Dear all interested,

 

At the Menil Collection we keep our artists’ books in Special Collections.  They are interfiled with other rare material in our locked, environmentally controlled, rare book room, with the exception of a recent bequest of very important artists’ books covering modernist artists from Manet to Rauschenberg and Johns from the collection of a late trustee which are stored in a special, purpose built, locked case in our reading room.  All of them are treated as Special Collections material and must be requested from the librarian for consultation.

 

Best,

 

Eric

 

Eric M. Wolf

Head Librarian

The Menil Collection

1511 Branard Street

Houston, TX 77006

(713) 525-9426

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Greetings friends,

At Stanford's Art & Architecture we have a growing collection of "artists's books" of all types -- historical materials from the avant-garde, fine press publications, ephemeral and "democratic" material from the 60s-80s, contemporary artists' books, multiples, etc.

   - All are in our Art Locked Stacks cage. Nothing is on open shelves.
   - Our student workers or staff page the material on demand during all open Library hours.
   - Staff set up the books for viewing. We carry the material to and from the viewing table.
   - Staff receive annual training/refresher in handling material for this collection. Instruction given by the Libraries' Preservation staff.
   - All items are checked out to the person using the pieces.
   - One piece is viewed at a time unless special permission is given to view multiple pieces (which is often necessary).
   - Material is viewed at a designated table by the service desk.
   - We have a full complement of foam supports, string weights, felt cloths, etc.
   - Photography is allowed (no flash); scanning or photocopying by permission of a librarian.
   - Gloves are used or not used depending on the material. Almost no use of gloves for book materials. Often use gloves for loose prints or photographs.
   - We do have a special category of "Art Locked Stack Restricted" materials that also reside in the Cage, with special markers on their enclosures and special note in the bib. record. These items can only be viewed by permission of a librarian. For extremely rare, expensive, and/or difficult to handle items.

I suspect our procedures are pretty similar to what you all do. But it was useful for me to actually go through the list!

We want to get as much of this material into the hands of the students and faculty as we possibly can, and in the most responsible manner possible. Our acquisition decisions are driven by the importance of the piece in its historical moment, its likely use by faculty and students, and the twin contexts of how the piece expands our existing collection in a particular area or takes us into new collecting areas.

Best to all,
Peter Blank

Dear Nicole,

 

Whilst working for the Tate, we kept the artists’ books in closed stacks and they were invigilated like our archive collection - however, we didn’t use gloves. Gloves make the material difficult to handle – which normally causes more harm than good.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Kind Regards,

 

Leah

 

 

Leah McGowan

Catalogue Project Manager

 

Royal Automobile Club, 89-91 Pall Mall, London, SW1Y 5HS

 

Tel: +44 (0)20 7747 3350

Email: [log in to unmask]

Website: www.royalautomobileclub.co.uk

 

From: ARLIS/NA List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Lovenjak, Nicole
Sent: 19 February 2015 22:18
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [ARLIS-L] Access to Artists’ Books Collections

 

Dear Collective Wisdom: 

 

I am interested in hearing what other libraries are doing in regards to access of their artists’ books collections:

1.       Where do you keep your artists’ books collections?

a.       In closed or open stacks?

2.       Do you require special supervision or handling (e.g. gloves, etc.) of this material while it is being used?

I would love to hear any other additional insights you might have.

 

Thanks so much!

 

Nicole Lovenjak

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Nicole Lovenjak, MLIS

Library Practicum

Paul D. Fleck Library & Archives

The Banff Centre
107 Tunnel Mountain Drive
Box 1020, Banff, Alberta T1L 1H5, Canada
tel: +1 403.762.6035
banffcentre.ca

facebook.com/banffcentrelibrary

 

Follow our project on Tumblr

Every Item in the Artists’ Books Collection

banffcentrelibraryandarchives.tumblr.com

 

 

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