The Union list of art, architecture and design serials, an online database of periodicals on fine and applied arts, film and television held by academic, public, national and special libraries throughout the UK and Ireland, has been some ten years in the making and work is still progressing. In autumn 2000 funding was obtained to allow for greater progress on this critical research tool, extending the coverage of participating libraries and enhancing the bibliographical records. However the work of increasing the level of participation in the Union list has largely been taken forward by direct approaches to individual institutions and by July 2002 there will be over 60 participating libraries as well as fuller bibliographic citations.

In 2014 the RKD launched RKD Explore, a new interface for searching the collection databases. This state-of-the-art search engine provides a multitude of search possibilities. And although most of the art-historical information is still in analogue form in The Hague, RKD Explore lets users really explore the richness of the ever-growing digital content of the databases.

What is ephemera? How do we catalogue it? Every library’s ephemera collection differs greatly from others in its content and cataloguing needs. Does one dictate the other? Is there a right way and a wrong way? Or just a way that is right for the library and material in hand? A look at how these things were approached at the Wellcome Library gives an example of how a successfully ordered collection can be created out of the initial chaos with just a little forethought and a lot of hard work.

From the moment Gutenberg's Bible was set to print, books have played a role in shaping society. The enduring legacy of the book as a powerful vehicle for social transformation is just as significant today as it was over five hundred years ago. Contemporary artists’ books can serve as powerful catalysts within the classroom and in the community to foster conversations that address social justice issues and to generate dialog that can lead to greater understanding. This article will focus on how one liberal arts college library has promoted artists’ books in conversations to explore cultural competency and to encourage understanding.

Copyright legislation in the UK changed significantly in 2014, and this article provides an overview to some of the most relevant changes to the exceptions1 in copyright law that can be used by archivists and librarians. Subscribers to ALJ will have read Tim Padfield's excellent introduction to UK copyright law for art librarians in 2012, much of which is still relevant and will not be repeated here. Given the varied nature of art library and archive collections in the UK, and the complex nature of the law in this area, it is intended that the following general guidance to the 2014 legislative changes will highlight areas for further study: such basic guidance should not be used to inform internal policy or decision-making. The article also includes a list of sources for more detailed information on the law, in the references section.

As project manager of the Art Discovery Group Catalogue project, and on behalf of the artlibraries.net committee, Geert-Jan Koot explains the development of the Art Discovery Group Catalogue. This discovery service powered by WorldCat is a new, separate project developed by the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) in Europe for art libraries, which became officially available on May 1st 2014. The project has been accepted within the international Future of Art Bibliography (FAB) initiative of the Getty Research Institute as its bibliographic component. The fact that the system is being developed in Europe provides an excellent equilibrium between Europe and America within the project. Following the invitation to participate, over 80 libraries have so far expressed interest, of which 60 have joined the catalogue. This project is a major step in one of the FAB goals of making art bibliographical information available worldwide through collaboration.

In the last third of the 19th century, Berlin was the undisputed capital of the German clothing and fashion industry on an international scale. Several publishing houses specialized in the production of fashion magazines for different target groups. One of the success stories in this context is that of the publisher Franz Lipperheide and his wife Frieda. In 1865, they founded their own company, publishing the journal Die Modenwelt: Illustrirte Zeitung für Toilette und Handarbeiten. This journal quickly became the most-read fashion journal in Berlin. By the company's 25th anniversary in 1890, a total of 12 international editions of the journal was published with around 500,000 subscribers. The economic success of their company allowed the Lipperheides to create extensive private collections that reflected their deep interest in cultural-historical topics as well as textile art.

This paper focuses on their collection of source material for costume studies, which is now known as the ‘Sammlung Modebild—Lipperheidesche Kostümbibliothek’ (Fashion Image Collection—Lipperheide Costume Library), a department of the Kunstbibliothek at the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. The paper presents its history, some collection highlights and the various means of access (catalogues, exhibition catalogues and online access).

Since the 1960s AICA, the Association Internationale des Critiques d’Art, has been increasingly concerned with the primary resources on which research depends. In particular, access to archival material was felt to be necessary in order to counter a dominant, highly selective, ‘modernist’ interpretation of 20th century art, with a more objective, comprehensive, and thoroughly researched history of the period covering all countries. The AICARC-Bulletin, founded in 1974, is devoted to primary sources, archives and documentation centres, archival techniques, and the ‘documentary’ approach to art, in relation to the art of this century.

In recent years many museums and art galleries in Europe have remodelled their libraries, often funding the physical changes by means of sponsorship, while at the same time re-thinking access and the services to be provided. This article analyses some current examples in Paris, London and the Netherlands and describes a range of different approaches. But it finds most successful the British Museum’s Paul Hamlyn Library, housed in the famous circular Reading Room and open to all visitors: these will discover, that, alongside modern databases, the Library has kept its traditional links with the book.

Picture lending in Norwegian public libraries has recently been revitalised by the creation of the Artoteksentralen, initially a pilot project and now a permanent foundation, which circulates collections of original prints by Norwegian artists to public libraries, hospitals, and prisons. (An updated version of an article originally published in Scandinavian Public Library Quarterly v. 18 n.4 1985).

DutchESS (Dutch Electronic Subject Service, formerly NBW) is an Internet guide for the academic community produced by the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (the national library of the Netherlands) in co-operation with a number of Dutch academic libraries. The resources are selected by subject specialists who evaluate Internet information according to academic quality standards and make selections relevant to their own specific user groups. DutchESS has (as yet) no geographical restrictions, although it aims to cover Dutch resources as completely as possible. The service includes all disciplines, but the content depends on the contributions of individual subject specialists as well as on the bias of the participating libraries. A large number of art sites can now be found on the Internet, but many of them are superficial, lack substantial informative content, and/or are not relevant for academic research. Only a relatively small number meet the quality criteria of DutchESS and have been added to the database so far. Future developments of DutchESS may include participation in a European network of subject-based Information Gateways.

History of Design is a very new discipline and there are many problems associated with defining the boundaries of the subject and developing the appropriate methodologies for research and teaching purposes. One of the major problems facing historians of design, and students, is the location and availability of source material, and it is in order to help librarians help those faced with this problem that this composite article has been written. The contributors are all members of the recently formed Design History Research Group.

New technology is giving researchers greater independence in their use of bibliographic databases. Art librarians should promote ‘end-user services’ which provide library users with direct access to online databases, although there are a number of problems which are liable to detract from the efficiency and thoroughness associated with computer-assisted searching.

Obwohl der Wunsch dazu schon länger bestand, kam es erst im Februar 1995 dazu, daß deutsche Kunst- und Museumsbibliotheken — zum ersten Mal über-haupt — ihren eigenen Verband, die AKMB, schufen. Die Ziele, Pläne und die allerersten Aktivitäten der neugegründeten AKMB sind weitreichend. Sie spiegeln auch die spezifischen Bedürfnisse in der Landschaft deutscher Kunst- und Museumsbibliotheken wider.

Even though the desire had existed for quite a while, it was not until February 1995 that, for the first time ever, German art and museum libraries created their own association, the AKMB. The aims, plans, and the very first activities of the new founded AKMB are very ambitious. They also reflect the specific needs of the German art and museum library scene.

For much of his life the Rumanian-born artist Arthur Segal championed the cause of picture lending for the benefit of the public and as a means of helping artists to earn a living. In Germany in the mid-1920s, Segal put forward his plans for lending institutions for works of art, akin to lending libraries for books. Widespread support was not forthcoming, and an experimental scheme organised by an artists’ association in Berlin ceased in 1927. Segal could give only qualified support to an alternative concept of hire purchase. Arthur Segal settled in England in 1936; some years after his death, his ideas contributed to the devising of an art loan scheme, launched by the London Borough of Holborn public library, which featured the work of local artists. Segal deserves to be remembered; his life and achievements have been celebrated by exhibitions in Berlin and Cologne, and the following article has been translated into English so that his ideas and endeavours can be more widely appreciated.

A little magazine is a magazine designed to print artistic work which for reasons of commercial expediency is not acceptable to the money-minded periodicals or presses … little magazines are willing to lose money, to court ridicule, to ignore public taste, willing to do almost anything steal, beg, or undress in public — rather than sacrifice their right to print good material.

Hoffman, Frederick J. The Little Magazine; a History and Bibliography. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1947,2.

The Tate Library holds an extensive collection of print ephemera that includes private invitation cards, press releases, postcards, and promotional material from artists and galleries. In 2006, library staff began to notice a trend for an increasing amount of born-digital ephemera, circulated via email and vulnerable to loss, deletion and disintegration. In 2011, they undertook an internal research project to develop a strategy for collecting, storing and providing access to born-digital ephemera. As the creation and dissemination of electronic ephemera continues to grow rapidly, we need to ask how we can bridge the gap in our technical knowledge and apply current digital preservation research to our library collections. How can we establish a low-cost working best practice for collection, storage and access? And is there future potential to create external partnerships with other institutions facing the same issues?

By the late 1970’s many of the full members of the Research Libraries Group (RLG) were academic institutions with major art libraries. The possibilities of special membership afforded museum libraries the opportunity to contribute to the database as well. In 1979 the Art and Architecture Program Committee of RLG was formed and charged with advising the president of RLG on special requirements of art and architecture and the information needs of scholars and professionals in the field. Through its accomplishments in supporting cooperation among art librarians and launching art documentation projects the AAPC serves as an interesting model for art librarians networking on a national and international basis.