Although most art museums possess a library of some kind, these facilities are often hidden from the public and seldom discussed in library schools despite the important role they play as substantial research venues. Co-published with the Art Libraries Society of North America, Art Museum Libraries and Librarianship serves as an introduction to the field of art museum librarianship and its diverse settings. Editor Joan Benedetti has compiled contributions from practicing art museum librarians to present sixteen chapters that address 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. Each chapter consists of several essays that deal with the distinct environment of art museum libraries: from the largest research collections that serve many curatorial departments and multiple administrative layers to the smallest solo librarian venues whose unsung staff work in relative isolation. The book concludes with a collection of brief institutional profiles, which include statistical and descriptive information on fifteen diverse art museum libraries in the U.S., Canada, and Europe; appendixes that 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 bibliography; and an index. Art Museum Libraries and Librarianship, the first publication of its kind, is illustrated with over 90 black and white images of art museums, their libraries, and items from their collections.
Joan M. Benedetti was a Librarian-Cataloger at the L.A. County Museum of Art Research Library until she retired in 2002. Before that, she was the Museum Librarian (a solo position) at the Craft and Folk Art Museum (CAFAM) for 21 years, also serving as Director of CAFAM's Center for the Study of Art and Culture, 1989-1994. She has been an active member of the Art Libraries Society of North America. Michael Brand has been director of the J. Paul Getty Museum since December 2005, after having served as director of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond since 2000. Ann B. Abid was the head librarian at the Cleveland Museum of Art from 1985 until her retirement in 2004. Before that she worked for 22 years at the St. Louis Art Museum. She has been an active member of ARLIS/NA, serving as president in 1988.
Table of Contents
Part 1 ForewordPart 2 Preface and AcknowledgmentsPart 3 IntroductionPart 4 Part I: The Many Facets of Art Museum LibrarianshipChapter 5 1 Outside In: Leading and Managing the Art Museum LibraryChapter 6 2 Reader Services, Reference, and the Art Musuem Library's ClienteleChapter 7 3 Automating the Art Museum Library in the Twenty-First CenturyChapter 8 4 A Delicate Balance: Access and Security in the Art Museum LibraryChapter 9 5 Cataloging and Technical Services in the Art Museum LibraryChapter 10 6 Space Planning in the Art Museum LibraryPart 11 Part II: Building Collections: The Intellectual Content of the Art Museum LibraryChapter 12 7 Collection Development and the Acquisition Process: The Art Museum Librarian as CuratorChapter 13 8 Curating Images: Visual Resources in the Art Museum LibraryChapter 14 9 The Invisible Made Visible: Collecting Ephemera in the Art Museum LibraryChapter 15 10 Special Collections in the Art Museum LibraryChapter 16 11 Institutional Archives: The Art Museum Library's MemoryPart 17 Part III: Promoting, Sustaining, and Developing Support for the Art Museum LibraryChapter 18 12 Fundamentals of Fund-Raising for the Art Museum LibraryChapter 19 13 Marketing, Public Relations, and Advocacy in the Art Museum LibraryChapter 20 14 Working with Volunteers and Interns in the Art Museum LibraryChapter 21 15 Professional Development: Investing in Art Museum LibrarianshipChapter 22 16 Solo Librarianship in the Art Museum LibraryPart 23 Part IV: Thumbnail Sketches: Profiles of Fifteen Art Museum LibrariesPart 24 AppendixesPart 25 BibliographyPart 26 IndexPart 27 About the Contributors
