Trevor Fawcett has retired from art librarianship. An era is thus delineated. While Trevor had published on art library issues before the birth of ARLIS/UK in 1969, none of these articles had the impact of a short letter which appeared in the Library Association Record in March 1968, asking if there was any interest in co-operation amongst art librarians.

This was the acorn from which grew the oak tree of ARLIS/UK, and ultimately, through Trevor’s role in planning the first International Art Libraries Conference in 1976, the thicket of trees represented by the IFLA Section of Art Libraries, which now shades several continents.

One might say that Trevor Fawcett was fortunate to raise the question of co-operation at a time when the soil for an art library organisation was exceptionally fertile. But one can also propose that the incipient sub-profession of art librarianship was extremely fortunate in having Trevor Fawcett in the right place at the right time.

This paper describes the botanical prints and drawings collection in the Botany Library, Department of Library Services, British Museum (Natural History). A short history of the collection is followed by details of acquisitions policy, curation, conservation and uses made of the collections. A selected bibliography of works, including those relating specifically to the Collections complete the paper.

In the Summer of 1984 the Library of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, re-opened in a purpose-designed space, following the expansion and renovation of the Museum by Cesar Pelli. This article traces the history of the Library from its origin at the foundation of the Museum in 1929, to date, and describes the scope of the present collection and some of its particular strengths.

The Sohm Archive, until now mainly known only to specialists, a multisubject private collection of documents and art from recent decades, was purchased in 1981 for the Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart, and at their re-opening in Spring 1984 the Archive was for the first time made available to the public. Its present Curator here explains the origins of the collection.