Heather Slania,  Director of the Betty Boyd Dettre Library and Research Center at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, is preparing a survey of art museum libraries in North America.  But if you are in a hurry and don’t mind using stats that are a few years old, the “thumbnail sketches” section of Art Museum Libraries and Librarianship (p.229 – 246) includes data from 15 art museum libraries here and abroad that was collected circa 2006.  And the Fall 2003 Art Documentation (v.22, no.2) reprises my 2002 survey of 34 “small” art museum libraries (libraries staffed by “solo” librarians).  Of course the current stats may be dramatically different and we are all looking forward to seeing the results of Heather’s survey.

Joan

Dear Alison and fellow art museum librarians,

I am also under considerable pressure to submit very similar statistics as soon as possible. Is there a way to share through the Museum library SIG blog that Catherine Petersen has set up? We were discussing the need for comparative stats. I am willing to submit ours and would appreciate shared data, as Alison is requesting.

               Thanks also, Marilyn

Fellow museum librarians,

  I have another inquiry.  My administration is showing some concern about library usage.  We keep stats on our library attendance and circulation (this includes both checkouts and in house use).  I know different libraries have different use and circulation policies, some with public hours, some by appointment only.

I am interested in trying to get an idea of how our library compares in usage to other museum libraries.

If you have the time could you answer the following questions?

1.       Do you have public hours?

2.       Do you serve any significant patron base outside of museum staff?  students for example

3.       Who is the biggest user of your physical library space? (for example, our staff uses our collection, but almost always uses it in their own offices).

4.       What is your annual library attendance?

5.       Does any of your collection circulate outside of the library?

6.       Do you keep circulation stats (including for library use only material)?

7.       If you have circulation stats, what is your annual circulation?

I won’t be sharing any information with institution names attached.

Thank you so much for any help you can provide,

Alison

Alison L. Huftalen, M.A., M.L.S.

Head Librarian

Toledo Museum of Art

419-255-8000 x7386

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http://www.toledomuseum.org/learn/library

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