Thank you to all who responded to the artists' book survey!
I received 26 responses from the following types of libraries:
9 - museum, 1 public, 5 art school and 11 academic
See below for summaries:
1) Do you collect all types of
artists' books (multiples, limited edition and unique)? Please specify.
What types do you not collect?
15 libraries reported that they focus on multiples and limited
editions. 10 collect multiples, limited edition and unique
bookworks.
2) Is there anything unique about your collection? For instance, do you
have a regional scope of collecting?
3 libraries report that their collection is strictly regional. 23 collect
both local, national and international work and several art museum
libraries reported a tendency to collect work by artists who are
represented in their object collections.
3) Approximately how many artists' books do you have in your
collection?
ranged from 100 to 4,000
4) Do you work with another curatorial department in your institution,
such as a print department, on selection/criteria or collection
development? Are all the artists' books collected by your institution
cataloged into one system (ie RLIN, OCLC)?
12 libraries reported that they work with other colleagues within their
institutions to build their artists' book collection.
12 libraries contribute their holdings to OCLC and 4 to RLIN.
5) Does your institution have a program that highlights artists' books
(publishing, programming, exhibition)?
16 libraries have active exhibition programs, 12 hold regular classes for
students, 1 is developing a publishing program with another institution.
Three institutions are establishing an endowment fund to allow for more
acquisitions of artists' books.
In addition to collecting artists' books, a few libraries reported that
they were also collecting the archives of a particular press or artist.
My favorite response to question number 2:
"Particular attention is paid to artists' books as agents of social
change, the book as conceptual space, and artists' books that pay
self-conscious attention to book structure".
