FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS DIGITIZES BULLETINS AND ANNUAL REPORTS

Now Accessible Worldwide

January, 2004—(Detroit) The Detroit Institute of Art’s (DIA) Research Library and Archives has digitized the museum’s bulletins and annual reports, one of fewer than 10 museum libraries in the United States undertaking such a project. Thanks to a generous grant by the Detroit Area Library Network (DALNET), these historic publications are now freely available on the Internet via the museum’s Web site www.dia.org. This will allow historians and researchers worldwide to access DIA publications, dating from 1891 to 1959.

“By converting materials to digital format, we are creating the capacity to make our holdings more accessible, and thus, more usable. It allows us to better serve our existing audiences and reach new audiences,” says Jennifer Moldwin Gustafson, head of the DIA Research Library and Archives. “This is indeed useful.” states Michael Donovan, librarian at the Art Institute of Chicago Slide Library, “Now I can access these hard–to-find materials at my convenience, without being in Detroit, and without the assistance of a librarian or archivist.”

The DIA is a member of the Detroit Area Library Network (DALNET), which is a consortium of more than 20 Detroit area libraries and information providers comprised of special, academic and public libraries. The DALNET grant paid for the labor hours required to carefully scan the information onto the DIA Web site. The DIA originally planned to digitize the bulletin and annual reports from 1891 to 1921, though because of the success of the project, they have reached 1950’s and have plans to go further.

The DIA Research Library was founded in 1905 to serve the art historical needs of the museum. It is the eighth largest museum library in the U.S., with a collection containing more than 180,000 volumes and 400 periodicals, focusing on art and art history subjects. The DIA library’s resources include items such as DIA publications, auction catalogues, national and international museum publications, and monographs on artists. The majority of library holdings is non-English, and more than 80% of the collection is considered “rare.” Due to museum renovation, the Research Library and Archives are closed to the public until 2006.

Programs are made possible with support from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the City of Detroit.

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