Art Documentation

Art Documentation is the official journal 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). Art Documentation is published for ARLIS/NA by University of Chicago Press, which supports green open access for all of its journals. Subscription to Art Documentation is included as part of ARLIS/NA membership.

Members-only Access

ARLIS/NA members may access Art Documentation electronically via a controlled access site:

Members-only access to Art Documentation

Authors

Authors who wish to publish their work in Art Documentation should consult the Contributor Guidelines.

Authors may self-archive their own articles and make them freely available through institutional repositories after a one-year embargo. Authors may also post their articles in their published form on their personal or departmental web pages or personal social media pages, use the article in teaching or research presentations, provide single copies in print or electronic form to their colleagues, or republish the article in a subsequent work, subject to giving proper credit to the original publication of the article in Art Documentation, including reproducing the exact copyright notice as it appears in the journal.

Non-member Access to Journal

To purchase individual issues please contact University of Chicago Press customer service online; by email at subscriptions@press.uchicago.edu; or via phone at +1 877-705-1878 (toll-free, U.S. & Canada), or +1 773-753-3347 (International).

Tables of Contents

To search Art Documentation contents 1982–present, visit the journal home page with the University of Chicago Press.

Current Issue Abstracts

Art Documentation Vol. 42, No. 2 (Fall 2023)

On the Future of Art Bibliography Initiative: Coming Full Circle with a Century of Western Art Bibliography in OpenBibArt
Kathleen Salomon

Abstract— The Future of Art Bibliography (FAB) initiative was a conceptual presence in art library circles for nearly a decade. FAB’s underlying tenets espousing international collaboration with the goal of providing access to the bibliography of art history in its broadest sense are now mainstays of the art information profession. Looking at what has been built and sustained over the past decade and using FAB’s role in the development from the Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA) to OpenBibArt as a backdrop, this article provides context and history that may help consider future goals for art bibliography and research.

[A version of this article was first presented at “Art Information: Reflection and the Future,” 9th Biannual Conference of International Art Libraries, Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte, Munich, October 15, 2022.]

Through the Looking Glass: Reforming Art Library Collections with DEI-Centered Acquisition Practices
Jennifer Riestenberg Pepin and Deborah Ultan

Abstract— This article examines the results of a multi-stage exploratory study on the acquisition practices of collection development librarians in arts libraries and how these practices support or hinder aspects of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) related to collection work. Analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from the study’s written survey and focus groups indicates that while art librarians are overall loosely employing creative strategies to address the DEI scope in collections, practical and comprehensive guidance is needed. Subsequently, the authors have developed principles and guidelines in response to the results of the study as well as a thorough review of literature on the topic of art libraries, collections, and DEI. The guidelines serve as an intervention to move librarians from ingrained, colonized thinking to acquisition practices that instead foster diversity, equity, and inclusivity. A preview of the guidelines shows an approach to collection development that centers around relationship building, radical empathy, and anti-bias.

Opening the Modern Art Classroom: Employing Open Educational Resources and Practices to Create a Responsive and Engaging Course
Michaela Keating

Abstract— Open educational resources (OER) are increasingly important tools for decreasing course materials costs and promoting educational equity in universities throughout the world. While some disciplines have numerous OER available, there are fewer options in art history. This article explores the work of a librarian and art history instructor as they collaborated to remove a costly textbook as the cornerstone of the undergraduate course ART 312: Modern Art and replaced it with OER. This labor-intensive process sought to both save students money and introduce new perspectives beyond the traditional modern art canon. The result of this labor is not only a course that does not require a costly textbook but one that better reflects the backgrounds of the students and the surrounding community.

Preparing Learners for Today’s Visual Information Landscape by Using the Framework for Visual Literacy and Metaliteracy Framework in Tandem
Katie Greer, Dana Statton Thompson, and Tiffany Saulter

Abstract— Given the ubiquitous access to smartphones and social media, learners need to understand and be fluent in multiple literacies to act effectively as literate information consumers and information producers. When creating learning objectives, educators should explore the overlaps and contributions various frameworks can add. This article demonstrates how the ACRL Framework for Visual Literacy in Higher Education and the pedagogical framework of metaliteracy can be used in tandem, with each bringing unique strengths to prepare learners for a highly visual, highly participatory information environment.

[This article is an expansion of a paper presented at the 51st annual ARLIS/NA conference held in Mexico City in April 2023, as part of the session “Transformative Pedagogy in Academic Librarianship.”]

Distant Viewing: Computational Image Similarity and Visual Resources Collections
Tess Colwell and Lindsay King

Abstract— Though digital image collections have superseded analog slide libraries for teaching, and new sources of digital images are constantly improving upon the quality of early digitized slides and their associated metadata, hidden information resides within the “collective collections” that visual resources professionals spent decades building. In this article, the authors explore one such collection of more than 370,000 digital images from varied sources using a tool called PixPlot, which sorts and clusters images according to their algorithmically determined visual similarity rather than metadata. Reflecting on the history of visual resources collections and digital humanities applications for art history, the authors suggest how analytical tools like PixPlot might provide innovative uses for large digital image collections and consider the place of these tools in the new landscape of AI art and algorithms operating on digital images as another variety of Big Data.

How the Craft World Came Together: Examining the Archives of the World Crafts Council 7th General Assembly, 1976
Beth Goodrich

Abstract— The World Crafts Council (WCC) was formed in 1964, according to its website, “to provide services to artists and craftsmen around the world [that will include] stimulating of public interest in and appreciation for the work of artists and craftsmen, providing a clearing house for creative, technical, economic and social assistance and a focus of cooperation among artists and craftsmen.” In 1976, the Latin America Region of the WCC hosted the seventh biennial general assembly meeting of the global organization in Oaxtepec, Morelos, Mexico. Mexican president Luis Echeverría Álvarez inaugurated the June event. The general assembly, under the theme “The Living Crafts: Tradition and Quality,” brought together artists and scholars from fifty-four nations around the globe to convene for five days of meetings, seminars, and workshops. International cooperation was the aim of the assembly and the mission of the WCC. Using the backdrop of the 1976 meeting in Oaxtepec, the author offers reflections on how the fifty-first annual conference of the Art Libraries Society of North America, held in Mexico City in 2023, mirrored the WCC’s international convening of craft artists, as well as the challenges encountered when conducting archival research across borders.

[This article is an expansion of a paper presented at the 51^st annual ARLIS/NA conference held in Mexico City in April 2023, as part of the panel “Transformative Collections and Latin America.”]

artists books and After
Tony White

Abstract— Early in her career, accomplished contemporary art curator Dianne Perry Vanderlip organized the exhibition artists books at Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, in 1973. In coining the phrase “artists books,” she unintentionally created the name for a new genre of contemporary art, now in its fiftieth year. However, not many artists, art historians, or critics are aware of the Vanderlip catalog, how it came to be, who loaned works to the exhibition, and the important concepts included in the catalog’s two essays—artists books regarded as fine art, and as democratic multiples. Several important books by oft-cited authors neither discussed, nor included, index entries for either Vanderlip or her catalog. These unintentional omissions inadvertently created a significant gap in the literature, impacting successive scholarship about artists books. The 1970s was a formative decade during which definitions for publications by visual artists were in flux. The impact of the exhibition’s title, artists books, was an inflection point, after which the phrase quickly became indelible as successive generations of artists took ownership of it to describe their books.

Creating a Mobile App with Augmented Reality for the Digital Archive of Newark Architecture through Collaboration
Maya Gervits, Hyejin Hannah Kum-Biocca, and Monica Kenzie

Abstract— The Digital Archive of Newark Architecture (DANA) is an effort spearheaded by the New Jersey Institute of Technology to capture the essence of Newark’s architectural landscape. This initiative combines documentation on the city’s heritage and exploration of Newark’s architectural narrative. The archive has evolved from static web pages into a searchable database and cutting-edge mobile applications featuring augmented reality functionalities. The article examines how DANA fosters engagement and interaction with Newark’s architectural legacy through integrating technology and scholarship and embodies a commitment to preservation and accessibility, ensuring that Newark’s architectural heritage remains alive.

The Good, the Bad, the Changing: Architecture Libraries Post-Pandemic
Rose Orcutt, Lucy Campbell, Maya Gervits, and Barbara Ann Opar

Abstract— Beginning in March 2020, academic libraries experienced dramatic changes to services resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders. Architecture libraries in particular serve a unique user group who are still partially reliant on print resources and were therefore significantly challenged. This article outlines changes to library services and resources, and it considers which transitions are likely to have long-term impact on library functions. Data from two surveys circulated during the early and late stages of the pandemic is compared, contrasted, and supported by research literature. The authors conclude that collection development and professional practice are two areas of architecture librarianship that will see the most significant long-term changes.