----------------------------Original message----------------------------
The question posed is given below and followed by responses. Thanks to
all who took the time to answer. Christel
Question
If you are developing an art library today would you adjust (reduce) the
total number of books required to meet ARLIS standards based on the
formula of basic collection plus so many for each
curatorial department just because we have access to the Internet now?
How will the new standards (are they being developed?) handle this? How
soon will they be ready? Will there be a tie-in with the American
Association of Museum accrediting standards?
Responses
I think that electronic resources on art (whether Internet or CD-ROM,
etc.) do not substitute for printed volumes in a collection. When you
think of scholarship in art history, much is published in the form of
exhibition catalogues, both for the general public and collectors, as
well as for art professors and museum curators. So, unlike publications
for academia, many museums will continue to publish for the foreseeable
future in print. Collectors of art are by definition conservative and
interested in tangible objects. Then there is the issue of copyright
for images, i.e. getting permission to reproduce images in print may be
easier than getting permissions for digital publishing, in order to keep
more in control of the image.
Barbara E. Reed, barbara.e.reed=40dartmouth.edu, Dartmouth College
---
Start thinking virtual -- From a =22collection development=22 point-of-view,
we
will be buying fewer books but =22selecting=22 and purchasing more licenses
to
electronic resources, as the good stuff on the internet is and will
never be
free. Library standards are changing to reflect this new focus. I'm sure
they will work out some formula to convert an electronic resource into a
volume equivalent so =22collections=22 will not be seen to shrink in size
but
rather to grow =22virtually.=22
Jill Patrick, patrick3=40attcanada.ca, OCAD
---
Obviously I am not involved in the ARLIS standards development but this
is a
topic on which I feel quite strongly . The following are a few random
thoughts written in a hurry but they may spark a few ideas.
The Internet is wonderful for contact information, for reference tools
=5Blike
your Faberge listing=5D and for finding out who has the information you
require but the basic art history information on the web is still not a
substitute for a hard copy collection, particularly for research
libraries.
What the Internet does, and can do brilliantly, is to help librarians
to
exploit their collections more effectively.
No doubt this will change gradually but it will take a long time and
much of
the basic material from the last couple of millennia is unlikely to be
up in
our life-times. There are also problems with the amount of un-sourced
information on the Web which has to be checked anyway before it can be
used
although it may give some clues to follow. I find it a worry that so
many
people =5Bparticularly the younger ones who have grown up with the
Internet=5D
seem to believe that =22I found it on the Internet=22 means that =22it=22 is
true.
They frequently expect that all the information they need will be in
on-line
format =22Can you e-mail me something?=22 which is mostly not the case.
There is also the problem that Internet information e.g. on-line
catalogues
of exhibitions, back-up information for exhibitions or virtual
exhibitions
are frequently ephemeral and, unlike paper ephemera, exist in only 1
copy so
that when they are gone - they are really gone. Sadly, this is often
authoritative information of the sort one could recommend happily - but
only as long as it remains available.
These are challenges for art librarians which we must over-come by
developing sweeping techniques to save the material . Even then, storage
of
this type of material is also a problem as formats change and migration
of
data is very expensive. Their on-line formats often do not lend
themselves
easily to hard-copy back-up.
We are quite some way from having systems in place which would have more
than a minimal effect on the need for solid hard-copy research
collections.
J. Margaret Shaw, National Gallery of Australia,
margaret.shaw=40nga.gov.au
---
I thought you might find it interesting that there will be a session at
the ARLIS/NA
conference in Los Angeles next April specifically on this topic. I am
one of the moderators. It is entitled =22The Accreditation of Art
Libraries: Benefit or Burden?=22 I am attaching the abstract. The point
of the session is to open up discussion precisely about your concern.
There seems to be, understandably, much trepidation about program
accreditation (NAB for architecture, FIDDLER for interior design, etc.)
and its relation to art, architecture, and design libraries. I'd like
to explore independent accreditation to establish the kind of standards
about which you inquire, not unlike the kind of program AMA runs.
Paul Glassman, New York School of Interior Design, paul=40nysid.edu
Paul's attachment is as follows:
Ask ARLIS session proposal
The Accreditation of Art Libraries: Benefit or Burden?
Art Libraries Society of North America
29th Annual Conference
Los Angeles
March 29-April 4, 2001
Moderators:
Paul Glassman, Director of the Library, New York School of Interior
Design
Clayton Kirking, Director, Adam =26 Sophie Gimbel Design Library, Parsons
School of Design, New York
Robert Craddick, Head Librarian, Pacific Northwest College of Art,
Portland
Sponsors: Art =26 Design School Library Division, Standards Committee,
Architecture Section
A. Narrative
Rationale:
This topic relates closely to goal III of the ARLIS/NA strategic plan
2000-2002: to exert an influence on external forces affecting the
profession through promotion, cooperation, and advocacy.
Topic:
Museums, schools of art and design, schools of architecture,
professional degree programs, liberal arts colleges? many subscribe to
the pursuit of excellence and the establishment of standards through
accreditation programs. These usually begin with self-studies and
assessment programs, leading to a presumably objective evaluation by a
committee of peers. Achievement of accreditation can be a vehicle for
quality assurance and accountability. The process can provide a
thoughtful framework, through self-study and peer review, for assessing
how well the art library meets current standards and continues to engage
in institutional improvement. The structure and approach of an
accreditation program can allow for considerable variation among library
types and sizes. Ways to improve current library assessment in
accreditation applications and during site visits will be discussed as
well.
Art Libraries Society of North America
29th Annual Conference
Los Angeles
March 29-April 4, 2001
How would the art library benefit from an independent accreditation
process?
Would accreditation
=A7 help the art library achieve parity with academic divisions and
curatorial departments?
=A7 raise the level of recognition paid art libraries?
=A7 provide assurance of adequate budgets and other resources?
=A7 guard in general against the marginalization of the art library?
=A7 help intensify commitment by the institution to the mission of the art
library?
or
Would accreditation
=A7 introduce an unwelcome requirement of reporting and record keeping?
=A7 impose guidelines that may not acknowledge the nature of the
particular library?
=A7 subject the library to arbitrary interpretations of its services and
collections?
=A7 detract from the provision of essential services?
B. Prospective panelists:
Janice Stevenor Dale, FIIDA, CID
JSDA Incorporated, Los Angeles
FIDER Evaluation Committee (serves as team chair of site visiting
teams=97confirmed)
Katherine Diamond, FAIA
Siegel Diamond Architecture, Los Angeles
National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) visiting team member
(confirmed)
Elizabeth Douthitt Byrne, Head Librarian, Environmental Design,
University of California=97Berkeley (participated in site visit
review--confirmed)
Dr. Selma Holo, Director, Fisher Gallery, University of Southern
California, American
Association of Museums visiting team member (not yet reached=3B
recommended by AAM)
Fredrick Orth, professor of art, San Diego State University, NASAD
visiting team member (recommended by NASAD office--confirmed)
Sounds like it might be a lively session - cm
---
Christel L. McCanless (256) 536-3458 (phone/fax)
--
Publications by Scarecrow Press:
=22Faberg=E9 and His Works=22 (1994)
=22Faberg=E9 Eggs: A Retrospective=22 (2000)
--
Web page: =22Lowes and McCanless Index to Faberg=E9 at Auction=22
http://fly.hiwaay.net/=7Echristel/index.html
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