world system in accordance with their vision of what mattered, and thus to diminish the authority of big museums, commercial galleries, and glossy trade magazines, whose main function seemed to be the promotion of art not as a mode of critical inquiry, but as a luxury product for ‘Establishment’ elites.
TL;DR: Visor II as mentioned in this paper is an evaluation tool for organizations with image delivery systems, which is based on the VISOR I application of framework analysis, which concentrates upon contextual and evaluative matters identifying the form of what exists and factors influencing it.
Abstract: that art historians may resemble radiologists and police more than commercial picture library searchers since radiologists, police, and art historians more frequently search for specifically known items. More of those observations please. The search for common concerns becomes an important tension in this study. The authors urge that 'variations across professional domains means that system design must be adaptive to suit the specific circumstances/requirements of the environment. . .' (p.125). They clearly oppose a reductive and unitary conception of 'the user'. Yet the breadth of their endeavor seems to marginalize differences. No doubt the path from raw data to conclusions was appropriately complex and thus could not be reported. So a specific recommendation in the report, such as the need for automatic spell-checking of search terms, seems like a good one, but the way this suggestion has evolved from the network of categorized texts is unclear. The vox populi strategy of the report often erases distinctions between issues unique to pictorial searching and more generalized information-seeking behavior. The VISOR I application of framework analysis concentrates upon contextual and evaluative matters identifying the form of what exists and factors influencing it. Another more lofty ambition of framework analysis, diagnostic questions (reasons and causes), is less apparent.' As a result, some readers may see the VISOR results falling somewhere between theory and applied research offering neither the explanatory power of a good theory nor all of the direct relationships to decision making that people wish to find in applied research. For example, we learn that 'most users prefer to search broadly' without an attachment to a reason. (Perhaps because large numbers of pictures are easy to browse quickly much more so than text? If so, design specifications need to include display of many thumbnail images.) But this is a simple example. Usually 'why' is the most difficult question to answer. User studies face the quandary of change. Users can only be studied in the present. They often have trouble predicting how their needs might change. System improvements can alter the behavior and expectations of users. The VISOR I study notes this cycle of change and champions an ongoing iterative process of assessment, as has been called for in many other research reports. But ironically, use studies usually obtain funding as finite projects. Centers such as the IIDR sustain the effort by chaining projects together. VISOR II is underway, building an evaluation tool for organizations with image delivery systems. In a sense, the shortcomings of VISOR I were planned. They can be recognized in the list of recommendations for future research that concludes the report. May there be many VISORs. art libraries
TL;DR: The authors describes a workshop that examines tradition and practice that reinforce the separation between lecturers and librarians, and identifies strategies for closer collaboration in facilitating student learning, and presents a case study of the benefits of closer collaboration.
Abstract: 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.
TL;DR: The Tate library's position has always been determined by the Tate's fortunes and reliant on the support of directors whose agendas were broader than the provision of a research library as mentioned in this paper, which has affected the resources that have been available to the library and the corresponding effects on its collection and culture.
Abstract: The title is taken from the Tate Board Minutes in 1929, where it was suggested that such a woman might offer to make a subject catalogue and new card index ‘without pecuniary remuneration’. It sums up the approach taken to the early development of the library within the gallery setting. The library’s position has always been determined by the Tate’s fortunes and reliant on the support of directors whose agendas were broader than the provision of a research library. This article, which is condensed from an MA dissertation, demonstrates how these varying agendas have affected the resources that have been available to the library and the corresponding effects on its collection and culture.
TL;DR: Although other parties, primarily within UK higher education, create the database’s informational and image content, VADS ‘standards and good practice’ guidance often supports the creation of that content, providing many benefits to both data creators and end-users.
Abstract: ‘Oh no, not another image database to review!’ That was a familiar thought that often crossed my mind when I was studying Computer Applications for the History of Art, and now I find myself responsible for a national image repository and have to subject audiences far and wide to it. However, I’d like to think this one is a little bit special and pretty unique, even on a global scale, particularly because it is essentially a community-produced resource, ensconced within a ‘total-service’ philosophy and environment. Although other parties, primarily within UK higher education, create the database’s informational and image content, VADS ‘standards and good practice’ guidance often supports the creation of that content. This holistic methodology aims to facilitate a smooth process from resource planning to delivery, providing many benefits to both data creators and end-users.