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Art Documentation
Art Documentation is the official bulletin of the Art Libraries Society of North America, 1982-present. It includes articles and information relevant to art librarianship and visual resources curatorship. Since 1996, it has been published twice yearly (spring and fall). The subscription to Art Documentation is included as part of membership in ARLIS/NA. To obtain individual issues, see ordering information below.
To purchase individual issues please contact customer service online; by email at subscriptions@press.uchicago.edu; or over the phone by calling (877) 705-1878 (toll-free, U.S. & Canada), or (773) 753-3347 (International).
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Current Issue Abstracts
Spring 2013: Volume 32, Issue 1
Trends in Art Publishing from University Presses, 1991-2007
Henry Pisciotta and James Frost
Abstract
The authors present a statistical study of publishing trends in university press books on the visual arts that employs data from the YBP Library Services GOBI (Global Online Bibliographic Information) database to help understand the dynamic relationships of specialties within the arts. The years 1991 through 2007 are shown to be a period of substantial increases in new book titles, led by especially steep increases in contemporary art topics. While none of the other specialties sawmeaningful decreases, some grew more rapidly than others. The article describes the methodology and research findings for this study, and offers questions for further analysis.
Alternative Access Models: Enhancing the Discoverability of Small Press and Avant-Garde Art Journals
Amy Ballmer and Sian Evans
Abstract
Much art historical journal research takes place in proprietary, subscription databases which do not include most open-access, small-press, and artist periodicals. This article discusses the importance of these underrepresented texts and explores two modes of making accessible previously undiscoverable journal content. A central theme of this article is that even where full-text digitization is not possible, librarians need to be committed to making these resources available to scholars and independent researchers alike. The authors present a number of independent, alternative indexing projects and then offer an analysis of social tagging projects in both digital image collections and library online catalogs, including a discussion oftheir potential relevance to these publications.
Cognitive Visual Literacy: From Theories and Competencies to Pedagogy
Nicole A. Beatty
Abstract
Visual literacy is an important part of being literate in the twenty-first century because people are interacting with visual materials with increasing frequency and immediacy as a resultof the digital age. By understanding cognitive theories associated with visual literacy and combining them with the ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education, librarians can help students become visually literate. In addition to describing these cognitive theories and ACRL standards, the author provides practical suggestions as to how they may be utilized in visual literacy instruction.
Research Intersections within Practice: Artists and Librarians
Effie Patelos
Abstract
This article explores how the intensification of research within contemporary artistic practice plays out in the space of the library and its implications for the services and resourceslibrarians provide to patrons who are artists. The Ontario Chapter of the Art Libraries Society of North America brought together three art information professionals and three art educators/artists in a panel discussion titled "Research Intersections within Practice: Artists and Librarians" to discuss different approaches to research and information gathering by artists during the process of art production, as well as the role that art information professionals can play as facilitators of the creative process. Written by one of the planners and curators of the event, thearticle reinvestigates the findings and themes of the panel discussion and speculates on what the future may hold for art production which faces massive technological upheavals in the way of information preservation, access, and processing.
For the Record: Museum Cataloging from a Library and Information Science Perspective
Gabriela Zoller and Katie DeMarsh
Abstract
The authors examine the current state of cataloging in museums and conclude that contemporary museum cataloging practices can benefit from the library community's emphasison access and retrieval as fundamental cataloging objectives. They argue that museums would benefit from the creation of a dedicated cataloger position, filled by a person with a library andinformation science education, in order to address institutional and public needs for information in an environment marked by the demand for electronic access to collections information.Specific examples demonstrating how a library and information science-based approach to cataloging can help museums achieve aspects of their mission beyond the need to document their collections are offered from a librarian-led cataloging project at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.
Youth, Science, and the Future: Three Sets of New Deal Era Murals at the University of New Mexico
Audra Bellmore and Sever Bordeianu
Abstract
The Roosevelt Administration's New Deal social programs, designed to provide employment for out-of-work Americans during the Great Depression, included a number of projects which created jobs for artists. New Mexico, a state with significant and recognized art colonies, greatly contributed to the New Deal programs by enhancing public buildings with murals, paintings, sculpture, weaving, furniture, and pottery. A further goal of the art programs was to create a national style repre-senting the American cultural landscape in all its diversity. At the University of New Mexico, three sets of New Deal-era murals, created by artists Willard Nash, Raymond Jonson, and Kenneth Adams, document 1930s student life and local culture.
In Living Color: Crystal Bridges and Its American Color Plate Collection
Jason W. Dean
Abstract
Since its opening in 2011, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art has generated a great deal of interest from the public and other cultural institutions. From the construction of a 185,000-square-foot facility in the bottom of a ravine to the much-discussed art acquisitions, this attention is hardly surprising. However, beyond the building and the art, Crystal Bridges also has an art research library with many rare books and the most important collection of American color printed books in North America. This article focuses on the genres and methods of color printing in the Americas in the nineteenth century, then follows with a discussion of the challenges for this collection, as well as some guidelines for cataloging its items.
Outside the Boundaries: Contemporary Art and Global Biennials
Ray Anne Lockard
Abstract
The history of art and taste in the twenty-first century is being written from one biennial exhibition to another. The catalogs that document these huge, international art exhibitionsare critical for scholars of contemporary art. Art libraries must keep track of these exhibitions, purchase the catalogs that are available, and provide access to information about the exhibitions. This is not an easy task because of the exhibitions' very contemporaneity, the difficulties in acquiring many of the international catalogs, and the challenges of accessing themin online catalogs. This article focuses on the practical issues surrounding acquisitions of and access to biennial exhibition catalogs in a library environment.
Online Art Ephemera: Web Archiving at the National Museum of Women in the Arts
Heather Slania
Abstract
Artist and art subject file collections contain important primary source ephemera for art historical research--but what happens when the ephemera are online? The National Museum of Women in the Arts has been web archiving art-related online ephemera using the Internet Archive's Archive-It since November 2011. This case study presents the considerations and challenges of archiving such types of material and provides a foundation for arts institutions to begin more collaborative web archiving.
Outreach to Artists: Supporting the Development of a Research Culture for Master of Fine Arts Students
Kasia Leousis
Abstract
The subject librarian for the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts works towards fulfilling the Graduate School of Art's vision for a student-focused research environment that supports the students' development as artists and researchers. This article describes the author's outreach efforts to develop a visual and textual research culture for the Master of Fine Arts in Visual Art program at Washington University in St. Louis and the positive outcomes that occurred as a result of these efforts.
Pinteresting Possibilities: Rethinking Outreach for Design Students
Susan Gilman and Alyssa Vincent
Abstract
Engaging studio-based design students with library resources can be a challenge especially since they rely heavily on skills and concepts learned during time spent in the studio. However, if librarians rethink traditional outreach strategies and meet these unique users at their point of need by experimenting with innovative tools that allow for creativity, they can help design students become more aware of the useful services libraries offer. In this article the authors explore how the social media site Pinterest can better connect libraries with visually oriented students.
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Tables of Contents
- 2013: Volume 32
- 2012: Volume 31
- 2011: Volume 30
- 2010: Volume 29
- 2009: Volume 28
- 2008: Volume 27
To search Art Documentation contents prior to the issues listed above, please use the LISTA database, provided by Ebsco.
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