When the Bibliothèque Nationale moves into the new Bibliothèque de France, leaving behind only six specialised departments, the opportunity will arise to use the buildings of the Rue de Richelieu site to bring together a group of art history libraries and research centres. Priority will be given to the remaining Departments of the Bibliothèque Nationale, which need more space than they presently occupy; they will be joined by the inter-university library of art and archaeology from the Rue Michelet, the central library of the national museums, from the Louvre, and the older collections of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. The architectural holdings of the latter might be identified as the foundation for a major architectural collection to satisfy the demand for such a library in Paris. The collections thus brought together will not be merged, but will be exploited by means of shared services, including a union catalogue, and will be developed by means of a common acquisitions policy This concentration of resources on one site will not in itself constitute a ‘national art library’, but will provide a central node for a wider network. (An English version follows the original French text).

The term ‘artists’ books’ has been used since about 1970 to denote inexpensive booklets produced by artists in ‘unlimited’ editions, but can legitimately embrace a variety of artefacts; the word ‘bookwork’, coined in 1975, carries the more specific meaning of a work of art in book form. Ed Ruscha’s Twentysix Gasoline Stations, published in 1963, was a pioneering bookwork; it was followed by more bookworks from the same artist through the next ten years; however, Ruscha’s innovatory productions had been preceded by a number of experiments with the book format, by Bruno Munari, Åke Hodell, and others, during the 1950s and early 1960s. Bookworks flourished in the 1970s as a means of making actual works of art available to a wide audience, but in the 1980s this ideal was gradually overtaken by a growing tendency towards making bookworks as precious, costly collectables, in limited editions, while some of the earlier, once cheap bookworks began to sell for inflated prices on the secondhand market. Nonetheless, many artists are continuing to produce relatively inexpensive bookworks, sometimes using photocopiers, or to publish artists’ magazines. The work of Telfer Stokes demonstrates that the multiple book format remains an exciting and accessible medium in the hands of a committed artist.

Collection development plays a pivotal role in all libraries, and should be guided by a library’s purpose and the needs of its users. The Reference Library at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts aims to provide material on all the arts, within a broad context, and acquires material in several formats and in many languages. Materials acquired include rare books, the collections of private scholars, journals, microfilm of mss, visual resources, videos, and sound recordings. It is hoped that some of the problems that have been encountered can be resolved by means of contact and cooperation with other art libraries in Southern and South-East Asia.

Art libraries are different from other libraries; they require of art librarians a broad knowledge of art, with a more detailed knowledge of any aspects of the subject in which the particular library has a special interest. This kind of knowledge cannot be acquired entirely from books, but must also be gained from direct encounters with works of art, and by immersing oneself in different places and cultures. Art librarians must also be prepared to learn about art librarianship from colleagues at home and abroad, and about the needs of library users from the users themselves. Yet on occasion the demands of users, as well as the meddling of administrators, must be resisted. Art librarians must apply their knowledge not only to the selection of books, but also to the provision and organisation of visual resources, and to assessing both the value and the limitations of databases. [An English version of this paper appeared in ARLIS NORDEN INFO 1992 no. 2/3; the French text is published here for the first time, and is followed by a new English translation].

The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) is responsible for the Filipino cultural heritage; its Library, initiated in 1969, serves as a national repository of material on art and the humanities, and is available to the public for reference. The collections have developed in part thanks to gifts, of publications and of funds; materials are acquired by purchase, through exchange agreements, and because other CCP departments deposit their publications in the Library. The Library is now short of both space and staff. Printed materials are classified using an expanded version of LC; non-print materials are organised by format and access number, a system which is increasingly unsatisfactory. Reference and bibliographic services include the Library’s own catalogue, and a Union cataloge on Philippine Culture produced by the Library. Future plans include automation and the creation of a database devoted to Filipino art and culture.

Postmodernism has stimulated a ‘new art history’, which challenged, and then displaced, the highly selective canon of the ‘Old Masters’ and ‘Modern art’ with a broader approach, recognising a wider range of art and interested in investigating both the contexts of art, and the nature of art history itself. The new art history is represented on the shelves of art libraries, but a ‘new art librarianship’ must do more than passively reflect this cultural shift. A new art librarianship will expect of art librarians that they should be aware of the ways in which art libraries legitimise certain books and artworks, thus reinforcing the hegemony of the dominant culture, and that they should be prepared to use the power of art libraries knowingly and productively. Instead of imposing order through inflexible classification schemes, the new art librarianship will embrace the ‘disorder’ of a vast complex of knowledge seen from multiple viewpoints, accommodated by hypertext, for example. It is possible that electronic networking will eventually liberate information from the custody of libraries; the new art librarianship will not resist this, but will in parallel with such developments re-value art books, and books as art, as historical artefacts, reviving a more museum-like function from the history of librarianship, while continuing to serve as a manifest symbol of the wealth of human knowledge.

A time traveller visiting a British art school library in the 1840s, the 1970s, and the 1990s, would recognise a significant degree of continuity linking the library of the 1840s with that of the 1970s, but would be startled by the changes which have taken place in the last 20 years. Rapid change has resulted from several factors: increasing numbers of students; a growth in the demand from the public for art information; changes in the content and delivery of the curriculum; and not least, new technologies. This rapid pace of change is destined to continue into the foreseeable future, so much so that, instead of adapting to change bit by bit, librarians need to envisage and plan the new art libraries of tomorrow.

An overview of the author’s research into the collection management of artists’ books in UK and Eire libraries, dealing with their selection, acquisition, processing, cataloguing, storage, conservation, and exploitation. Much of the information derives from a questionnaire distributed to 127 art and design libraries in the UK and Eire during 1992. Various policies are compared and the case of the National Art Library, at the Victoria and Albert Museum, is examined in detail. Artists’ books are seen to illuminate fundamental issues concerning both contemporary art and contemporary librarianship. Future prospects are discussed and recommendations for better use, management, promotion and understanding of the material are offered. A selection of 25 definitions of artists’ books is appended.

Electronic mail makes it possible to exchange ideas and texts, and to seek answers to problems or to reference queries, immediately and easily. BITNET, a network for e-mail communication between academic bodies, originated in the USA in 1981 and now links 49 countries. Within BITNET, a mail distribution service, LISTSERV, facilitates specialised networking including ARLIS-L, a network for art librarians initiated by ARLIS/NA and hosted by the University of Kentucky. ARLIS-L was launched in 1990 and currently connects some 650 subscribers in 14 countries, not all of whom are members of ARLIS/NA. Anyone with a modem, a phone line, a personal computer and an e-mail address can access ARLIS-L; for those affiliated with academic institutions, access to e-mail networks is likely to be already catered for and free of charge. Existing subscribers are very enthusiastic about the ARLIS-L service. [A complementary network, VRA-L, is in place for those specifically interested in visual collections. Editor.]

Britain’s National Art Library at the Victoria & Albert Museum joined the OCLC network in 1986, and from 1987 to 1990 created catalogue records in MARC format on the OCLC database pending the introduction of a stand-alone computer system. The Library now employs a Dynix minicomputer system for cataloguing, acquisitions, circulation, serials control, and the provisions of OPACs. About 15% of the Library’s records are available online. Retrospective conversion of older records is proceeding and may be completed by the year 2000. The online catalogue is networked internally within the Museum, and is likely to be accessible to external users via JANET in the future. A number of bibliographic and image databases are also provided in CD-ROM and videodisc format. Future developments will include interface between Museum/image and Library/documentation databases.

The Flaxman Library at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago started collecting, or rather, receiving artists’ books more than fifteen years ago. Access by author and title having proved inadequate, an automated catalog has been used to access the collection through a range of descriptors (including physical characteristics) since 1988. A prototype of a revised version of this automated system, version 3, is in the process of being developed. Of particular significance, this version, written using FoxPro2 software, will include a file of images of the artists’ books.

Australia has traditionally adopted a Eurocentric outlook which has begun to be modified in the last decade by reappraisal of the country’s location in the Asia-Pacific region. The Australian National Gallery has only recently developed its collections of the textiles of South and Southeastern Asia and of related research materials, yet it already accommodates the world’s leading public collection of Indian textiles exported to Southeast Asia. Acquisition of both contemporary and antiquarian library materials has been complicated by the range of languages and cultures involved, the history of the textile trade, colonial publishing, and the problems encountered in dealing with a varying degree of organisation in local publishing and distribution. Nonetheless, with patience, as a result of travelling, by means of networking, and with the help of distributors, it has proved possible to build a worthwhile collection without depending too exclusively on Western publications.

The V&A Museum possesses the largest collection of Indian art outside the Indian sub-continent, dating from the acquisition of items from the Great Exhibition and of collections acquired by the Honourable East India Company. The Nehru Gallery of Indian Art, which opened in 1990, enabled a great deal of this material to be displayed. The Indian Collection is served by its own small research library, the records of which are currently being incorporated in the catalogue of the National Art Library at the Museum, while the National Art Library itself provides scholarly material on Indian art, especially the fine and decorative arts, in the major European languages. Some sources for obtaining new publications from India are noted.

In the course of researching the life and work of a 19th century British artist, Henry Courtney Selous, several London museums and libraries were visited during 1993. The Royal Academy and the National Portrait Gallery yielded some information, but at the Guildhall Library the author’s attention was drawn to a diary held at the National Art Library which on perusal seemed undoubtedly to have been compiled by Selous. The Library has subsequently revised the diary’s catalogue entry to incorporate this attribution.

Since its transfer to De Montfort University at Leicester, Britain’s National Art Slide Library, formerly at the Victoria and Albert Museum, has become the catalyst for a new Centre for Image Information. The Centre will provide a clearing house for information, a research centre, and an image bank, and will concern itself with images in all formats with an emphasis on new technology. Whether moving images are to be included will depend on the availability of funding. A major component of the Centre’s initial strategy will be the development of a high resolution database of images capable of being delivered as medium resolution databases, optical discs, slides, or on paper. Although the Centre has been conceived primarily as a national service, institutions in other countries in addition to those in the UK are invited to join as Associates, and the Centre is eager to exchange information across national boundaries.

Picture lending has, at different times and in different places, been championed by individuals who have regarded it — with some difference of emphasis and interpretation — as a means both of helping artists and of bringing art into people’s lives. Ten such individuals are profiled: Heinrich Schulz; the more radical Otto Nagel, and Rudolf Bosselt, who were active in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s; Franz Roh and Eva Pietzsch, whose work continued into the post-War period in West Germany; Pieter Kooistra, founder of the SBK network in the Netherlands; Knud Pedersen in Denmark; Karl-Heinz Bolay, who became a leading librarian in Sweden; and Heinz Werner and Isolde PreiBler, who championed the cause of picture lending in East Germany, in circumstances which imposed severe limitations on what could be achieved until German unification opened up new possibilities. (An English version follows the German original).