Overview
Art museums are among the most glamorous workplaces, and their libraries are often substantial research venues with a spectrum of users with high expectations. Although most art museums have a library of some kind, these facilities are often hidden from the public and seldom discussed in library schools. Art Museum Libraries and Librarianship serves as an introduction to the field of art museum librarianship and its diverse settings.Sixteen chapters address-from the point of view of practicing art museum librarians-leadership, reader, services, automation, security, cataloging, space planning, collection development, visual resources, ephemera, special collections, archives, fund-raising, public relations, volunteers and interns, professional development, and solo librarianship. Each chapter includes essays written by librarians in the field that deal with the unique environment of art museum libraries, from the largest research collections that serve many curatorial departments and multiple administrative layers to the smallest solo-librarian settings where staff work in relative isolation.
Following the essays is collection of thumbnail sketches-brief institutional profiles that allow readers to compare statistical and descriptive information on fifteen diverse art museum libraries in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Appendixes describe academic programs offering dual degrees in librarianship and art, list international professional associations for art museum librarians, and provide sample policies and procedures in use today in art museum libraries. A bibliographic section provides further reading on all of the chapter topics, and an index cross-references the manysituations addressed within each essay. Art Museum Libraries and Librarianship, the first publication of its kind, is illustrated with more than ninety images of art museums, their libraries, and items from their collections.
Synopsis
This introduction to the field of art museum librarianship and its diverse settings addresses the topics of leadership, reader services, automation, security, cataloging, space planning, collection development, visual resources, ephemera, special collections, archives, fundraising, public relations, volunteers and interns, professional development, and solo librarianship. Art Museum Libraries and Librarianship, the first publication of its kind, includes a bibliography, an index, and over 90 black and white images of art museums, their libraries, and items from their collections.
Editorials
Art Libraries Journal
An excellent history and overview of the art museum scene. ...a major achievement. ...It will effectively inform those outside the sector of the riches and value of art museum libraries and provide valuable professional reinforcement for those within it.— Beth Houghton, Former Head of Tate Library & Archive, London
Reference and User Services Quarterly
All entries have been written by librarians with vast experience in art museum libraries, and together they present a full picture of current practice and theory....This book will be useful to art librarians, whether in art museums or other art libraries. It will also serve as a wonderful picture of this world for any aspiring art museum librarians and would be a helpful addition to reading lists for any art librarianship courses currently offered by library schools.— Spring 2008, Vol 47, issue 3
Australian Library Journal
The author has extensive experience in art museum libraries....This volume is a comprehensive guide that covers every conceivable aspect of art museum librarianship. It is highly recommended, and while the main audience of the volume is limited as it is aimed directly at art librarians, the book includes a wealth of interesting facts and information useful to other specialist libraries, general libraries and students interested in a career in art museum libraries or managing unusual collections.— Kay Neville
Library Quarterly
Art Museum Libraries and Librarianship provides well-thought-out case studies of how some of the leading museum libraries in this country have reached solutions. A wide range of institutions are represented, both public and private. Art Museum Libraries and Librarianship almost becomes a how-to primer for anyone setting up or organizing a special collections library connected with a museum. The information provided by these essays about art museum libraries is broad enough to transcend any one type of museum library, and the philosophy presented in the essays can be applied in any number of similar situations.Art Museum Libraries and Librarianship is both a practical guide for organizing a research library as an adjunct to any museum and a study of how special collections work in large and small museums. A handy reference guide, it should be required reading for anyone setting up or reorganizing a special collections library or a research library who strives to have that library well organized and optimally accessible to its researchers. Do not allow the title to mislead you: while all the libraries included are connected with art museums, the discussions and solutions are applicable to any type of museum and its associated research library.
If you have any association with a special collections library, this book should be on your shelves.