Section of Art Libraries

Annual Report
September 1997 - August 1998

Scope

Membership

Officers

Secretary & Information Coordinator
Geert-Jan Koot,

Treasurer
Catherine Heesterbeek-Bert,

Meetings

Financial Report
Catherine Heesterbeek-Bert, Treasurer gave a report of the committee's finances. Monies were spent primarily on the production and printing of the Newsletter. The financial report was accepted as circulated. It was noted that the Section still has funds available.

Newsletter report
The editor, Geert-Jan Koot, was congratulated on the best-yet issue of the Newsletter. The national reports were considered to be an excellent addition to the spring issue. The Newsletter Report was accepted as circulated. The editor highlighted the following points:

• new editor, Geert-Jan Koot
• new design incorporating a much-needed 25% additional space
• comparison of Section mailing list and the Art Libraries Journal mailing list resulting in the deletion of 80 duplications leaving a Section list of 315 addresses
• plan to transfer all printing to Titus Wilson [printers of the Art Libraries Journal]. Titus Wilson printing is of excellent quality and will decrease the printing bill
• 1100 copies of each issue were produced with all recent issues being now out-of-print

Geert-Jan Koot reported on the Newsletter content:

• no.43 to be published Fall 1998 will contain conference reports
• no.44 to be published in Spring 1999 will be a theme issue, including up-dates on country reports [closing date for copy March 30, 1999]

Discussion of Future IFLA Conferences

Bangkok, 1998
Margaret Shaw reported on her recent visit to Bangkok to investigate venues and to meet with colleagues who could advise the Art Section on issues of transportation, available technology, artistic treasures, and tours. Her summary of recommendations follows:
• Workshop at Silpakorn University ; lunch at SU or at National Museum, exhibition opening.
• Standing Committee 1 at BITAC or National Museum
• Standing Committee 2 at National Museum [for practical reasons this meeting will be held at the Conference Center]
• Tours: National Museum with Museum volunteers [Eng., Fr., Ger., Jap., Thai]
• Visits to Asia Books and Kuni. Also in the vicinity: Grand Palace, National Art Gallery, lots of temples, SU galleries. Recommendation for hotels:
• Royal Orchid Sheraton      $US100/108 incl.tax, service charge and breakfast
• Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza       $US75/75 incl.tax, service charge and breakfast

Both are close to the ferry for quick access to the SU and the National Museum, an important consideration in the light of the prevalent severe street traffic congestion.

Call for Papers for Bangkok
The draft of the call for papers was distributed. The open session topics concern electronic art information, and the workshop session has to do with collaborating with archivists, curators, and educators. The call for papers will be translated for wider dissemination by the following:

Spanish: Angela Giral
Russian: Olga Sinitsyna
French: Marie-Claude Thompson
Japanese: Setsuko Nakamura


Margaret Shaw offered to enlist help in getting a Thai translation done.

It was reported that, regretfully, the dates for the JADS 10th meeting will not be convenient for it to be a post-conference event for IFLA delegates. Therefore, the previously considered Japanese Post-Conference Meeting will not take place.

Judy Gunning, Queensland Art Gallery, invited the IFLA delegates to Bangkok to consider attending the ARLIS/ANZ meeting on September 6, 1999 as a post-conference event. This meeting will coincide with the Third Asia-Pacific Triennial in Brisbane, Queensland. Judy volunteered to write a notice for the Newsletter including details and travel logistics.

Jeruzalem, 2000
For the Jerusalem conference in 2000, the following points were made:

• Jerusalem would be an excellent place to see use of multiple scripts in action [Roman, Hebrew and Arabic]
• care should be taken to balance Jewish and Islamic content
• attention was drawn to the ALEPH database

Boston, 2001
For the Boston conference in 2001, it was reported that the ARLIS/NA Organizing Committee has offered to sponsor a 2-day workshop including sessions and art library tours.

Workshop Planning - Attention was drawn to the fact that the structure of workshops has become less inter-active and more an extension of formal meetings and papers. This was a concern that the Art Documentation Advisory Group discussed in Lisbon. Interestingly, it was also mentioned as a concern of the IFLA board at the Division Meeting in Amsterdam. It was proposed that greater interaction could be sought by having shorter presentations and more discussion.

The following points were raised:

• the sessions would need to be well structured to ensure the full participation of those for whom English is not their first language;
• short presentations/abstracts should be available to be read beforehand;
• division into smaller groups and physical layout could facilitate discussion;
• each presentation should have a respondent for each topic;
• shorter papers would encourage more participants;
• workshop papers should be "idea papers" not reports of experience;
• call for papers should welcome to non-librarians from related professions, or librarians from other sectors;
• avoid restricting the size of the workshops in order to include participation from other Sections.

Debate on the Future of the Section of Art Libraries

At last year's conference in Copenhagen the question arose whether the Section of Art Libraries should split away from IFLA. The Section is one of the strongest and most productive within IFLA, it makes a major contribution to INSPEL, the journal of the Special Libraries Division and the Section, is considered a model group, so does it need to stay with IFLA? Two colleagues looked at the advantages and disadvantages.

Beth Houghton, Tate Gallery, London, On the Advantages of Separating from IFLA: Beth stated that now might be an appropriate time to examine why the Art Section would or would not stay under the umbrella of IFLA. The Section's aims are to foster contact with other art libraries wherever they are and to undertake projects in order to further the professional work of art librarians, which it is appropriate to tackle at international level. We need to look at: how IFLA helps us to do these things; how IFLA does not help us; what alternatives there might be.

• Membership. How does IFLA help us to attract new members and encourage new groups to form? The Section membership is slowly increasing and where we meet often stimulates interest in joining and/or a new group may be formed. How much of this would have happened without IFLA? Would an active art librarian organization be equally or even more attractive? And might it not be more visible outside of IFLA? We have around 100 members but for example, the Association of Music Libraries, outside of IFLA, has 2,000 members. It has been in place since 1951, its offices are supported by a small honorarium, it holds an annual conference, has many projects ongoing and is very successful.

• Costs. The people who attend IFLA conferences are few compared to the number of art librarians in our countries. We need to make it easier for more people to join and attend our meetings. The name and reputation of IFLA may help to get funding in university libraries, but often makes no difference. The fee to attend the IFLA conference is quite high and accommodation can be expensive, especially to stay near others. It can be done cheaper. For example, when ARLIS/UK & Ireland holds a conference they organise cheap accommodation and subsistence. It is not high class accommodation or haute cuisine, but it is a less costly way of making contacts and reaching people.

• Support. Under the umbrella of IFLA we pay for the support structure for our Section, for copies of papers, etc. IFLA also provides access to publishing facilities but this can be difficult. For example, IFLA has concerns about publishing further editions of our Glossary because it might duplicate one of their general projects. At the moment we get extra support from various places - Vassar College, the Gulbenkian Foundation, the Getty Institute. What would happen if we didn't get support from IFLA? What are the alternatives?

• Program. We have maximized the Section's program to fit our business around IFLA but it often means that we coincide with other relevant sessions in the main conference and we attend less and less of them. Our business could be compressed into fewer days. A Pre-conference is one solution and it has attracted more people but it also means another fee with longer accommodation costs. So why not have our own conference? There is also a possibility that IFLA may limit numbers attending each Workshop, which is very worrying.

• Conferences. A major concern should be where conferences are held. IFLA is limited to cities which can accommodate its size. Maybe by choosing our own locations we could go to smaller venues, or target countries where want to set up groups.

Jan van der Wateren, National Art Library, London, On the Disadvantages of Separating from IFLA: Jan stated that he believes as a librarian it is his duty to belong to IFLA. If there was no need to be within the international organization of IFLA, how is it that so many national art library associations across the world have not tried to collaborate with each other before?

• International relations. Although there is no international body for art librarians why do we want to separate? There has never been any outcry in the international ARLISes that anybody ever wanted to discuss an international body. Why is this? When Philip Pacey was asked what the Section could do to increase international relations he stated that IFLA provides a ready-made infrastructure, that it is thoroughly international, that it would not crystallize into a smaller group.

• Costs. Yes, the Music Librarians have been successful but they have many more members who pay the honorarium. To be part of their international organization as well they have to pay additional fees. Therefore to stand-alone you need additional funding to cover general running costs, publishing membership lists and membership of international groups. Where would this funding come from?

• Why not a stand-alone conference? I am here as a librarian. Most of us do not have collections of drawings, or the like. Art for us is the subject group for the whole thing. We acquire and catalog materials, we shelve, we retrieve, we serve users - no different from other librarians. The subject doesn't matter, what we need are standards. We must play our role in developing these and learn from fellow librarians in all fields. IFLA gives us that chance to learn. We can interact with all the other Sections and look at issues that would not be addressed at an Art Libraries meeting.

• International voice. IFLA gives breadth and weight. ARLISes across the world do not get taken into account. ARLIS has no influence. IFLA does. It has a voice internationally.

• Support. During IFLA conferences the Section gets help with transportation to other venues, simultaneous translations, and other support for our sessions. IFLA has the publication program. Where would we get this kind of support?

Response to the Debates
Committee members from several countries came to the podium to give their responses. Each one expressed strong, heartfelt reasons in favor of staying with IFLA. The Chair stated that it seemed to be the overwhelming consensus that the Section should keep within the umbrella of IFLA. The Chair thanked the two debaters for their contribution.

National Reports
The Chairman thanked everyone who contributed national reports in the Spring Newsletter. Any further information or details of regional meetings should be passed to the Chair or Secretary in good time to be advertised in the Newsletter. There were some further reports and updates.

Nicole Picot, Bibliothèque et Archives des Musées Nationaux, Paris:
In France the general group of 3,800 librarians has a sub-section of art librarians with 130 members, which celebrated its 30th anniversary last year. The small sub-group has only 5 people on the organizing committee but has a very good reputation with professional members. International colleagues are very welcome to come and visit the French libraries.

• It has several working groups including one working with the French national library to enrich subject headings.

• Working study days are regularly organized and the next one will be held on 27-29 November in Tours looking at co-operation between different professional branches of contemporary art.

• In September librarians in Nice will be meeting and in June, Strasbourg librarians are gathering to study images.

• A co-operative project has recently been accepted with ARLIS/NA.

• The September issue of the Art Libraries Journal will focus on French art libraries.

Ada Kolganova, Russian State Art Library, Moscow:

• There are many libraries in Russia with difficulties in joining the library community. The Russian librarians try to keep in contact with IFLA and to cooperate in the main projects of the different sections.

• At the annual meeting of librarians it is traditional to have a new exhibition. This year the theme was The Librarian as an Artist, showing many different works prepared and created by librarians, which was a great success.

• The regular conference held in Crimea is very important and many people attend from across the world. The Arts Section holds its own session and this year's theme was Information Support for Art and Sciences. International colleagues were invited to join the next Crimean conference where the main theme of the Arts Section is Libraries in Museums and Museums in Libraries.

Olga Sinitsyna, Rudomino Library of Foreign Literature, Moscow:

There were 2 further conferences in Russia.

• A joint meeting with German art librarians which looked at the needs of the users and the role of the librarian as intermediary.

• An international conference of eastern European art librarians held in September that looked at educational programmes.

• A special issue of the section's journal was published dedicated to art libraries that included papers from the IFLA Beijing conference.

• A Website for the section is currently being developed.

Javier Docampo, Biblioteca Nacional Servicio de Dibujos y Grabados, Madrid:

• The Spanish art section work hard at keeping good relationships with each other. Most art libraries are based in universities and not much financial support is available for the section.

• The meeting of art librarians held in April at the Museo del Art in Barcelona was a great success with 60 participants. The main theme was Libraries and their Relationships with their Institutions. the papers will be published next year by the MNDA of Catalonia. Many working groups reported on their successful projects and the meeting focussed on:
  • the fusion of activities through Spanish professional media
  • access to data through the Internet
  • the working groups and the introduction of Round tables

• A new working group was formed to look at the creation of a homepage on the World Wide Web for Spanish art librarians, which will be ready soon.

• The next meeting will take place in Madrid from 21-23 April 1999 on the theme of Access Systems to Our Information. All international colleagues were invited to attend.

Geert-Jan Koot, Rijksmuseum Library, Amsterdam:

• The Dutch art librarians are working on 8 significant projects Reports have been published in Art Libraries Journal, vol. 23 (1998) no. 2.

• A major project is the collaboration between the Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk and Van Gogh Museum and Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam and the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie in The Hague to release the catalogues of all 5 art libraries on CD-ROM. The CD is being developed by Bureau IMC and a prototype is currently available.

Anja Lollesgaard, Danish Museum of Decorative Art, Copenhagen:

ARLIS/Norden covers the 5 Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden which have a common cultural identity. The society, established in 1986, is still growing and currently there are 113 members, with a organising committee represented by a member from each country. There is a small budget that covers travel expenses.

• The annual meeting is a key event and common projects are discussed including
  • an information sheet
  • a home page on the World Wide Web
  • projects in Copenhagen for IFLA last year
  • a new artists' books project
  • survey of artists born after 1950 in conjunction with the main IFLA Arts Section project
  • a Newsletter published 3 times a year, edited successively by the 5 different member countries

• The first annual conference was attended by Philip Pacey and he was the first IFLA representative to visit. This year Jan van der Wateren addressed the conference and talked about artists' books which stimulated the new artists' books project.

Margaret Shaw, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra:

ARLIS/ANZ has about 125 members covering about 4,500 km., but this wide distance is conquered by discussions on the ARLIS/ANZ-listserv. They have a successful Web page and a regularly produced journal.

• This year's annual conference will be held in Adelaide

• After the Bangkok conference next year ARLIS/ANZ will meet in Brisbane, hosted by Judy Gunning of the Queensland Art Gallery, in conjunction with the IFLA conference and all colleagues are warmly invited to join the section.

Stephen Bloom, The University of Fine Arts, Philadelphia:

In the American Library Association meetings are held for librarians from all of the arts fields. There will be a meeting in June of 1999 in New Orleans and all were invited to attend.

Projects

At the Copenhagen meeting, Ana Paula Gordo suggested a project to identify databases holding information on artists born in 1950 or later. A feasibility study was made via a questionnaire asking the Standing Committee members to identify relevant resources in their countries and to get an idea of how to focus the project. The conclusions were:

• Most countries have a small number of key resources therefore the project could be manageable, phased into different sections

• The majority of resource types were libraries. Most respondents said the wide range of professional organisations in each country would hold information about living artists

• Need a methodology for updating

• Need to rewrite questionnaire; problems with interpreting the questions; good to produce it in more than one language

• Different questions may be needed for different types of resources

• Look at how and where the data will be held and the cost

• A check on quality of data should be built into the process

The Chair thanked Beth Houghton and Ana Paula Gordo for their work so far. It was agreed the project should go ahead and the Chair and Secretary would discuss funding with IFLA. A sub-committee was set up to look over the results so far and progress further.

The Subcommittee members are: Ana Paula Gordo, Beth Houghton, Laurence Camous, Angela Giral, Chris Smeenk, Anja Lollesgaard, and Olga Sinitsyna.

Multilingual Glossary for Art Librarians

The Japanese, Portuguese and Russian translations of the Glossary were completed. The Chair and Secretary will find out if K.G. Saur, publisher of the first edition, is willing to publish a second edition of the Glossary with the new languages. There seems to be some reluctance due to the low sales.

There was some question whether this reluctance was also due to the fact that a universal glossary of librarianship terms was being produced by IFLA. The Chairman and Secretary will discuss this with the Co-ordinating Board.

Discussions are taking place between the Secretary and the editor of the Website, Gary Cleveland, about including the Multi-lingual Glossary on the Webpage. Herloff Hatlebrekke reported on the success of including articles about the Glossary and the International Directory in local journals.

At the Copenhagen conference, Scandinavian librarians completed forms applying for reduced rate copies of the Glossary but unfortunately not enough were received to achieve the discounted rate. The Chair will pass the order forms on to K.G. Saur. If any other members wish to translate the Glossary into their languages please contact the Chair or Secretary.

International Directory of Art Libraries

Thomas Hill reported on the successful publishing in hardback of the Directory last year. The on-line version is also doing well and information is continuously requested. Amendments and additions are made on a monthly basis. More than 100 new institutions have been added since the printed version came out and there are now 2,885 libraries in the Directory. The Finnish branch of ARLIS/Norden has compiled a list of Latvian and Estonian art libraries. Information is still needed on Korea, Central Asia and South East Asia. Contact made at Bangkok next year should help in these areas. Anyone with any further ideas or contacts in Asia should notify Thomas Hill.

Committee members were charged with putting reminders in local journals for libraries to inform the Editor of the Directory of changes of address for those individuals and institutions in their countries.

Publications

• Promotional brochure:
  • Portuguese edition published for the Art Documentation Advisory Group Spring Meeting, 1 3 June 1998, Lisbon.

  • English edition for the IFLA 64th general conference Amsterdam, both sponsored by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, August 1998.

• Section of Art Libraries Newsletter, Edited by Geert-Jan Koot. (No. 41, 1997, No. 42, 1998). Also available electronically at http://ifla.org/VII/S30/News/4102.htm and 4201.htm.

• Copenhagen Conference papers

  Papers presented at the Copenhagen conference Section of Art Libraries Workshop and Open Session were published as follows:

  Art Libraries Journal, vol. 23 (1998), no. 1:
  • Redressing past cultural biases and imbalances in South Africa: a contribution by the Library of the South African National Gallery / by Josephine Andersen. P.4-7. Also available electronically at http://ifla.org/IV/ifla63/63andj.htm.

  • The National Museum of Photography at the Royal Library, Copenhagen / by Ingrid Fischer Jonge. P. 8-12. Also available electronically at http://ifla.org/IV/ifla63/63fisi.htm.

  • Un fantôme dans votre bibliothèque: l'artiste face à la bibliothèque d'art, du besoin d'information au besoin de reconnaissance / Jean-Paul Oddos. P.13-21. Also available electronically at http://ifla.org/IV/ifla63/63oddj.htm.

  • Promoting Scandinavian Design History / by Mirjam Gelfer-Jørgensen. P.26-29. Also available electronically at http://ifla.org/IV/ifla63/63gelm.htm

  • The Research Libraries Group: new initiatives to improve access to art and architecture information / by Katherine Martinez. P.30-37.

  INSPEL vol. 32, no. 1:

  • Internet and copyright of pictures: an international overview, / Margrethe Tottrup. P. 1-7. Also available electronically at http://ifla.org/IV/ifla63/63totm.htm.

  • The Research Libraries Group: new initiatives to improve access to art and architecture information / Katherine Martinez. P. 8-22.

Conference Programmes, Amsterdam, 16 - 21 August 1998

Open Session

1. The Dutch library in Paris

   Anneke Kerkhof, Institut Néerlandais / Fondation Custodia, Paris, France. Available electronically at http://ifla.org/IV/ifla64/037-101e.htm.

   RESUME: Le collectionneur d'art Frits Lugt a créé en 1947 la Fondation Custodia et en 1957 (avec l'aide du gouvernement néerlandais) l'Institut Néerlandais. La Fondation Custodia gère la collection d'art tandisque l'Institut Néerlandais organise des concerts, des conférences, des expositions, des cours de langues, le tout centré sur la culture néerlandaise. Les deux institutions, bien que très distinctes, sont étroitement liées, surtout les bibliothèques qui ne diffèrent que par leur ex libris. En effet, Frits Lugt possédait en plus de sa collection de dessins, peintures et gravures une bibliothèque impressionnante d'histoire de l'art qui a été considérablement enrichie ces dernières années. L'objectif de la collection est d'offrir une image aussi complète que possible des beaux arts et arts décoratifs des Pays-Bas et des Flandres. La collection d'ouvrages anciens offre une vue d'ensemble des livres produits aux 16e, 17e & 18e siècles. Une comparaison avec un nombre d'autres bibliothèques de centres culturels parisiens nous montre le caractère unique de l'Institut Néerlandais. Ces instituts coordonnent l'octroi de bourses d'étudiants, offrent des cours de langues et de traduction, et organisent des expositions itinérantes sur le pays en question. De plus, ces instituts jouent souvent le rôle d'agents entre les galéries et les artistes. Les exceptions à ce schéma sont le centre culturel suédois fondé par le mécène Gunnar W. Lundberg et la société historique et littéraire de Pologne, intéressante par sa collection et par son histoire politique. Afin d'améliorer la gestion, la bibliothèque de l'Institut Néerlandais et de la Fondation Custodia est en cours d'informatisation. Enfin, une collaboration étroite avec la grande bibliothèque des arts (INHA) à Paris est prévue pour la fin de l'année, ce qui permettra une améliorisation sensible du service pour les utilisateurs.

2. Dutch influence on the reception and development of western-style expression in early modern Japan

   Takeshi Mizutani, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan; and Setsuko Nakamura, Bridgestone Museum of Art, Ishibashi Foundation, Tokyo, Japan. Available electronically at http://ifla.org/IV/ifla64/036-101e.htm.

   ABSTRACT: Japan and the Netherlands have maintained a special relationship for about 300 years since the adoption of the National Seclusion policy by the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1867). Under the terms of the policy, Japan closed the door to foreigners except the Netherlands, China, and Korea until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. In particular, Dutch people provided the only window from which Japanese could see outside and meet modern European culture, and such circumstances created a very interesting and important academic area of historical study of Dutch-Japanese relations. Through the medium of the Dutch language, Japanese people studied Western sciences including medical and natural sciences, and general academic studies. In art history, Dutch art and culture introduced Western styles, and helped to establish realistic expression in Japan. Recently in Japan, more and more art historians are studying the Dutch influence on Japanese paintings. The authors will present an overview on activities in this field by Japanese researchers, including bibliography compilation, collections of materials, and art exhibitions.

3. Censorship in the Soviet Union and its cultural and professional results for arts and art libraries

   Olga Sinitsyna, Art s and Children's Literature Department, M.I. Rudomino All Russia State Library for Foreign Literature, Moscow, Russia. Available electronically at http://ifla.org/IV/ifla64/067-101e.htm.

   ABSTRACT: Although official censorship ceased 10 years ago, the effects of censorship in the Soviet Union in art and art libraries are still felt. The focus of this paper is on censored library materials, and on the censorship of art. The censored books were marked with a hexagon, and relegated to the "spets-hran" or special stacks which for many years were off limits to the public and library staff alike. The author takes a look at materials from the All Russia State Library for Foreign Literature that had been censored, and examines the rules of the censors to determine why certain items were censored. In art, only certain themes were sanctioned. Because art can be abstract and difficult to interpret figuratively, it was determined that the only allowable style of art was that of social realism.

Workshop

1. Opening and introduction

   Jan Piet Filedt Kok, Director of Collections, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

2. Los bibliotecarios y las bibliotecas de arte frente al reto de Internet (The librarian and the libraries of art face the challenge of the Internet)

   Alicia García Medina, Biblioteca de Instituto del Patrimonio Histórico Español, Madrid, Spain. Available electronically at http://ifla.org/IV/ifla64/106-145s.htm.

   ABSTRACT: The success of the Internet in a short period of time has modified the way we access information, due to the diversity of information available and the number of users using the net which have continually increased. This situation puts libraries and librarians in a crossroad. Traditionally they have been in charge of making the information available for researchers and general public alike, but right now some librarians feel threatened by the "Net". Therefore, some of them are faced with doubts about their own survival in the near future. Through this paper we are trying to sustain the theory that in our profession all fears about Internet have no basis, because we have a series of strategies that we can use to strengthen our role in society. On one hand we should go further in our tasks of indexing, dissemination and making available our bibliographic materials. On the other hand, we must open new ways to increase our resources, making use of all the information available through the "Net" in order to merge into our library new working methods.

3. Digital image libraries: technological advancement and social impact on the teaching of art and architectural history.

   Angela Giral, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University, New York, USA.

   ABSTRACT: The paper will describe a series of recent projects in the United States dealing with digital image libraries and their impact on the teaching practices of art and architectural historians. Among the projects discussed will be the creation of an 'Image reserve collection' for a freshman course on Masterpieces of Western Art; the Digital Image Access Project, the Museum Educational Site Licensing Project, AMICO, the Museum Digital Licensing Collective, the SHA Image Bank, the Image Directory (a commercial enterprise). The discussion will includes: issues of licensing and intellectual property; metadata and evolving cataloging practices; image quality, costs of creation and delivery (human, financial, and institutional); the potential of digital imaging in the preservation of fragile 'illustrated texts', the dissemination of archival information; and document delivery (including WebDOC project, a collaboration between an American consortium - RLG - and a Dutch consortium - PICA).

4. The role of the art librarian as curator and publicist.

   Deirdre Lawrence, Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York, USA. Available electronically at http://ifla.org/IV/ifla64/107-145e.htm.

   ABSTRACT: not available.

5. Museum libraries in the Netherlands: from hidden treasures to treasured information centers.

   Michiel Nijhoff, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Available electronically at http://ifla.org/IV/ifla64/108-145e.htm.

   ABSTRACT: In this paper the author describes the situation of the Dutch libraries specialized in the history of art. At various levels an enormous number of art-historical publications are present. Collective efforts to improve availability are mentioned: the PICA/NCC system linked with the universities and the Royal Library, and the production of a CD-ROM of the museum libraries and other libraries not taking part in PICA. The PICA-libraries own between 450,000 - 600,000 books on art, the non-PICA libraries 1,800,000. When these collections are opened up on Internet and through CD-ROM, an increase in the number of students at the museum libraries is expected. These will have to create facilities for the increasing number of clients, which will have consequences for their organization.

6. Kaleidoscopic classifications: redefining information in a world cultural context.

   Barbara Mathé, American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. Available electronically at http://ifla.org/IV/ifla64/109-145e.htm.

   ABSTRACT: The cultural confluence that humanity has been witnessing over the last century began with the technological leaps in travel and communication in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In Africa, Oceania and the Americas, stories and images of the colonialists and their homeland were sometimes as fanciful as the early western descriptions of exotic lands. The turn of the century populace in Europe and the United States, unsteadied by the overwhelming change in world society, sought a reassuring order in the organized array of the International Expositions. This order was manifest in the social evolutionist classification schemes devised to arrange the exhibits. One of these systems devised for the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition had a far reaching but unacknowledged effect on western epistemology. Apparently, Melvil Dewey used the scheme as the basis for his Decimal Classification System. A visual illustration of one of these classification schemes is apparent in a collection if photographs of indigenous people from Africa, Asia, North and South America who were exhibited at the 1904 St. Louis Exposition.

7. Presentation of the DutchESS Guide to Quality Information.

   Maggy Wishaupt, Royal Library, The Hague, the Netherlands.

   ABSTRACT: DutchESS (Dutch Electronic Subject Service, formerly NBW) is an Internet guide for the academic community produced by the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (the national library of the Netherlands) in co-operation with a number of Dutch academic libraries. The resources are selected by subject specialists. They evaluate Internet information according to academic quality standards and make selections relevant to their own specific user groups. DutchESS has (as yet) no geographical restrictions, although it aims to cover Dutch resources as completely as possible. The service includes all disciplines, but the content depends on the contributions of individual subject specialists as well as on the bias of the participating libraries. A large number of art sites can now be found on the Internet, but many of them are superficial, lack substantial information content, and/or are not relevant for academic research. Only a relatively small number meet the quality criteria of DutchESS and have been added to the database so far. Future developments of DutchESS may include participation in a European network of subject-based Information Gateways.

8. Presentation of Periodata (1477-1648)

   Gerrit Drost, Independent Researcher.

   ABSTRACT: Periodata is a relational database (CD-ROM/Access97) on history and art covering the period 1477-1648, developed by Dr. Gerrit Drost. It contains a timeline, a biographical index and biographical data. These data are collected primarily on the basis of scholarly works, supplemented by data of (electronic) catalogues. Using different linking possibilities, it is easy to consult, compare and combine the historical and bibliographical data in a creative and fruitful way.

9. Presentation of the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum Interactive Multimedia System (ARIA).

   Pieter de Dreu, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Relationships with Other Bodies

Jan van der Wateren reported on the current state of affairs. IFLA was asked, as part of achieving a convergence between archivists, librarians, etc., to coordinate with the International Council of Archives in producing a worldwide directory of archives for the Committee of Literature and Art Archives. Jan van der Wateren was asked to represent IFLA following the work done by the Art Section on the International Directory of Art Libraries. Several meetings have been held. In Prague last year ICA delegates reported on archival groupings of material in their countries and discussed producing the material in electronic and printed forms. Eastern Europe has been covered and most of western Europe. The USA is producing their own directory. The target date for completion is 2000. A letter was drafted in December 1997 to be sent to the president of the ICA, describing the project and what had been covered, but to date the letter had not been sent.

The Chairman of IFLA wrote to Jan van der Wateren to tell him he was still serving as official representative for IFLA on the Committee and Jan was willing to continue to give guidance when asked. Anyone wishing to know more about the data for their country could contact the Chairman of the Committee or their local representative.

Other Events

The Art Documentation Advisory Group met May 29 - June 3, 1998, in Lisbon at the Gulbenkian Foundation. This group was a mix of museum professionals of wide experience, such as Dame Elizabeth Esteve Coll, and members of the IFLA Section of Art Libraries from various countries. These meetings were designed as brainstorming sessions to give direction to the IFLA Art Section for the next two years. Future topics for upcoming conferences were discussed and debated. Some topics included: a debate on the future of the IFLA Section of Art Libraries vs. ARLIS/World; the changing role of art librarians in the electronic world; the demand for images on the Web; the cooperation between art librarians, archivists, visual resources specialists and curators; and Web problems with non-Roman scripts. Also, some more general issues within the Section were discussed including: communicating across cultures within the Art Libraries Section; a new format for workshops at the annual conference; titles of sessions; art historical topics vs. library topics; how to improve the newsletter; and the value of contributions from as many countries as possible.

Dra. Ana Paula of the Gulbenkian Library organized these meetings, as well as a conference that preceeded the meetings. The purpose of the conference was to bring together art librarians and art museum directors in Portugal to introduce IFLA to the art library sector, to highlight the importance of art museum libraries, and to promote the idea of international collaboration for both museums and libraries. Leo Voogt, Secretary General of IFLA, addressed the conference on the value of having an international umbrella organization to support the work of smaller groups. Four members of the Section of Art Libraries presented papers: Dra. Ana Paula Gordo spoke about the international cooperation among art libraries; Jeannette Dixon, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, spoke on the topic of art libraries, museums, and the Web; Jan van der Wateren, National Art Library, Victoria and Albert Museum, spoke about the importance of the libraries in art museums. Angela Giral, Avery Architecture Library, Columbia University, spoke on the topic of digital libraries.

Over the four days of meetings, the advisory group developed a rapport which has helped to build some bridges in communicating across cultures, and differences in technological levels between institutions. It was interesting to note that the spread of technology in libraries is not evenly distributed across the most developed countries. In fact, in some instances lesser developed countries have exceeded the norm in developing Internet access in order to compensate for their relative isolation.

Greek Art Librarian's Meeting

Jan van der Wateren reported on a meeting held at the School of Fine Arts in Athens in the spring. It was called to promote the establishment of an art libraries society in Greece. Jan was invited to present a paper. Attendance included around 100 Greeks, Jan van der Wateren, and delegates from Italy and France. There was strong backing from the academic community. The meeting received very good media coverage including Jan van der Wateren on television. Some form of collaboration is to be set up by the end of this year.

Authors

Date
October, 1998