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I'd like to echo Marilyn Berger's plea for information regarding
circulation practices in academic art libraries. I'm interested not only in
whether your collection is totally non-circulating but also, if you have a
primarily circulating collection, what exceptions do you make? I assume
most of us don't normally circulate reference items and maintain shortened
loan periods for reserves. Are there classes of items in your general
stacks which you make non-circulating or do you house all non-circulating
items in reference or closed stacks?
At the Murphy Art & Architecture Library at
the University of Kansas I have a collection of apx. 120,000 vols to
support programs in architecture (through master's), design and art
(through master's), and art history (through PhD). We are converting to a
new integrated system so all circulation policies are being reviewed.
Currently we do not circulate journals (bound and unbound), catalogues
raisonnes (designated by the librarian), museum collection catalogs
(designated by the librarian), titles currently selling for $500 or more
(determined by spot checking against dealer catalogs), and a few core items
like one copy of current art history survey texts. We have traditionally
kept our reference collection very small and shelved non- circulating items
in call number order with circulating titles in the stacks. Since our
policies differ from other campus libraries (main library circulates
everything except reference and reserves) I'm being asked to justify our
exceptions. I'm curious what the practice is in other academic art
libraries and how you handle expensive, rare, fragile, or serial items.
Please feel free to respond to me
([log in to unmask]) or to Marilyn Berger and we'll try to summarize the
comments for ARLIS-L.
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