Notes from the Book Art SIG meeting and Artists' Books [Everywhere] workshop are below. They are also posted on the ARLIS/NA Book Art SIG blog. 

Book Art SIG 2015 Meeting Notes

The 2015 annual meeting of the ARLIS/NA Book Art SIG took place on 3/21 during the annual conference in Fort Worth. 30 SIG members attended the meeting. 

Artists’ Book Thesaurus Working Group

The Artists’ Book Thesaurus Working Group report was presented by Heather Slania. The thesaurus has 191 terms and scope notes. The working group plans that the thesaurus will be ready to launch by the summer. The thesaurus is currently available for view on Tumblr: http://artistsbooksthesaurus.tumblr.com/. For images, the working group has a submission process and a permissions form available on the Tumblr site. Based on audience questions, a discussion arose about whether the thesaurus might be an ARLIS/NA publication in the future. There was also discussion about cataloging and LC genre approval for terms in the thesaurus, and how or whether the working group would formalize the terms by seeking LC genre approval.

Book Art Exhibition Guidelines Working Group

Teresa Burk gave a report about the Book Art Exhibitions Guidelines Working Group. The group is looking for new members. Findings, best practices, and recommendations for vendors and resources will be published, possibly as a PDF. The group seeks examples and case studies for best practices, thought pieces, and vendor recommendations. A question was asked about whether curatorial files on exhibitions will be included in the best practices recommendations. SIG members interested in participating or contributing were encouraged to contact Amanda: [log in to unmask].

Book Art SIG Blog

I reported about the Book Art SIG blog. There have been 16 posts over the past year, many of which were substantive guest posts from SIG members. The blog continues to be an important critical resource for the field and an excellent venue to share content with peers. Most of the content on the blog related to the theme of book art exhibitions in library spaces. SIG members were encouraged to submit guest posts by contacting me (Michelle): [log in to unmask].

Pinterest

The Book Art SIG’s newest initiative, a Pinterest account, was presented by Sha Towers. The Book Art SIG Pinterest has been pinning blog posts, and has regional boards for each ARLIS/NA chapter. Sha presented some questions to the group about what content makes sense to have on the Pinterest board, and what SIG members should be pinning. Members discussed whether it made sense for institutions to pin, and if they should be pinning images of book art from the collection. Images of book art could lead to questions about permission and risk management. Attendees expressed that they would like documentation about the project: what are the goals and parameters? They would like more publicity about the project, including an email on the ARLIS listserv with the name of the board, how to get approved to post, the purpose of the project, and clear parameters about what to pin and what not to pin. Amanda is planning a webinar or lunch chat in the near future to clarify how to use Pinterest. For more information about the SIG on Pinterest, contact Amanda: [log in to unmask].

Artists’ Books [Everywhere]: Creating an Innovative Reference Tool for Your Region Workshop Notes

Led by Michelle Strizever

Although the Artists’ Books [Everywhere] workshop was not part of the Book Art SIG, the project developed during the workshop may become a new initiative for the SIG. To facilitate this, I am sharing my notes about the outcome of the workshop and discussions.

About the Workshop

Artists’ Books [Everywhere] had 15 attendees from the international community of book art librarians, artists, and dealers. Artists’ Books DC is a local, in-depth, and independent digital reference tool that increases access and outreach for hidden collections. As a successful tool for reaching researchers, the Artists’ Books DC model can be replicated in other regions. The initial purpose of the workshop was to introduce Artists’ Books DC as a model, and to provide a road map to build similar, local resources about artists’ books or other hidden collections. Topics covered included how to research collections, what information to include, who the audience is, how to create the website, how to build community relationships and get feedback, and how to advocate for funding.

Unexpected Outcomes

Throughout the course of the workshop, it became clear that participants were interested in building not only local resources for their own region, but working together to build a national project. The group discussed the possibility of creating a national, or potentially international, resource, using the Book Art SIG as a home base. Some ideas included: building a web-based template based on Artists’ Books DC, but at the national level; having a liaison for each ARLIS chapter to coordinate regional research and contributions; crowdsourcing research for the project; collaborating with VRA, SAA, and CAA; determining whether ARLIS/NA would be willing to host the web project, including Artists’ Books DC; building a framework to show proof of concept; and creating a working group within the SIG to oversee the project.

As a result of the productive workshop and energetic participants, the SIG will be working toward creating a national resource that indexes or maps all artists’ book collections and explains how to find and use them. In the next few months, the SIG will create a plan and proposal for the ARLIS/NA board, and begin work on the project. If you are interested in participating, please contact me (Michelle): [log in to unmask].