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Ray Anne et al - In reading this synopsis I wonder the following. How much does the usage of the reference room of the reference collection (in a university setting) depend upon, or result from, the recommendations of the academics and curators? Each semester, each year, the idea which we over 40 years hold associative with research is dying away, and being replaced with "google it" or maybe "artfact it." While I research using the internet and books equally and in a complimentary fashion, this modality appears to becoming google first and see if it's enough to complete the task assigned. I think a well-known Art Book seller has said "Art Librarians are no longer interested in buying books." If this is true, then how does this behavior affect the usage of the reference room or reference collection? It seems that if the reference room or reference collection is to remain relevant and active, then the academics need to present, or demand, a balanced and comprehensive strategy from their underlings and students when it comes to research methods. I have this suspicion that the current trend in research (generally speaking) is towards "find what you can on the internet and that will suffice in most cases." I question whether this presents adequate balance, breadth and nuance to all topics. If this is true, then engaging, strong leadership is going to be required to keep the reference rooms buzzing. Comprehensive research must be demanded by people who know the difference between internet research and book research. If this is not true, someone please tell me I am wrong!! I have quite an investment in what has now become supplemental research, so I reckon my interest in this topic is active and keen. Kevin Mullen, Bookseller *Kevin Mullen, Bookseller* Mullen Books, Inc. Libraries and Books Bought and Sold P.O. Box 472 Marietta, PA 17547 USA 717-618-0481 http://www.mullenbooks.com On 6/28/2011 2:42 PM, Lockard, Ray Anne wrote: > > Dear ARLIS Colleagues, > > Some of you have asked me to reply with responses to this question I > asked a few days ago. Most people replied saying they wanted me to > post the results! The only response that is worth mentioning to all > of you is the one by our colleague, Anna Fishaut (Stanford > University), who presented on this subject at the 2011 ARLIS/NA > conference in Minneapolis. I was not able to attend that session. > The link to her presentation is below. > > And I am thinking in pretty much the same way Stanford has handled > their reference collection. Our Art and Architectural History > Department has changed curriculum wildly since I arrived here in > 1986. Rather than focusing on medieval and Renaissance art history, > we now focus on _/global/_ modern and contemporary art and > architecture. We have several new faculty members (since 2000) in > that area with graduate students and undergrads. This has greatly > changed our collection development policy and has made our reference > room rather obsolete. > > We have sent very few things to storage from reference, but will do so > later in this coming academic year. It is a matter of space and also > making the reference collection more relevant to what the greatest > number of our faculty and graduate and undergrad students are needing > these days. > > I have added the following because handbooks or encyclopedias of > contemporary art were so out of date. Our courses are focusing on > emerging art and artists. The following offer, at least, a paragraph > of biographical information about the artists and some illustrations > of their work. I know that emerging artists are difficult to track > down and are often only in brief journal articles, if that, and many > have their own web sites. > > We have already added the following books to the collection to assist > in finding information on contemporary artists: > > The Vitamin Series by Phaidon (A-Z arrangement of artists' names): > > Vitamin D -- New Perspectives in Drawing > > Vitamin P -- New Perspectives in Painting > > Vitamin Ph -- New Perspectives in Photography > > Vitamin 3D -- New Perspectives in Sculpture and Installation > > Art Now: The New Directory to 136 International Contemporary Artists > (2001, 2005, 2008 editions / volumes) > > Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art (2009) > > 40 Architects around 40 > > A Guide to 101 Modern and Contemporary Indian Artists -- (working in > India) > > Jodidio, Philip -- Architecture Now (7 volumes) > > 100 Contemporary Architects (2 vols.) -- Philip Jodidio > > USA Today: New American Art from the Saatchi Gallery > > Women Artists in the Twentieth and 21^st Century > > In the future I want to add something like the most recent three > occurrences of main biennials (to our faculty members - no room to > include all of them): Venice, Carnegie International, Documental, > Manifesta, Sao Paulo, Sydney, Whitney and three in China: Guangzhou, > Beijing and Shanghai (should I be so lucky as to acquire more of the > latter two). > > Also to add a few of the important collection catalogs for > contemporary art > > The series entitled Movements of Modern Art > > In addition, our Architectural Studies program has grown by leaps and > bounds with a new faculty member and it now has a larger enrollment > than the History of Art and Architecture!! At this time an undergrad > program that plans to become a graduate program in the future. So, I > will be adding many of the AIA guides to the architecture of cities. > > These ideas are rather off the top of my head right now. I would > greatly appreciate any comments and/or additions to my list. > > Thanks so much and I hope the conversation now begins in earnest! > > Ray Anne Lockard > > Bibliographer and Public Services Librarian > Frick Fine Arts Library > University of Pittsburgh > Pittsburgh, PA 15260 > Voice-mail: 412-648-2410 > E-mail: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> > > "A book should be a ball of light in one's hands." Ezra Pound > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Mail submissions to [log in to unmask] > <mailto:[log in to unmask]> For information about joining > ARLIS/NA see: http://www.arlisna.org/join.html Send administrative > matters (file requests, subscription requests, etc) to > [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> ARLIS-L > Archives and subscription maintenance: http://lsv.arlisna.org > Questions may be addressed to list owner (Judy Dyki) at: > [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mail submissions to [log in to unmask] For information about joining ARLIS/NA see: http://www.arlisna.org/join.html Send administrative matters (file requests, subscription requests, etc) to [log in to unmask] ARLIS-L Archives and subscription maintenance: http://lsv.arlisna.org Questions may be addressed to list owner (Judy Dyki) at: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~