ARLIS/UK & Ireland can be proud of the achievements of its first 25 years, but might benefit both from re-examining its objectives and by broadening its constituency. The fact that the National Art Library (NAL) is now fulfilling a role commensurate with that title is welcome indeed, but art libraries should be wary of depending too much on the leadership of a national library. The Visual Arts Library and Information Plan (VALIP) offers a not-to-be-missed opportunity for ARLIS and the NAL together to ensure the continuing development of art librarianship in Britain into the foreseeable future; the absence of a national bibliographic database, however, must be a handicap to future progress, while the state of art provision in public libraries is a matter of concern. ARLIS is working too exclusively for specialists; as it approaches the year 2000 its biggest challenge may be the needs of people at large. (The text of a paper presented at the ARLIS/UK & Ireland Members’ Day at the Tate Gallery, London, on the 8th November 1994).

AVAIL came into being as a means of connecting more or less isolated professionals working with visual arts collections, ARLIS/UK & Eire (as it then was) having failed to meet the needs of colleagues in Ireland. The idea of an association for Ireland was hatched at a conference organised by ARLIS/UK with the IFLA Section of Art Libraries in April, 1992; AVAIL was subsequently inaugurated the following October. AVAIL is inter-national, in that it represents the whole island of Ireland; it also represents the broad spectrum of visual arts information management, not just librarianship. As one of its first tasks AVAIL is preparing a directory of visual arts information providers in Ireland. AVAIL’S very existence has apparently persuaded the Department of Library and Information Studies at University College Dublin to incorporate some specialist art training as an option in their programme of education for librarianship, and AVAIL – perhaps in cooperation with ARLIS/UK & Ireland – plans to meet the training needs of its members. AVAIL has adopted as its aims not only to provide a cooperative network for the provision and exchange of visual arts information, but also to ensure preservation and conservation of all Irish visual arts materials. AVAIL is working closely with ARLIS/UK & Ireland, and a joint conference of the two bodies is to take place in Dublin and Belfast in 1995. (This article is a revised version of a paper presented at the 25th Anniversary Conference of ARLIS/UK & Ireland, London 7th-10th April 1994).

Cooperation between libraries is time-consuming, but is both ‘worthwhile and essential. Scottish research libraries commenced active cooperation in 1977: the Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries now has 15 active members. More recently, libraries in Scotland have been encouraged to work together following the creation of the Scottish Library and Information Council. The National Library has a key role to play, but in partnership with other libraries rather than invariably taking the lead. Cooperation between Scottish art libraries can be traced back to the 1950s and to the development, under the auspices of the National Library, of a union catalogue of art books in Edinburgh. This project is being extended and it will eventually become a national database. The group of libraries responsible for the project has taken on a wider role and an expanded membership as the Scottish Visual Arts Group, one of several subject groups under the umbrella of the Scottish Confederation of University & Research Libraries. The Group will work closely with the Scottish Library and Information Council, and with ARLIS/UK & Ireland in the wider framework of the United Kingdom. (This article is the revised text of a paper presented to the ARLIS/UK & Ireland 25th Anniversary Conference in London, 7th-10th April 1994).

ARLIS Norge was conceived at the IFLA Conference at Munich in August, 1983, and held its first annual meeting in Oslo on 25th January 1984. Its membership includes all art librarians and art libraries in Norway. Meetings are held regularly, and courses and study visits are also organised from time to time. The newsletter ARLIS Nytt is published four times a year. ARLIS Norge participates in ARLIS Norden and in the IFLA Section of Art Libraries, and actively fosters international relations. During the last five years, ARLIS Norge has established a bibliographic database on Norwegian art history, KUNSTBIB. Current and future concerns include art resources in public libraries, education for art librarianship, and the need for a Norwegian thesaurus of art terms. (This is an English translation of an article which was published in Norwegian in ARLIS Nytt 1993 no. 3/4 p. 1-4).

Emerging from an epoch of severe constraint, Russian libraries needed to experience freedom and independence before entering voluntarily into cooperative arrangements. Art libraries in Moscow, and also in St Petersburg, are now working together; in Moscow, informal cooperation preceded the foundation, by five institutions, of ARLIS/MOS in 1993, and the association has embarked on a programme of activities. (The text of a paper presented to the ARLIS/UK & Ireland Annual Conference in London, April 1994).

Present day Slovenia has inherited a number of historic libraries and collections, one of which provided the foundations of the National and University Library at Ljubljana, the major library for arts and humanities. There are also a number of specialised art libraries within and outside the University of Ljubljana, including the library of the University’s Department of Art History, the Library of the Academy of Fine Arts, and the libraries of the National Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Museum of Architecture, all in Ljubljana. Slovenian libraries have been or are being automated and linked together through the COBISS network; most of the academic libraries are connected to the Internet. Library training programmes are available at degree level, and students can study another subject, such as art history, as well. More art librarians are needed, as is an association of art libraries and art librarians.

Specialised art libraries emerged in Romania during the 19th century. Today, all of Romania’s art libraries are facing similar problems, the result of years of isolation from the international community and from one another, compounded by an absence (until recently) of education for librarianship, and by a continuing lack of money and adequate accomodation. In addition, different kinds of art library are confronted by problems specific to their functions. However, the renewal of contact with the wider world is bringing many benefits; work has started on a common automated system, initially involving a handful of art libraries; and three art libraries are trying to establish a Romanian art libraries society. (The text of a paper presented to the Annual Conference of ARLIS/NA at San Francisco, January 28th — February 3rd 1993. Please note that this report dates from over two years ago. We eagerly await further news.)

The Library of the present-day Vilnius Academy of Arts was founded at the beginning of the 1920s to serve the newly created Faculty of Arts of Vilnius University. The Faculty became the autonomous Vilnius Academy of Arts in 1941. During the years when Lithuania was part of the USSR, the Library acquired Russian art books but was unable to purchase art books from other countries, and access to some material was strictly limited. Since Lithuania became independent in 1991, political restrictions have been removed but funds, and space, are lacking.