Dear Linda:
I can't tell from your email address where you are
located, but if there is an art museum library in the area--or a college or art
school art library--I would call to make an appointment with the art librarian
and see if it's possible to arrange an internship. If an internship
(during which you would do some professional or paraprofessional work under the
librarian's supervision) isn't available, you might be able to simply
volunteer--but be sure that you let the librarian know what your career
interests are so that he or she will see to it that you experience a variety of
art-library specific jobs so that you get a taste of what it would be like to
actually work professionally in such a setting. An internship will have
somewhat more value on the resume, but volunteering is good too, especially if
you can work on some interesting projects. Many art libraries have
backlogs of artists' ephemera to file--and more often now they are planning on
putting their artists' files online in some manner. You might be able to
assist with something like that.
If I had to pick just one or two library courses of
importance to art librarianship, I would say that cataloging, especially subject
cataloging, is most important to the understanding of issues in art
librarianship. This is true even if you never work as a cataloger in a
library, as a knowledge of cataloging will also assist you in reference
work. The whole area of cataloging is somewhat in flux right now and it
will be important, no matter what type of library job you land, to understand
what is going on in that area. Let all of your teachers know that you have
a special interest in art librarianship and work with them to choose special
projects and research papers for your courses that are within the area of art
history. Become familiar with the bibliography of the history of art
as well as the electronic resources. Hopefully, your required bibliography
courses will expose you to basic art historical resources--journals as well as
books. If you have access to them, familiarize yourself with auction
catalogs. (There is really no substitute here for working in an art
library or a library that has a strong art collection so that you will have
everyday access to and experience with these resources.) Learn as much
about (and practice using) electronic resources and technology, especially
imaging and database technologies. And yes, take more art history
courses. An actual degree in art history will make you more competitive in
this job market.
Become a student member of ARLIS/NA. Find out
if there is a local ARLIS chapter that you can join and go to as many meetings
as you can--even if it means driving out of your local area to get there, at
least occasionally. There's a new student group within ARLIS that is
beginning to be active. One of the best things you can do for yourself is
to attend a national conference. The next one is in Banff and the one
after that is in Atlanta. They are in a different city every year and one
is bound to turn up eventually near you. You may have to stretch your
student dollars to participate in some of these things but it will be an
excellent investment in your career--and you'll have fun too! (There are
numerous ARLIS travel scholarships available at the national and the chapter
level.) These activities will expose you to all kinds of resources, not
the least of which will be art librarians who can mentor you throughout the
process. This last may be the best advice I can give you. Of course
subscribing to ARLIS-L (which is free) will automatically expose you to a lot of
these things--so stay tuned in! Good luck!
Joan Benedetti
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, April 08, 2005 8:38
AM
Subject: [ARLIS-L] Request for advice to
an aspiring art librarian
Hi List -
I am a new
student in a library science program. I would like to get into art
librarianship and I have done some primary research - google searches, the
ALA and Arlis websites. I also have a masters degree in
printmaking, so I have an o.k. art history background. (Although I would like
more)
My question is a
bit general for the art librarians out there: Since I just started
my program (this semester), can anyone give me suggestions on how to
make my MLS experience more art-centric. My major concern is that
this program is so SHORT and I want to make the most of
it!
What aspects of
Library Science are NEEDED in an art library?
Thanks so much in
advance for the advice!
-Linda
Gorney
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__________________________________________________________________
Mail submissions to [log in to unmask]
For information about joining ARLIS/NA see:
http://www.arlisna.org//membership.html
Send 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]