Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T19:42:46.407Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Today is for tomorrow: the National Gallery of canada Library collection policy in context

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 June 2016

Jo Beglo*
Affiliation:
Library, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada
Get access

Abstract

Art librarians in Canada find themselves in the position of Janus, who simultaneously turns one face to the past and the other toward the future. They have the responsibility to care for collections from the past; at the same time they face a future of continuous change, escalating costs, dwindling resources and institutional agendas. Long-range planning is essential, and an up-to-date collection development policy is fundamental for identifying strengths and weaknesses, confirming commitments and setting priorities. The National Gallery of Canada Library (NGCL) has recently developed a draft collection policy which is now under review within and outside the Gallery. In addition to considerations of selection and bibliographic control, the policy deals with related companion activities such as evaluation, interpretation, and preservation.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Art Libraries Society 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Hudson, Kenneth. Museums of Influence (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987), p.26.Google Scholar
2. Hopkins, J. Castell ed. Canada: An Encyclopaedia of the Country, 5 vols. (Toronto: Linscott Publishing Company, 1898-99).Google Scholar
3. Ibid., vol. 4 p. 176.Google Scholar
4. Ibid., vol. 4 p. 188.Google Scholar
5. Ibid., vol. 5 p.209.Google Scholar
6. Ibid., vol. 4p.359.Google Scholar
7. Sisler, Rebecca. Passionate Spirits: A History of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, 1880-1980 (Toronto/Vancouver: Clarke, Irwin, 1980). See also: Williamson, Moncrieff, Robert Harris, 1848-1919: An Unconventional Biography (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, c. 1920). p. 155164.Google Scholar
8. See especailly Kirkconnell, Watson and Woodhouse, A. S. P., The Humanities in Canada (Ottawa: Humanities Research Council of Canada, 1947), p.15467 and 22028, and Williams, Edwin E., Resources of Canadian University Libraries for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences (Ottawa: National Conference of Canadian Universities and Colleges, 1962), p. 1722 and 3839.Google Scholar
9. Dwyer, Melva J. ‘Fine Arts and Music Libraries’, in Peel, Bruce, ed., Librarianship in Canada, 1946 to 1961 (Ottawa: Canadian Library Association, 1968), p. 14048; Fine Arts Library Resources in Canada, 2 vols. (Ottawa: National Library of Canada, 1978. Research Collections in Canadian Libraries, 6); Williamson, Mary. ‘The tyranny of distance: art libraries in Canada’, Art Libraries Journal vol. 8 no. 1 Spring 1983 p.5972.Google Scholar
10. Kirkconnell and Woodhouse, p. 157.Google Scholar
11. Bill C-12, An Act Respecting Museums, 1990, p.2. See also: National Gallery of Canada and Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, Corporate Plan 1990-1996; and Canadian Centre for Visual Arts’ Policy, 1991.Google Scholar
12.Le patrimoine culturel: Papers on the IFLA Section of Art Libraries Pre-conference, Paris, 1989, Art Libraries Journal, vol. 15 no. 1, 1990. Special issue.Google Scholar
13. The subject of collection developoment policies has generated a substantial bibliography. Perkins, David, ed., Guidelines for Collection Development (Chicago: American Library Association, 1979) provides an overview of the discussion and reviews the earlier literature. Pistorius, Nancy, ‘Drafting and Implementing Collection Development Policies in Academic Art Libraries’, in Current Issues in Fine Art Collection Development (Tucson, AZ: Art Libraries Society of North America, 1984. Occasional Papers, 3), p. 1621 provides a broadly applicable sample format. Schimansky, Donya-Dobrila, ‘A Policy for the Development of Collections in Museum Art Libraries in the United States’, Art Libraries Journal vol. 6 no. 3 Winter 1981, p.3549 examines museum library applications.Google Scholar
14. The evolution of collection management into a clearly identifiable discipline within librarianship has generated a substantial bibliography. Mosher, Paul, ‘Collection Development to Collection Management: Toward Stewardship of Library Resources’, Collection Management, vol. 4 no. 4 Winter 1982, p.4149 provides a definition of collection management and an overview of its evolution. Lockett, Barbara, ed., Guide to the Evaluation of Library Collections (Chicago/London: American Library Association, 1989) provides additional bibliography and practical guidelines. Weintraub, Karl J., ‘The Humanistic Scholar and the Library’, Library Quarterly, vol. 50 no. 1 1980, p.2239 reflects on the implications of library collection issues from a scholar’s point of view.Google Scholar
15. Alexander, H. ‘Why Preservation?’ in Aagaard-Morgensen, L., ed., The Idea of the Museum (Lewiston, NY: Mellen Press, 1988), p.715; Homulos, Peter, ‘Museums to libraries: a Family of Collecting Institutions’, Art Libraries Journal, vol. 15 no. 1 1990, p.1113.Google Scholar
16. Hill, Charles. ‘Museum Curator: Roles and Responsibilities’, in Shared Responsibility: Proceedings of a Seminar for Curators and Conservators, National Gallery of Canada, 26-28 October 1989 (Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1990), p. 19.Google Scholar