Unit Name

Annual Report 1994-1995

Jan van der Wateren (National Art Library, Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL, UK (fax: +(44-171) 9388275; e-mail: 100316.3515@compuserve.com)) was re-elected Chair of the Section of Art Libraries. Hiroyuki Hatano (Library of the National Museum of Western Art, 7-7 Ueno-Koen, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110, Japan (fax: +(81ª3) 38285135; e-mail: h00644@sinet.ad.jp)) was re-elected Secretary.

Standing Committee and Section Membership

The Standing Committee has the full complement of 20 members from 13 countries, plus three corresponding members and one special advisor. With the exception of three persons, all members of the SC were able to attend the Istanbul meetings. The SC is investigating means of increasing membership and it recommended to the Coordinating Board that IFLA should reconsider a sliding scale of fees which would allow smaller institutions and organizations to join IFLA.

Projects

Art Librarians Glossary

It was hoped that the Glossary would be completed before the end of 1994. However, the immense problems caused by committee-editing delayed completion. American colleagues started the ball rolling by making a selection of terms from the first edition, providing definitions for these terms, and beginning to collect translations of the terms in Dutch, French, Italian, Spanish and Swedish. Towards the end of the year Jan van der Wateren took over the responsibility for finalizing the project and translations were sought and checked by colleagues in the countries concerned. It is planned to complete the editorial work by the end of 1995. The Committee discussed the desirability of publishing the Glossary on the World Wide Web as well as in hard copy, and it was agreed that it should be loaded onto the WWW when hard copy was out of print.

International Directory of Art Libraries

Great progress was made with the International Directory under the stewardship of Thomas Hill of Vassar College, USA who acts as Editor-in-Chief of the project. It is planned to go live on the Internet with the data thus far received from all over the world during October 1995, available at http://iberia.vassar.edu/ifla-idal/. Hard copy publication will follow later. The survey conducted by Thomas Hill would be completed by the end of the year after which hard copy would be published.

International Guide to Literature and Art Archives in Libraries, Museums and other Institutions

This ICA/CLA project supported by IFLA will be provided with the data from the International Directory as and when required.

Education and Training for Art Librarians

A sub-group of the Standing Committee discussed progress on the project. The project's aim is to investigate the possibility of the Section producing a framework or model curriculum for staff training which could be adopted and extended by organizations/institutions to meet their own needs; also to investigate the viability of setting up a clearinghouse for information on teaching materials. A questionnaire was circulated during the year, but there was a disappointing response. The sub-group therefore decided that the questionnaire should be redesigned and translated into the IFLA languages as well as Italian and Japanese. The questionnaire will be circulated through Standing Committee members as well as through the national contacts established by Thomas Hill for the International Directory. It will also be published on Internet. The coordinator of the project, Beth Houghton (UK), will analyze the returns in April 1996 and produce a report for the Beijing Conference. It was proposed that ARLIS/UK & Ireland should be asked to consider running a local (UK) scheme since the majority of the responses to the first questionnaire came from the UK. The title of the project has now been changed to "In-house education and training for art library staff".

Publications

Newsletters

During the year two issues of the Newsletter were published by Hiroyuki Hatano (Japan). The first carried the call for papers for the Istanbul Conference. The second Newsletter presented the conference programme as arranged for Istanbul. The SC was concerned about the cost of producing the Newsletter, which is distributed free of charge to some 370 addresses and also as an insert in the Art Libraries Journal.

The Secretary circulated a questionnaire on the Newsletter during the year, but there was a very disappointing response of less than 10% of all recipients. It was agreed that the Newsletter should be put on the IFLANET if this was approved by IFLA. A sub-committee chaired by the Secretary was appointed to investigate the contents of the Newsletter and to report back at the Beijing Conference.

Bibliotecas de arte: arquitectua y dise o: perspectivas actuales/Art, Architecture and Design Libraries: Current Trends

The proceedings of the Barcelona Satellite Conference held 18-21 August 1993 were completed and issued as No. 74 in the series, IFLA Publications. The volume was edited by Ms Lluisa Pons and Ms Conxita Sangenis and contains the 32 papers presented at the meeting.

Havana Conference Papers

All of the papers delivered during the Havana Conference were published in the Art Libraries Journal 20(2)1995 and 20(3)1995.

Future Conferences

Beijing 1996

The theme selected by the Section is "Chinese Collections/Publications inside and outside of China". There will also be a one-day workshop entitled "Pay or Profit: Fee or Free?".

Copenhagen 1996

The Section workshop will be hosted by the Danish Museum of Decorative Arts and planning is well in hand.

Trieste 1996

A proposal was made to hold a conference in Trieste in 1996 and there was much discussion on how such a European conference might affect attendance at Beijing. Committee members were reminded that they were expected to attend at least three out of the four conferences during their tenure, and that attendance in Beijing should take precedence over attendance in Trieste. Although the Section of Art Libraries has in the past been associated with conferences in Europe when the main IFLA Conference was not held in Europe, IFLA does not officially support subsidiary conferences. It was also felt that the IFLA Annual Conference scheduled for Copenhagen in 1997 was sufficiently close so as not to warrant holding a special European conference during 1996. However, it was agreed that when a full proposal was received from Italy, the Section should consider in what way it could support the Italian initiative.

Istanbul Meetings

Workshop

The one-day workshop on the theme, "Libraries of the Future: The Impact of Modern Technology, such as Imaging, on Art Librarianship" was held at the Sadberk Hanim Museum. It was attended by more than 80 people. Abstracts of the papers appear below. There were also two presentations: Michael Rinehart (UK) of the Bibliography of the History of Art, reviewed the publication's steady growth, increased availability and new collaborative objectives to share indexing responsibilities and simplify information exchange over common or compatible computer systems; and Havelin Anand (Canada), who gave a presentation on Canadian heritage and the information highway.

Open Session

The open session on the theme of "Islamic Art Library Collections" was held in the main conference venue. Eighty-five persons attended, representing 25 countries.

Papers presented

Libraries Are Not for Burning: International Librarianship and the Recovery of the Destroyed Heritage of Bosnia-Herzogovina
by ANDRAS RIEDLMAYER

Abstract:
In the past three years the cultural heritage of Bosnia-Herzogovina has suffered a major destruction. The result is what a Council of Europe report has called "a cultural catastrophe". Historical architecture (including 1200 mosques, 150 churches, four synagogues, and over 1000 other monuments of culture), works of art, as well as cultural institutions (including major museums, libraries, archives, and manuscript collections) have been systematically targeted and destroyed. The losses include not only the works of art, but also crucial documentation that might aid in their reconstruction. Our Bosnian colleagues need the assistance of the international library community to help them recover and rebuild some of what has been lost and to rebuild the buildings and institutions that embody their country's cultural heritage. The paper suggests some innovative ways that librarians outside of Bosnia, through their institutions and professional organizations, can provide material and technical assistance, training and documentation to help undo the destruction of memory.

The Formation of an Islamic Art Library Collection in an American Museum
by DIERDRE E. LAWRENCE

Abstract:
The Brooklyn Museum's collection of Islamic art represents the full wealth of Islamic artistic production with objects dating from the earliest periods of Islam through the 20th century, from Spain to India, and executed in a variety of media. An extensive research collection of over 5000 titles (books, periodicals, and archival material) has been developed to allow for the understanding and interpretation of these objects to the public. This paper focuses on the interest of Islamic art in the United States, exhibition activities, and the development of a research collection in a museum library.

The Virtual Museum Comes to Campus: Two Perspectives on the Museum Educational Site Licensing Project
by ANGELA GIRAL and JEANNETTE DIXON

Abstract:
The Getty Art History Information Program has joined with MUSE Educational Media in a project bringing together seven universities and seven art museums for the purpose of making digital images of works of art available for study and teaching in campus networks. One university and one museum participant share their experiences to date and the expectations for the accomplishments of this two-year project designed to develop methods and guidelines for the academic use of digitized museum-owned materials at colleges and universities.

Art in the Web: An Advanced Information Workstation as a Tool for Art Research
by MARCO DE NIET and MAGGY WISHAUPT

Abstract:
The quality of the future library will be measured not only in terms of its collections, but also in terms of the diversity and efficiency of its electronic services. Therefore, the Koninklijke Bibliotheek in The Hague is building an advanced information workstation for the humanities. With this multimedia workstation users can easily locate and consult sources on the local network (OPAC, CD-ROMs, databases on several collections) and services and databases on national and international networks. Facilities for downloading and processing information will also be offered. In this paper the relevance of this multimedia workstation for art research is discussed.

Australian Visual Arts: Libraries and the New Technologies
by JOHN THOMSON and JOYCE VOLKER

Abstract:
Initiatives underway in Australia are providing opportunities for innovative solutions to the application of nw visual resources technology in teaching and research. A series of projects have been set up using World Wide Web technology in academic institutions. The Web offers opportunities for sharing materials transparently around the world and promises to be especially valuable in the visual arts generally because it can deal with images just as easily as text. Institutions are also embracing CD-ROM technology and many products have already been developed. This paper will describe the strategies, the development of projects and the products available, and will also discuss the impact of integration of these new technologies on visual arts libraries in Australia.

The George Fullard Electronic Art Book Project
by JOHN KIRBY

Abstract:
This paper describes the process which led to the production of an electronic book and demonstrates the use of the medium as a means of bring art to diverse audiences. Sheffield Hallam University possesses a large number of drawings by the sculptor George Fullard (1923-1973). Concern over conservation led to a discussion of how to provide access in the future. The result was an electronic book, available as a multimedia CD-ROM but which could also be made available on networks. Particularly important is the provision of an information resource that can be used at a variety of intellectual and interest levels.

Aberdeen Art Gallery Image Database Project - A Prototype Project to Create and Maintain a Low Cost Art Image Database
by JOHN W. MURDOCH, ROBERT NEWTON and DOUGLAS ANDERSON

Abstract:
The concern in this study was primarily to identify the way in which visual arts (paintings, etchings, engravings) could be organized and made accessible using low cost computer hardware and software. The aim was to take a typical art gallery collection andinvestigate fully the type of problems which were involved when considering digitizing the collection. The paper examines how the project created a sophisticated image database using minimum financial outlay. Of necessity, the paper is presented as an outline review for expansion and discussion.

Image Processing and Database System in the National Museum of Western Art (Tokyo): An Integrated System for Art Research
by HIROYUKI HATANO

Abstract:
A research group consisting of a librarian, three curators and a computer specialist, for which the author takes responsibility, is developing an integrated system for art research on an experimental basis for four years from 1994. Image processing technologies using input and output devices and software for high definition digital data are applied to studying Western art works from the museum's collection and comparing them with those of other museums. This system allows us, for example, to see on the monitor an image the same size as the artwork itself. The integrated database system will also enable us to catalogue works of art on the same screen, images and different application programmes such as AAT, ULAN and Icooclass being recognized in the same system. With reference to academic research of Western art in Japan, the efficiency of the application of machine-readable thesauri and classification systems which have been developed in Western countries using Western languages are examined. The use of digitized microfiche images is also discussed.

Latest Revision: May 27, 1996