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Newsletter of the Section of Art Libraries (Web edition)no. 45 (1999, no 2)Jerusalem 2000Announcement and Call for Papers!IFLA's 66th General Conference will take place in Jerusalem from 13 - 18 August 2000. The sessions of the Section of Art Libraries are planned under the general theme, Information for Co-operation: Creating the Global Library of the Future.The Art Libraries Section is pleased to announce that it will hold a Workshop and a Open Session, and that it will also co-sponsor a Open Session with the Rare Books and Manuscript Section. The Art Libraries will focus on two different topics both centered at the theme co-operation. More specifically, the sessions will deal with the following: Open Session - formal papersCataloguing ephemera in the art library, towards integrated access. Subtopics:
Workshop - interactive, short presentationsArt reference in the digital age. Subtopics:
The format of the Workshop will be interactive. The papers will not be read, but the main points will be presented by the speakers, followed by four specific statements. Four discussion groups will comment on these statements. You are invited to take part in these meetings by delivering a paper or by recommending speakers to lecture on either of these themes. The Proposal for a paper at either of these Art Libraries Meetings in Jerusalem should also include the following information:
Institutional affiliation Address (professional) Telephone and fax no. Email address (professional) Brief biographical information Title of paper Original language version: English/French/German/ Russian/Spanish Translated version/s* English/French/German/ Russian/Spanish Audiovisual or other equipment required The proposals for papers are due on January 31, 2000. You must include the title plus a 100 - 200 word abstract, to give a brief description of the paper. You will be notified within one month regarding the acceptance of your paper. You will then have until April 1, 2000 to complete the paper and send it to the Chair of the Section of Art Libraries. The papers for the Open Session should be no more than 8 pages on A4 paper, double spaced. The Workshop presentation papers should be no longer than 4 pages on A4, double spaced. Send your proposal to:
Chair IFLA Section of Art Libraries C/o Hirsch Library, Museum of Fine Arts Houston PO Box 6826 Houston, TX 77265 USA Tel: +1 2 713 639-7326 Fax: +1 2 713 639-7399 Email: jdixon@mfah.org Conference hotelThe conference organisers recommend that if the art librarians wish to stay together they should register as soon as possible because rooms cannot be held specially. Whilst normal practice is 'first come, first served' the organisers recommend that you should mark your conference registration form at the first line above 'Participant' with 'ART GROUP'. We selected one hotel which is situated within walking distance of the conference venue.
Detailed information and registration forms can be obtained from
Peltours-Te'um Congress Organisers PO Box 52047, Jerusalem 93420, Israel Tel: +972 2 648 1245 Fax: +972 2 648 1305 Email: teumcong@netmedia.net.il Website: http://archive.ifla.org/IV/ifla66/66intro.htm
A TributeI want to thank all of you who attended the Art Section meetings at IFLA in Bangkok. I know it was a big commitment of resources for so many of you who had so far to travel. I hope you all felt as I did that it was worth it, both for the contact with our colleagues, and the opportunity to visit such a beautiful and exotic country. The new workshop format in which we break up into small discussion groups depends on contributions from each member, and thanks to your eager participation, the workshop was a great success! A thank you is also due to those who made presentations. You provided the structure for some very lively discussions and debates. I offer a thank you to the working groups, who made some significant progress on redefining some of our major project ideas.I especially want to thank the members of the Standing Committee who rotated off this year:
As a result of their years of work, the section has grown and remained quite vital. I think it is truly a tribute to them that we now have members in the Art Section from 32 different countries!
I also owe a huge thank you to our hosts from Silpakorn University for providing us with great meeting spaces for our workshop and Standing Committee meeting; lovely signage for the meetings, both inside the auditoriums and outside on the wall; tours of the National Museum and the Grand Palace temple and grounds; transportation to and tour of two major art book stores, and delightful meals! And a thank you to Chittrapat Krairiskh, His Majesty's Deputy Principal Private Secretary, and to Mrs. Patcharee Komolthiti, Director of the National Museum for the special tours of the Royal Library and the National Museum.Thanks for the buses on Saturday and Thursday generously offered by Asia Books and the snacks provided by Asia Books and Kinokuniya Bookstores.
Jeannette Dixon Impressions of BangkokThe Netherlands are considered one of the most densely populated areas in the world. A stay of two weeks in Bangkok give the words densely populated another meaning. Fifteen million people live on an area of about twenty by twenty kilometers. The city is a mixture of skyscrapers and large Western hotels, third world shantytowns and every form of dwelling inbetween. The different forms of housing are not, as we are used to in Europe, in separate areas, but really next to each other. So if you leave the very posh Shangrila Hotel, you immediately step into the everyday world. There are people working, cooking, eating and living everywhere. Each nook and corner is filled with shops and stalls, very little stalls often. The very busy streets have overcrowded sidewalks where people sell their wares, trade going on all day and night. There are numerous foodmarkets like the immense Ta Thewet in the North of the city and amulet markets like Ta Maharaj near the Royal Palace and temple complex. The principle of the Middle Eastern soukh is visible in Bangkok also: in certain streets you see only shops that sell wooden doors, in others you just see tires for your car or refigerators.There is not much green, at least not in the form of parks. You do see orchids and bougainville on the roofs of buidings, trees along the streets that seem to florish despite the pollution. There is one big park in the city, the Lumpini Park. Between six and nine in the morning especially you can see mosltly elderly people take their exercise or meeting in Karaokegroups. The true green lung is the river, the only place where you sometimes feel a fresh brieze. The Chao Praya river functions as an important traffic artery. Bangkok is some way from the sea, but you can notice the changing of the tides. Like the streets the water is very busy with big sandbarges that are being drawn by pathetic small tugboats.that hardly manage to go upstream Every morning you see the barges with empty bottles going upstream to the Pepsi and Singa brewery. The very fast gondola-like speedboats with their screws on long poles, the little ferries and the river express boats make for a fascinating spectacle. The river express is the only really functioning form of public transport. Coloured flags on the boats (some of which have beautiful names like 'The broken hearted woman') correspond with the flags on the landing stages. If the rear end of the boat touches the dock you jump aboard. The boatsmen give directions to the steeringmaster by different sounds of their shrill whistles. Bangkok West is like Amsterdam North or South London. The real city is on the East bank. Besides trafficartery the river is sewer and fishing ground, and for some people their only possibility to bathe. One of my first days I was startled by a man heaving himself onto the dock where I stood waiting for my boat. I really loved being on the river and eating in one of the small places on the riverfront near the amulet market. London and Paris must have been like this a hundred years ago. To get around in the rest of the city you'll have to make do with taxis or tuktuks. It is possible to walk, but because of the heat and the traffic fumes you can't walk very far, and besides, the distances you have to travel are often quite long. Just like in New York the taxis are moving refrigerators. The drivers don't speak English as a rule, and I don't speak Thai, so it was important to get to know the topography and to perfect your mime-skills. A perfect solution was the one in which I tried to persuade the driver to go to the Bang Na highway, to BITEC (no, not BITOC Ana). He got tired of me repeating it time after time, dialed a number on his mobile phone, gave me the phone where I was answered by an English speaking lady whom I asked to tell the driver in Thai where I wanted to go. The drivers make very long days, one man told me he couldn't drive very well because he had drunk quite a lot. We were in the middle of a traffic jam so I didn't mind much. On another occasion Wilbert and I noticed a terrible accident: a man was hanging out of the window of his cab, wounded or dead? It turned out that he was asleep, collapsed of pure exhaustion, and when someone banged the hood he woke up with a jolt and drove off again. Our driver didn't stop laughing for half an hour. Another mode of transport is the tuktuk. These threeweeled scooters, one wheel in front, have a small bench where three Thais or two westerners can sit, and a canopy. Most of them are decorated, like the cabs, with garlands of flowers and pictures of Buddha or one of the Thai kings. The tuktuks cost next to nothing, and a drive for half an hour is about 30 Baht. The cabs start at 35 Baht. But even the tuktuks get stuck in the heavy traffic, no matter how hard the drivers try to outwit the automobiles. So there also are motorcycle cabs, recognizable through their coloured vests. I didn't have the courage to try these. One of the disadvantages of the tuktuks is that the drivers try to persuade you to go to a very good tailor, massage parlour, restaurant, they know Usually a decisive no is enough to stop them, but sometimes only the threat to get out helps. You get invited a lot anyhow. People stop you on the street and want to sell or show, or ask you something. I left my very nice Thai Hotel the Newrotel Hotel (a place for neurotics?) when a policeman came up to me, gave me a hand and introduced himself. He showed me his badge, to prove that he was a real policeman and even helped me cross the street (no mean feat this). Did I plan to buy some clothes? When I told him that that was indeed my plan, he told me his shift was done in an hour and that we would go by tuktuk to his nephew, the best tailor of Bangkok. I suddenly remembered that I had to make a very important call in my hotel and went back. For three days he posted the street and finally gave up when I could truthfully tell him that I had already bought a few shirts elsewhere. His persistence was an exception however. Most people let you be, and just want to point you the right way or show you a beautiful temple or Buddha in the neighborhood. There are a huge number of temples (a temple is called a Wat). There are the famous ones like Wat Arundel and the Golden Mount, and the one near the National Library we visited with the group, but also very ordinary ones, hidden in one of the numerous alleys. In the temples you see a lot of cats, chicken and dogs (in the country also monkeys). There is only one breed of dogs in Thailand, the standard Thai dog, with three or four legs, available in a wide variety of colours. Religion is everywhere: in my hotel I discovered a miniature temple on the roof, and here and there in the streets you'll find a jar with some incense sticks and a bowl of rice. The monks, with their orange sarongs carry a sort of coconut with a lid with them in which they carry the food given them, with the obligatory reverence, by people in the streets. At breakfast I saw the hotelmanager pouring a huge glass of brandy. I thought it a little early, but this turned out to be for the house altar. Roger Durbin told me that it is forbidden to kill animals. When I asked how that related with the eating of fish for instance, he explained that the fish are thought of as being tired of life and committing euthanasia by swimming in the net. I don't know if Buddhism is the root of the friendliness of the Thai, but I was charmed by their courtesy. Everywhere you are met with a smile, people give you space and during my two week stay I was never given a push, no one stepped on my toes, and that in a city so full of people. Back in Amsterdam I found it difficult to adapt to the yokels (male and female) that don't notice you and push you from the sidewalk or shove you aside in tram or train. Speaking of trains: travelling by train in Thailand is a very comfortable way to travel. It is very cheap, and takes some time, but even the third class carriages are OK. You won't die of thirst or hunger since there are food- and drinksellers that constantly walk up and down the train. At most stations local vendors will also come in and try to hawk their wares. After the conference I went by train to Hua Hin, an old bathing resort. It was less beautiful than my guidebook made me think it was, but the voyage was wonderful. Through ricefields with palms in bunches, the fileds light green, dark clouds against a clear blue sky, the flat land broken by those strange steep rocks you also see in Chinese paintings. The place itself was not very attractive, some large modern hotels, lots of cheaper ones. The main attraction were the piers where the fishing boats moor, and the restaurants serving fresh seafood on the terraces built on poles into the sea. Every evening there were Thai families eating at the long tables, their children in the care of the nanny at another table, while a competition of beachfootball attracted crowds of visitors, leaning on their bikes or motorscooters commenting the game and cheering the teams. After three days sunning and bathing (in a pool, the sea in Hua Hin didn't smell very attractive) and driving around on a rented scooter (careful, traffic on the left) I had cleared my lungs sufficiently to be able to face the trip back to Bangkok and thence Amsterdam.
Michiel Nijhoff IFLA Section of Art Libraries Annual Report September 1998-August 1999ScopeThe Section endeavours to represent libraries and organizations concerned with all formats of textual and visual documentation for the visual arts, including fine arts, applied arts, design and architecture. The Section strives to improve access to information about these subjects for users of independent research libraries, museum libraries, art libraries attached to educational institutions, and art departments within national, college, university and public libraries, government departments and agencies and libraries in cultural centres.MembershipMembership reached 98 during the year (August 1, 1999) from 32 countries. This represents one of the best geographic coverages of any of the IFLA sections.OfficersChair - Jeannette Dixon, Librarian & Electronic Communications Director, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, PO Box 6826, Houston, Texas 77265, USA. Tel: (1) 713 639-7326; Fax: (1) 713 639 7399; Email: jdixon@mfah.orgSecretary & Information Coordinator- Geert-Jan Koot, Head, Rijksmuseum Library, PO Box 74888, 1070 DN Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Tel: (31) 20 6747250; Fax: (31) 20 6747001; Email: g.koot@rijksmuseum.nl Treasurer - Catherine Heesterbeek-Bert, Librarian, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, 9, rue du Musee, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium. Tel: (32) 2 508 3211; Fax: (32) 2 508 3232; Email: pc29@fine-arts-museum.be
Membership of the Committee 1999-20011999 being an IFLA election year the Standing Committee was reconstituted as follows.
Corresponding Members, Observers, Special Advisers
MeetingsThe Standing Committee of the Section of Art Libraries met twice during the Bangkok conference, on Saturday, 21 August, 1998 twenty-seven people attended; on Friday 27 August, thirty people attended.The following officers were elected for the period 1999-2001:
Chair: Jeannette Dixon (as above) Financial Report - Geert-Jan Koot reported on behalf of the Treasurer, Catherine Heesterbeek-Bert, circulating a summary he had prepared of her detailed report. No project money was spent during the year. Administrative funds were augmented by the sale of the distribution list and the Getty's sponsorship of the Newsletter. Money was 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, reported on the Newsletter production. Two Newsletters, numbers 43 and 44 were issued.
ProjectsSources of Information on artists born in 1950 and laterA meeting of some of the Working Group at ARLIS/NA 1999 in Vancouver, identified some problems regarding the definition of the project and the requirements of different countries and regions and suggested ways to proceed. Either we should go on with the project as follows or quit the project:
A Working Group comprising Ana Paula Gordo, Olga Sinitsyna, Anja Lollesgaard, Margaret Shaw, Marie-Claude Thompson, Jeannette Dixon and Poot Veraprasert, was asked to met and reported to the Standing Committee. The original proposal for the project was abandoned, and a new proposal will be drafted taking into consideration the variations of source material available in different countries. It was decided that one approach to the issue of access to contemporary artists' documentation is to promote standard cataloging of artists' ephemera, and to encourage the participation of libraries in on-line cooperative cataloging. Next year's open session for the conference will be devoted to this issue. Multilingual Glossary for art librariansThe publisher of the Glossary, K.G. Saur, was not interested in the production of a new edition to include three more languages which have been prepared, Russian, Portuguese and Japanese, because of low sales on the current edition. Problems of script, both printed and on-line were raised. It was suggested that the SAL seek to produce a simpler format supplement to be distributed. It was also suggested that the additional languages be added to the on-line version. It was noted that the Japanese version is already networked in Japan together with the whole glossary. A Working Group comprising Olga Sinitsyna, Nancy Stokes, Jean Adelman, Ana Paula Gordo and Margaret Shaw, was asked to meet and report to the Standing Committee to discuss possible formats for a cheaper supplement.International Directory of Art LibrariesThe Chair, Jeannette Dixon, presented a written report from Thomas Hill, from Vassar College, who edits the Directory. The on-line Directory now contains 2863 libraries (up 28 this year). 22% (640) institutions have submitted updates or have had URLs added by the compilers. There is still no real data from: North and South Korea, the former Soviet States of Central Asia, Burma (Myanmar), Vietnam, Albania, Macedonia, Iraq, Iran and Cambodia. Local co-ordinators are sought for these areas.Because of the high number of on-line edits, a new mailing is not felt necessary for two to three years. Delegates reflected a high number of regular usage of the Directory. Translations of the Art Section BrochureThe following versions of the Art Section brochure are now available: English, Thai, Russian, Portuguese. The Spanish version is available on-line, but not yet in hard copy. Electronic copy is available for the French. The Chinese is nearly ready. Ana Paula Gordo offered to update the insert listing of office-bearers and committee members. It was agreed that Arabic and Hebrew versions be sought for IFLA 2000.Future ConferencesJerusalem 2000Planning is underway for the IFLA art section meeting in Jerusalem. Norma Marom, librarian of the Israel Museum, issued an invitation to all delegates to attend the 2000 conference in Jerusalem. The art section workshop will be hosted by the Israel Museum. Of the members in attendance, 22 indicated their intention to attend IFLA next year. At the second S.C. meeting, topics for Jerusalem were discussed and selected.Boston 2001Hugh Wilburn of Harvard, and head of the task force of ARLIS/NA's International Relations Committee on IFLA 2001, reported that a group of ARLIS/NA librarians is hard at work on the plans for a art pre-conference for the Boston meeting. The plan is for three days of meetings, with tours being offered on Thursday, and repeated on Saturday, and sessions on Thursday and Friday. The institutions which will likely host the meetings are: Harvard University, MIT, the Boston Museum of Fine Art, and the Massachusetts College of Art. A topic of interest for the Boston meeting was discussed in the second S.C. meeting: 'I'm looking for a picture of¼'. This open ended topic will allow discussion of image libraries (digital, slide, and print), the cataloging of images, and the reference interview to assist library users in selecting and locating images in art libraries.PublicationsDuring the year under review the section published the following:
Conference Programme, Bangkok, 20-28 August 1999Open SessionThe Open Session was held on Tuesday 24 August on the theme Electronic art information - creating it, disseminating it, archiving it - is it worth the cost? Over 80 people attended this session, although no simultaneous interpretation was available. John and Marie-Claude Thompson prepared French translations of the papers which were distributed before the session.
WorkshopThe Workshop was devoted to the memory of Jacqueline Viaux. In 1973 Mme. Viaux first began organizing an art libraries sub-section within IFLA. By the 1977 IFLA meeting in Brussels, there was a round table of art librarians within IFLA. By the 1981 conference in Leipzig, this had become the official Section of Art Libraries, chaired by Mme. Viaux. She died at the age of 85 on Saturday October 10, 1998.The interactive Workshop was held on Thursday 26 August at the Silpakorn University on the theme Blurring the boundaries: Should art librarians work with archivists, curators, educators, or become more specialized? The session opened with an overview of work being done to document contemporary artists in Thailand. In a Powerpoint demo, Mr. Poot Veraprasert presented highlights of a new CD-ROM produced by Slipakorn University. Following this presentation, the other two speakers presented the main points of their papers, and formulated four provocative questions for group discussions. The participants divided up into small groups of about 10 each for 30 minutes of discussion. These discussions were very animated, and it was very interesting to discuss practices in art libraries in the different countries. In this format, everyone got to speak, and the exchange of ideas was very stimulating. Although the language problem was sometimes evident, the compelling nature of the discussion caused all to rise above their inhibitions to share with the group. A moderator from each group reported the major points in a plenary discussions. There was a bit of translating done in Russian, and a significant amount in French during the plenary reporting. Sixty-five people attended the Workshop, which was held at Silpakorn University.
Relationships with other bodiesICA/CLA International Guide to Literature and Art Archives in MuseumsThere has been no new development from this group. Other EventsThe Art Documentation Advisory Group was brought together again in May 1999 for a conference of art librarians in Moscow, supported by a grant from the Open Society of the SOROS Foundation. The presenters were a combination of Russian librarians and information specialists and members of the ADAG group. There was representation from Australia, Portugal, United States, U.K., and Denmark. Three days of conference sessions covered topics ranging from artists books to on-line art information. There were several papers about the history of Russian art libraries and the formation of their collections. It was an excellent opportunity to meet new colleagues and see all the changes in Russia since the IFLA meeting there in 1991.Action Plan 1999-2000In general, the Art Section will continue to explore ideas to bring together useful tools for use of art researchers and artists. The Section will also try to collaborate with other groups within IFLA, especially in the areas of cataloging, collection development and preservation.The International Directory of Art Libraries on-line will continue to be updated, both with contact information, and with URL's for the libraries' Web page. The possibility of adding fields to describe a library's collection that doesn't have a Web page will be explored. Working groups will develop plans for the documentation of contemporary artists; support the translations of the Art Section Brochure; and figure out how best to publish the additional language versions of the Multilingual Glossary on-line. The IFLA Art Section mailing list has been developed to carry on communications during the year. It is being maintained by the staff of the Gulbenkian Foundation Library. National reports of art librarianship in all the participating countries will continue to be solicited and published in the section's newsletter. These reports serve as a state of the art report on activities, associations, and projects in different countries. Topics for next year's sessions:
Jeannette Dixon and Geert-Jan Koot Report of the Open Session, Electronic Art Information, Bangkok Tuesday 24 August 1999The princess and IThe conference center BITEC did offer lots of space, the only problem was: how do I get there. Luckily there were the morning and evening buses, but to get there in the middle of the day you had to try your luck and get there by cab.
The day the Art Section had their open session we got a surprise. Her Royal Highness, princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, patron of the Thai Library Association, who also held the opening address, would attend the afternoon session. Being the moderator for that meeting I was asked to present myself to the conference officials. They told me about the protocol, of which we had already had a very witty speech at the opening session of the conference, and assured me that I was not underdressed, since I hadn't known in advance that she would be coming. If I had known, a tie and jacket would have been nice. Our first speaker was Roger Durbin from Akron. It must have been difficult for him to be kept waiting for so long before he could start. After a delay of about half an hour we got permission to start without the princess having arrived. Rogers paper about the cooperation and collaboration of the Akron Art Museum and the University of Akron was very interesting. Working in a museum with very limited funding and continuous staffing problems this new approach with benefits for all partners really got me thinking. These kind of partnerships could make life easier for a lot of small museum libraries, and it is an example of a refreshing approach to bridge the cleft between museums and universities. To quote Einstein 'If you always do what you did, you will always get what you got'. During Rogers paper there would be people trying the doors, security people looking out of the windows, and the whole audience would shift its attention to 'is this the princess', but it wasn't. Our next speaker was Howard Besser from Berkely, who surprised us all by telling us about his collection of 1450 or 1500 T-shirts, which is accessible on the web. His paper on the costs and uses of the Museum Educational Site Licensing Project (MESL), being an idea paper and an experience paper at the same time, struck me as a very useful tool for slide librarians in their contacts with their management. What became clear was that the pace in which management sometimes thinks digitalization of images will solve all problems is not so fast, and that analogue solutions can still be cheaper and better. Still no princess, though at times the photographer would act as if she could come in now any minute. Our last speaker for the afternoon was Elsa Barbarena from the Facultad de Filosofía y Letras of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. She pointed out the lack of diffusion of Mexican art and architecture in indexes and abstracts which does the importance of Mexican art and architecture no right. Se gave an extensive overview of the various bibliographic efforts, and the various databases. The biggest problem, or so it seemed to me, is the lack of continuity, due to a lack of financial resorts. There have been a great number of projects in the past, but most of them, as she showed in a diagram, have only been able to exist for a few years. After Elsa had finished her paper our time was up, and still we had not got one glimpse of HRH. I still don't know what happened to the princess, if she got more interested in another meeting or got stuck in traffic, but was a bit disappointed. The whole rigmarole of officials, flowers etc. gave the afternoon a nice royal touch though. From this place I want to thank our Thai hosts, Mr. Poot and his assistants, for the warm wellcome and the generous hospitality, and wish them success with their projects. We got a very good idea of the problems they encounter and of the privileged position Western librarians have, even if they think they haven't. One of the advantages of the location of the succesful 65th IFLA conference is that it put things in a greater perspective.
Michiel Nijhoff National ReportsReport from France by Nicole PicotSous-section des bibliothéques d'art : Rapport d'activité 1998Au plan national
Au plan international
Nicole Picot Report from Russia by Ada KolganovaThe work of the Art Library Section of the Russian Library AssociationLast year the Art Library Section of the Russian Library Association developed in several directions which roused great interest to the professional sphere. The art libraries paid a great attention to the arrangement of conferences, seminars, round tables. We aimed at the cooperation with adjacent libraries of other branches. The conference Library aspects of work with electronic editions: CD in art was held in April. It was a purely practical one and proved to be useful for all the participants, what was important, because art departments of some regional libraries took part in the work. It made us glad, as the specialists of regional libraries seldom managed to gather because of our financial difficulties. At the conference the state of affairs concerning the electronic editions in libraries of Russia was discussed and the necessity of cooperation and integration in the work with the information resource was accentuated. We proposed to introduce the participation of libraries in CD examination before their coming into the market in order to raise the quality of the home electronic editions. Common methodic measures for the work with CD were outlined: from the moment of choosing a producer till using them in the work with a reader. The foundation of a whole library of electronic editions with its own art hall in the Kiev district of Moscow is of great interest. Foreign bibliographical editions on data media were discussed. The program 'Museum libraries' was marked out in the Section plan, seminars on themes 'The work of museum libraries on the aesthetic education of children of different age', 'Museum libraries among art libraries', 'Peculiarities of book acquisition in music libraries', 'Memorial libraries', were conducted, the seminar 'Moscow memorial libraries' was organized.
The international conference Libraries in museums - museums in libraries, held in May, was of serious importance. It was held by the Art Library Section of the Russian Library Association and by the Moscow Art Libraries Association under the 'Open Society' Institute financial support. The Grant gave the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts , the State Tretjakov Gallery, the Russian State Art Library, the All-Russia Library for Foreign Literature and other institutions an opportunity to take part in the conference. The participation of regional museums of Russia is especially valuable.
The Art Library Section was held within the limits of the International Crimean Conference for the sixth time. And for the second year according to the established tradition it arranged its guest meetings in the Crimean museums and picture galleries. The Crimean meetings of the Section were devoted to the problems and tasks of special libraries, library art departments and museum libraries. The Section participants a year ago proposed the theme of the meeting 'Libraries and museums in the common information space'. Co-chairmen of the meetings were A.Kolganova (the Russian State Art library, Moscow) and Paul Ulrich (the Central and Federal library, Berlin, Germany). This year the Section meetings were held in M.Voloshin's house-museum in Koktebel and in the Ivazovsky Picture Gallery in Feodocia. We adopted the IFLA experience of arranging the Section meetings and hold them directly in the Crimean museums. The reports on the libraries of the Museum of Music Culture, Simpheropol historical museum and Karadag Reserve roused a special interest. Taking into account, that the representatives of many Russian and foreign libraries took part in the work of the Section for the first time, the picture of developing libraries of this type was presented. The opportunities of joining up through the Section of the Russian Library Association were actively discussed.
Last months the work on the Project of corporate analyses of periodicals became more active. Thanks to this Project the libraries-participants can cut down expenses and time for cataloging and database. The number of the participants increased (Moscow Art library No.73, the M.Glinka State Central museum of music culture, the municipal art library 'Phoenix' took part in the Project).
A separate meeting of the Section was held in St.Petersbourg. Its task was to liven up St.Petersbourg museum and theater libraries within the limits of the Section and to develop the regional plan. The Council of the Section strives to help the colleagues not only in highly specialized problems. At the request of the director of Moscow Art library No.73 (the Central Administrative district) an examination of the library was made, consultations and advice for its perspective development were given. Many methodical consultations are conducted. They concern the arrangement of libraries (the Academy of building architecture, Moscow; the Union of theatre workers, St.Petersbourg), stocks and problems of informatisation (library 'Russian Parnas' of museum-estate 'Ostafjevo', Moscow Art library No.73, the research library of the All-Russia Museum of Applied and Folk Arts; the research library of the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts).
Ada Kolganova Report from Spain by Javier DocampoVII Encuentro de bibliotecas de arte de España y Portugal
As we have reported in the Newsletter no. 42 the Spanish and Portuguese librarians have held annual meetings since 1993. This year the VII Encuentro de Bibliotecas de Arte de España y Portugal took place in Madrid in April 21-23, sponsored by the town council. The number of participants was 185 persons, which means more than double of the attendants of last years meeting. The main topic was Access Systems to Art Information. Among the main conclusions from the working groups as well as from the subsequent dicussions we can underline the following:
Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid Bericht über die Aktivitäten der 'Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Kunst- und Museumsbibliotheken' (AKMB)Der Deutsche Bibliothekartag, die Jahrestagung der deutschen Bibliothekare, fand vom 25. bis zum 29. Mai 1999 an der Universität Freiburg i.Br. statt. Die 'Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Kunst- und Museumsbibliotheken' beteiligte sich daran mit einem dezidiert internationalen Vortragsprogramm am 25. Mai, das zum Motto der Tagung paßte: Grenzenlos in die Zukunft.Nach vierjähriger intensiver Arbeit und zum Zeitpunkt des satzungsgemäßen personellen Wechsels im AKMB-Vorstand konnte die AKMB ein kleines internationales 'Gipfeltreffen' präsentieren, darunter mehrere Vorträge von Kollegen, die der IFLA Section of Art Libraries angehören. Dabei wurde die Gelegenheit ergriffen, den Teilnehmern die Arbeit der internationalen Partnervereinigungen sowie überhaupt paradigmatische Initiativen in Europa und Nordamerika aus erster Hand erläutern zu lassen. Die Evaluierung der eigenen Leistungen und Ziele sollte durch die Möglichkeit des internationalen Vergleichs in besonderer Weise gefördert werden. Deborah Shorley, Vorsitzende von ARLIS UK & Ireland, informierte über ARLIS UK & Ireland und deren aktuellen Aktionsplan und betonte vor dem Hintergrund des Scheiterns eines nationalen 'Visual Art Library and Information Plan (VALIP)' exemplarisch die essentielle Bedeutung der ehrenamtlichen Eigeninitiative der Kunstbibliothekenvereinigungen und die vielfältigen Möglichkeiten effizienten Wirkens. Nicole Picot, Vorsitzende der Sous-section des bibliothèques d'art der Association des Bibliothécaires Fran?ais (ABF) berichtete sowohl über das im Entstehen begriffene 'Institut national d'histoire de l'art' als auch über die gemeinsamen Anstrengungen der französischen Kunstbibliotheken zur Erweiterung des kunstrelevanten Vokabulars im Sacherschließungswortschatz RAMEAU. In diesem Zusammenhang wurde von deutscher Seite auf die neue Online-Kooperation von deutschen Kunstbibliotheken (Fachverbund Kunsthistorisches Institut Florenz, Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte in München, Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rom) an der nationalen Normdatei hingewiesen. Chris Smeenk von der Bibliothek der Technischen Universitat Delft stellte OKBN - ARLIS/NL vor und deren Leistungen im Bereich der Koordinierung Bestandsaufbau, Bestandsnachweis und Indexierung der kunstrelevanten Literatur in den Niederlanden. Er präsentierte vor allem die neue CD-ROM mit dem D.A.L.I. (Dutch Art Libraries Informatics) genannten Gesamtkatalog der Bestände der fünf wichtigsten niederländischen Kunstbibliotheken (Rijksmusem, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum, RKD, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen; siehe bereits newsletter no.44). Niki Zahioti, Leiterin der Bibliothek der Athens School of Fine Arts, und Marilena Kassimati, Kuratorin an der National Art Gallery in Athen, gaben ein Statement zur Situation der griechischen Kunstbibliotheken, die seit einer denkwürdigen Konferenz 1998 in Athen die Gründung einer griechischen Art Libraries Society vorbereiten, die dann das jüngste Geschwister der internationalen Partnerorganisationen wäre. Nachdem bereits Nicole Picot über den 'authority file' RAMEAU gesprochen hatte, konzentrierte man sich im Schlußteil des Vortragsprogramm ganz auf die Probleme der Erstellung und des Retrieval von EDV-gestützten 'knowledge bases', bezeichnenderweise am Beispiel zweier nicht eigentlich bibliothekarischer Projekte. Eberhard Kasten, Chefredakteur des von K.G. Saur verlegten Allgemeinen Künstlerlexikons, ermöglichte einen intensiven Einblick in die EDV-Strukturen, die der Erstellung des auch in CD-ROM als Internationale Künstlerdatenbank IKD publizierten international einzigartigen lexikalischen Unternehmens. Der vorangegangene Vortrag von Patricia Young von der Canadian Heritage Foundation beschäftigte sich mit Vergangenheit und Zukunft der großen, von der Getty Foundation geschaffenen Datenbanken AAT, ULAN und TGE. Im Wissen um die Aussichtslosigkeit der Vereinheitlichung der Indexierungsverfahren zahlreicher unterschiedlicher 'Kulturerbe'-Institutionen werden nämlich diese Datenbanken, insbesondere die Kunstvokabulare AAT und ULAN, mit Hilfe eines maschinellen Abgleichs als 'Search Assistants' der überaus umfangreichen Museumsobjekte-Verbunddatenbank 'Artefacts Canada' herangezogen und zur Geltung gebracht. Dabei ist es indifferent, ob in den Zieldatenbanken selbst Normdatenverknüpfungen bestehen oder auf welche Weise überhaupt dort die thematischen Indexate hinterlegt sind. Zwar wird die Literaturversorgung völlig zu Recht als zunächst nationale öffentliche Organisationsaufgabe verstanden. Doch bei der Erschließung der Ressourcen ist mittlerweile ein internationaler Kontext in Rechnung zu stellen. OPAC-Designs beispielsweise stehen im Internet unmittelbar in einer internationalen Konkurrenz, nicht nur untereinander, sondern mit Retrievaloberflächen für Ressourcen jedweder Art. Die sich in diesem Kontext pragmatisch ergebenden und auch wieder ändernden Standards werden keinesfalls zwangsläufig von Bibliotheken gesetzt. Jedenfalls haben Bibliotheken und 'Kulturerbe'-Institutionen allgemein Anlaß sich der Tatsache bewußt zu werden, daß Tendenzen, Entwicklungen und Möglichkeiten im Retrievalbereich in hohem Umfang von außerbibliothekarischen, außermusealen etc. Aktivitäten und Kompetenzen, auch wirtschaftlichen Interessen, konditioniert werden und profitieren. Letztlich sollten die verschiedenen Beiträge des AKMB-Vortragsprogramms in Freiburg auch zu solchen Gedanken anregen und auf weitere Bemühungen zur integrativen Erschließung vorbereiten. Die seltene Gelegenheit des Zusammentreffens der Referenten aus den verschiedenen Ländern war für den AKMB-Vorstand Anlaß, für seine Gäste ein Diner zu veranstalten, bei dem im angeregten Fachgespräch Möglichkeiten der weitere Vertiefung der internationalen Zusammenarbeit der Kunstbibliotheken erläutert werden konnten. Am nächsten Tag wählten die Mitglieder der AKMB den siebenköpfigen AKMB-Vorstand für die Amtszeit 1999-2001. Neue Vorsitzende der AKMB und somit Nachfolgerin der Gründungsvorsitzenden Monika Steffens ist nunmehr Christiane Schaper, Leiterin der Bibliothek des Historischen Museums in Frankfurt am Main.
Dr. Rüdiger Hoye American Art Museums on the WebPaper presented at the international conference, 'Museums in Libraries - Libraries in Museums,' May 17 - 20, 1999 in Moscow
There are 1620 art museum in the U.S. today, according to the Official Museum Directory, published by the American Association of Museums. Over half of them have Websites. However, only a few of the top museums have Internet access museumwide for the staff. According to Kathy Jones-Garmil in her book, The Wired Museum, we still have a long way to go before most of the world's museums are on-line. The expense of maintaining a lively and up-to-date site presents a significant investment for any organization. A budget for its continued development needs to be made on an annual basis. Unless a Website is updated on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, information goes out of date and turns off users who depend on accurate, current information. The Museum of Modern Art in New York, for example, has a large team of people involved with the Website's design, production and oversight. However, according to a survey presented at the 1999 Museums and the Web conference, 57% of museums still have only one person working on their Website, and only 3% have more than 5 people involved.
Who is the audience for museum Websites? What do they want? Are the museums satisfying them? Today 41% of Americans are on-line, compared to 23% two years ago according to a study was done by the Princeton Survey Research Associates for Pew Center for the People & the Press ( http://www.people.press.org/). The profile of users who just started using the Web in the past year is different from Web users past years. As computers become more widely distributed to the public through schools, libraries, and the workplace, users tend to be getting slightly older, poorer, and less well educated.
What do people want from a museum Website? In a survey reported on at the Museums and the Web conference in New Orleans in 1999 by Jonathan Bowen, the most requested information on a museum Website was about its collections. The second most requested information type was for education, and general information. Activities and schedule followed. Conclusion Many Americans (41%) are using the Web. Because they use it to find information, it is important for museums to have Websites. People expect to find collections information, information about educational programs, and general museum information. Websites must be kept current in order to be useful. Museums should invest resources into making their Webpages good to address this whole new audience.
What can librarians do? Librarians can be guides or coaches to library users learning how to access museum information on the Web. Hands-on instruction is often the best way to get users started. Alternatively, instruction sheets for users to pick up and use on their own, or group instruction using the instruction sheets can also be helpful to users. Because each Website is slightly different, users may need help finding the exact information they're looking for. Unlike books, Websites often lack a proper title page, table of contents, and index in the usual sense. Librarians can also become information providers by creating Webpages that link to their online catalogs or describe the highlights of the library's collections. Links can be incorporated to point users to sites that aggregate many museum sites. For example, the World Wide Arts Resources wwar.com/museums.html is a great collection of museum Websites around the world.
Jeannette Dixon, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, New publications on art documentationThe proceedings of the latest Japanese, Greek and the Spanish meetings of art librarians have recently been published.
The papers of the IFLA Section of Art Libraries open session in Bangkok 1999 will be published in Art Libraries Journal, vol. 25 (2000) no. 2:
ARLIS/UK & Ireland Conference 2000The annual ARLIS/UK & Ireland Conference to be held in Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge from 6-9 July 2000 promises to be really special. The theme is The changing agenda for art libraries - human resources, staff development, the IT interface, hybrid libraries. Speakers with wide ranging experience will address various aspects of the ICT challenge for art librarians: training staff to cope, the librarian/publisher relationship in the electronic age, the problems faced by the solo librarian ... and much much more.Mark the dates in your diary and look out for more details.
Emma Floyd, Librarian ARLIS/North America Annual Conference 2000The ARLIS/NA 28th Annual Conference will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 16-22 March 2000 on the subject Links to the Past, Bridges to the Future. The provocative planning include Acquisitions at the Millennium, and Frank Lloyd Wright's Pittsburgh Projects. Some of the speakers will be Dr. Franklin Toker, award-winning architectural historian, and Dr. Thomas Sokolowski, Director of The Andy Warhol Museum. Tantalizing tours to Fallingwater, Frick Art & Historical Center, and Cleveland Museum of Art. Make your reservation now to celebrate the end of one century and the beginning of another in Pittsburgh - a city of surprises. Watch the conference Web site for additional conference and registration information http:\\www.arlisna.org.CRIMEA 2000 Conference - First AnnouncementThe Seventh International Conference will be held in Sudak, The Autonomous Republic of Crimea, from June 3-11, 2000. Envisaged is a number of quest events in other Crimean towns: Yalta, Alushta, Simferopol and Feodosia. Sudak is one of the most beautiful and tranquil locales on the Crimean Black Sea coast. The history of Sudak dates to antiquity. It is a small Crimean town of unfailing charm, surrounded by fantastic mountains crowned with picturesque ruins of the medieval Genoese fortress. The Conference venue, 'Sudak Tourist and Health Center', is a complex of twenty modern buildings in a garden setting. The adjacent beach, some two kilometers long, might well be the best in the Crimea. The beach, restaurants, cafes and shops are located on the territory of Sudak Tourist and Health Center. Other Crimean towns that will welcome the participants in Crimea Conference are also famous and popular outside of the Crimea. During the Crimea Conference, the Sudak Tourist and Health Center will accommodate only the participants in the Conference. The best conference rooms in Yalta, Alushta, Simferopol and Feodosia will be placed at guest and satellite events disposal. Discover new picturesque places of the Crimea! For a complete copy of the Call for Papers, see http://www.iliac.org/crimea2000/eng_inf.htmlCall for articles ARLIS/UK & Ireland News-sheetThe November/December 2000 issue of the ARLIS/UK & Ireland News-sheet will be a special 'bumper' issue comprising an eight page central insert with its own number and cover page. The issue will consist of reports from as many different international ARLIS and art documentation organisations as possible. This is a request to representatives of these organisations, for information about any groups or art documentation organisations which may be running in your countries. Small groups may not be well known outside your own country, but may be of interest to collegues in ARLIS/UK & Ireland. The editors of the News-sheet hope that each report will include a brief history of the society and information on its current activities. It will also include articles of 2,000 words, which are light and 'newsy', possibly with a photograph of members and the individual ARLIS mastheads. Each article should include a list of contact names and addresses, and details of any relevant publications on the organisation.To submit an article for this bumper issue, please contact one of the editors, Sarah Mahurters, Information Services Manager, London College of Painting, Elephant and Castle, London, England SE1 6SB. Tel: +44 171 6638; fax: +44 171 6597, email: s.mahurter@lcp.linst.ac.uk Copy Deadlines IFLA Section of Art Libraries NewsletterNumber 46: March 30, 2000Number 47: October 30, 2000 Contributions must be sent to the editor:
Rijksmuseum Research Library PO Box 74888 NL-1070 DN Amsterdam The Netherlands E-mail: gjkoot@worldonline.nl
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