National, regional and international networking between art libraries and art librarians benefits the users of particular art libraries by extending each library’s awareness of resources beyond the limits of its own collections. At the same time, electronic information systems are facilitating the communication and sharing of data through library networks. But every art library, while opening up access to other libraries and information sources, works to improve access to its own collections, and to encourage browsing which can be a crucial method of overcoming the limitations of library classification schemes and of penetrating the contents of books, journals, or other formats of packaged information. Commitment to opening up information resources to human enquiry necessarily involves librarians in opposition to censorship and to those factors, such as illiteracy, which can deprive people of access to information even in “free” societies; any absence of information or publications, if not the result of overt censorship then a consequence of bias or neglect, will be of concern to librarians who may also adopt a pro-active role of acquiring and promoting unfamiliar material. Open libraries can thus provide alternatives to established ways of thinking, and can help to facilitate access to the broadest spectrum of ideas.

Art libraries are in many instances particularly well placed to operate international exchanges of publications, especially when (as in the case of museum libraries) they serve institutions which publish art documentation. It is nevertheless necessary to be aware of the hidden costs which can exist, and to examine the reasons for and the cost-effectiveness of exchange programmes. Guidelines for efficient and effective exchange are suggested.

The publication of art books in France is increasing in response to the growth of public interest in art; approximately 1,200 titles are now being published each year. Most French art books are published by commercial publishers; while French publishing in general is concentrated in the hands of a relatively few publishing houses, art publishing is undertaken by a wider range of bodies including, in many cases, smaller establishments dedicated to quality and having particular interests and strengths. Publications from these smaller concerns tend to be printed in editions of around 6,500; sales are generally too few to encourage the issue of paperback editions, although co-editions, produced in conjunction with publishers in other countries and thus reaching a wider public, are becoming more frequent. Although the range and the nature of art books from the commercial publishers is limited by the constraints of profitability, many art publications, including exhibition catalogues and works of scholarships, are also produced by cultural institutions such as museums. Art publishing of all kinds benefits from sponsorship, including prizes. Purchasers of art books include collectors of beautiful books; art books purchased by the general public are mostly bought during the Christmas season, although currently efforts are being made to promote sales at other times of year. Although French art publishers cannot compete with English-language art publishing in quantity or diversity, the quality of their volumes are of the highest order.

On the basis of its first issue, and in spite of some initial shortcomings due to attempts to bridge the gap between this issue and the final issues of the two publications it subsumes (RILA and the RAA), the BHA is to be warmly welcomed. It is handsomely produced, well organised, and economically priced, and it has successfully solved the problem of its use of both English and French. It provides greater and wider coverage than both of its predecessors put together, with more emphasis on the Nordic countries, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, and a scope which embraces “art anywhere in the world that reflects contact with the Western tradition”. It can be expected that many more titles will be indexed than those represented in the first issue. Although selective, the quality and extent of the BHA’s coverage of contemporary art (some 20% of its content) will challenge ABM; although both the BHA and ABM will be essential in libraries with a strong interest in contemporary art, in other art libraries BHA by itself may well suffice.