Well put Moira!

There was an ALA reporter at the Vancouver conference and a brief article on
ARLIS/NA appeared in the following issue of American Libraries.  I also agree
that PR should appear the calendar sections of professional literature other than
our own.  That needs to be done by ARLIS/NA people, apparently, because when I
was working on the Pgh conference, the company that handled HQ for us, did not do
it even though they had been informed that it needed to be done.

How many library schools have heard of ARLIS/NA?  That's where the future
librarians are!  I am thinking of beginning a student chapter at U of Pitt, but
need to talk about that with other art librarians via ARLIS-L and at the
conference to see if anyone else has done it and how to go about doing it.

Several years ago when I put together and moderated a panel at ARLIS/NA annual
conference on "Our Professional Image" one of the speakers I got was the Director
of PR for ALA.  She, of course, had never heard of us and she loved the whole
conference, what we do and all of us.  Each professional org seems to only
promote itself and some of them don't do that very well either.  It costs a lot
of money to put on a high profile PR campaign and is probably more than ARLIS/NA
can afford.  We are 30 years old, but few have heard of ARLIS/NA or its purpose.

I think it is mainly a two-pronged factor: (1) lack of full-time staff
specifically devoted to ARLIS/NA (our HQ staff, no matter what company is
involved, always serves more organizations than ARLIS/NA) and (2) most of what we
do at our annual conferences is by our own volunteer efforts and that is also due
to budgetary reasons.  We need larger salaries so we can afford to pay more dues
to make our conferences better and to further our goals.  Who among us can afford
to be a member of ALA and VRA and ARLIS/NA and CAA and SAH?  No one.

We also need a serious membership drive in every chapter!  We need more and young
members because ARLIS/NA is also graying!

Once art librarians become directors, unless they are in the museum world, they
need to focus their attention on ALA, ACRL, etc. to further their careers.  It is
the large and powerful organizations that are given media voice.  I don't say
this to keep any of us, including myself, from trying to gain more attention for
art libraries and art librarians.  I am pretty sure that this issue was voiced
many times in the ARLIS/NA survey that was recently done and on which the revised
strategic plan is based.

ARLIS/NA does have liaisons to relevant professional organizations.  But we keep
preaching to the choir.  ALL librarians do that.  We all need to use the
opportunity, although somewhat limited, that Laura Bush is providing us to BEGIN
to give voice to our needs!

What in God's name can we do to get RID of that OLD and TIRED and BORING image of
"Marianne the librarian" who only checks books out?  The public STILL thinks that
because that is what the media and Hollywood and networks portray.  The media
needs to be informed too - and NOT the library media.  And I mean informed over
and over and over and over and over......

We, ouselves, need to use the visual culture that we study and to which we
provide access -- an image / VR challenge of another sort!  (Pardon poor pun!)

Ray Anne Lockard

Moira Steven wrote:

> To me, an important sidebar to librarian recognition is the (lack of) and
> ARLIS/NA presence as an association.  I'm sorry if I'm stepping on any toes
> here, but ARLIS/NA is notable by its absence in many discussions of library
> associations.
>
> For example: In the 2002 Buyer's Guide and Web Site Directory published in
> December 2001 by Library Journal magazine, there's a section on associations
> and, although the Church and Synagogue Library Association is represented,
> ARLIS/NA is not.
>
> And I cannot recall ever seeing the ARLIS/NA Annual Conference listed in the
> regular listings of upcoming events in either the Library Journal or
> American Libraries.
>
> Where is the ARLIS/NA presence in the library community?
>
> Moira
> ***************************************************************
> Moira Steven, Head Librarian
> Atlanta College of Art Library
> 1280 Peachtree Street N.E.
> Atlanta, GA  30309
> 404-733-5021/fax: [log in to unmask]
> ***************************************************************
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: LShaeffer [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2002 2:35 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [ARLIS-L] White House Proposes $10 Million or, why don't
> libr arians get any respect
>
> Cathy Donaldson wrote:
> "Advertise or die."
>
> I'm seeing a few future librarians take it to heart already. One of my
> housemates (with a BA in advertising, also working on an MBA) is in library
> school right now. She plans to make a career of promoting the profession of
> librarian. I say we need more like her.
>
> The other obstacle I see is that we tend to promote ourselves to ourselves.
>
> If PR and advertising can make crummy movies and vapid celebrities millions
> of dollars, think what it could do for librarians.
>
> I'm calling my agent right now!
>
> Lyndsey Shaeffer
> Librarian, Akron Art Museum
> 70 E. Market Street
> Akron OH 44308
> 330.376.9185
> [log in to unmask]
>
> __________________________________________________________________
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> [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 (Kerri Scannell) at: [log in to unmask]

--
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:
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