Jack's remarks are on the mark as far as the commerce environment goes and
the coffee shops. I have long thought they would hit libraries and I
think they should becasue researchers DO need convenient access to food
and drink.
BUT, I personally think the food and drink should be confined to the
coffeeshop! Does any library with a coffeeshop for patrons require such
"confinement?" I find it extremely ironic after libraries have
concentrated on "preservation iues" for the past two decades!
Do any of the RESEARCH, academic/museum/large public/special collections
or archives, libraries allow patrons to use their collections with covered
beverage containers and food in hand?
Actually, what I really wanted to know in my original request for
information is if any of you work in libraries that have n organized PR
campaign consisting of a series of signs, bookmarks, etc. that forbid food
and drink? So far, I have only heard from one academic art library that
does. Way back when -- when I was art librarian at RIT in Rochester
(during the mid-1970s) Wallace Memorial Library had a very interesting
and clever and thorough PR campaign that was designed by Graphic Arts
students. (That was, admittedly, after the demise of coffee shops that
featured hootenannies (anyone old enough to remember that word and
music?) during my lower division undergraduate college days, prior to the
mega-bookstore, prior to Starbucks, and prior to the photocopier -- let
alone the laptop, e-commerce, and netBooks!)
So, how about it? Does anyone out there have a PR campaign against
food/drink in the interest of preserving a collection that is
non-circulating and includes many volumes from the 18th-21st centuries, in
addition to facsimiles of illumninated manuscripts, innumerable folios
with loose plates....? We actually have GRADUATE students who are
completely clueless about proper book handling, not to mention chewing gum
and using a pen without washing hands prior to using an items in the
stacks dating from the 18th century. (Even though we do TELL them about
proper book handling, tell them we have white gauze gloves, and to use
pencil only. Our staff has been reduced to the point that we can not
supervise each individual who uses these materials in our collection!
If your library or library system does not have such a program, is anyone
in your library or system contemplating such a thing? I would like to
hear from you. I also think that all the comments on this subject are
important. So, let's keep the discussion going! RAL
Perhaps we need another session on preservation issues. I notice that,
while other library organizations have preservation sections or
committees, ARLIS/NA does not. Why is that? I am rather surprised
sinceart books have unique preservation needs that non-art librarians do
not understand or even know about. Is anyone else interested in beginning
some sort of Preservation Issues group? RAL
Ray Anne Lockard
Head, Frick Fine Arts Library
University Library System
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Voice: 412-648-2410
Fax: 412-648-7568
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
A book should be a ball of light in one's hands.
Ezra Pound
On Mon, 13 Nov 2000, Jack Robertson wrote:
> Dear Ray Anne (and others),
> you won't want to hear this, perhaps, but with all the
> competition from Barnes-and-Noble type "full-service"
> bookstores (eat/drink/browse/read/write/chat), libraries
> are having to loosen up on the old rules.
> the coffee and pastries shop in the lobby of the University
> of Virginia's main library has done a booming business
> (literally "booming" in terms of the ambient din), and many
> additional tables have been added.
> Several years ago the no-food-or-drink rule was abandoned
> throughout the UVA library system -- with the exception of
> Special Collections and the computer classrooms.
> We were never able to enforce these rules, anyway, and to
> tell the truth, I have not witnessed any damages caused by
> big slurpies or pizzas delivered late at night.
>
> So, it seems that in this open commerece environment,
> anything goes -- except for smoking. Of course, the State
> Code about restricted smoking areas does not apply to
> chewing tobacco, so we have to put up with the ocassional
> chewer-and-spitter.
>
> -- jack
>
>
> On Mon, 13 Nov 2000 09:39:58 EST Ray Anne Lockard
> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > Dear Colleagues:
> >
> > Our main library has a loosened pollicy that allows beverages in the
> > library as long as they are in "covered" containers. On the other hand,
> > we will not allow this in the Frick Fine Arts Library. Due to the more
> > liberal policy in the main library (that will soon construct a coffee
> > shop on one floor INSIDE the library), our challenges with preventing
> > food and drink in our library have increased.
> >
> > I am, therefore, beginning to work on a PR campaign that is visually
> > oriented that will catch the attention span of undergrads. Do any other
> > art libraries have such a visual PR campaign in place? Please share
> > your thoughts and ideas with me.
> >
> > By a visual campaign, I mean a multiple presentation using the same
> > design. No one reads the subtle, calligraphic signs we have had for
> > years. I think we need to grab the attention of the Generation Xers and
> > Nexters who haev grown up with the Simpson's, video-games, etc.
> >
> > For example: signs on each table in the Reading Room that show an
> > artwork featuring food and/or drink overlaid with the "forbidden"
> > graphic (the circle with a line through it), strips put in each book
> > retrieved from the stacks and given to each patron in the Reading Room,
> > a screen saver on each public device, a sign seen before patrons enter
> > the library.
> >
> > I appreciate any ideas you can share with me!
> >
> > Ray Anne Lockard
> >
> > --
> > Ray Anne Lockard, Head Librarian
> > Frick Fine Arts Library
> > University of Pittsburgh
> > Pittsburgh, PA 15260
> > Voice: 412-648-2411
> > Fax: 412-648-7568
> > E-Mail: [log in to unmask]
> >
> > "A book should be a ball of light in one's hands."
> > Ezra Pound
> >
> > __________________________________________________________________
> > Mail submissions to [log in to unmask]
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> > to [log in to unmask]
> > ARLIS-L Archives and subscription maintenance:
> > http://lsv.uky.edu/archives/arlis-l.html
> > Questions may be addressed to list owner at: [log in to unmask]
>
> ---
>
> * * * * * * * *
> Jack Robertson. Fine Arts Librarian
> Fiske Kimball Fine Arts Library
> University of Virginia
> (804) 924-6601
> [log in to unmask]
> www.lib.virginia.edu/fine-arts/
>
> __________________________________________________________________
> Mail submissions to [log in to unmask]
> Administrative matters (file requests, subscription requests, etc)
> to [log in to unmask]
> ARLIS-L Archives and subscription maintenance:
> http://lsv.uky.edu/archives/arlis-l.html
> Questions may be addressed to list owner at: [log in to unmask]
>
__________________________________________________________________
Mail submissions to [log in to unmask]
Administrative matters (file requests, subscription requests, etc)
to [log in to unmask]
ARLIS-L Archives and subscription maintenance:
http://lsv.uky.edu/archives/arlis-l.html
Questions may be addressed to list owner at: [log in to unmask]
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