The history, development and objectives of the Art Libraries Section of the Association of French Librarians are discussed. Recent achievements include the publication of the French Art Librarians’ Yearbook and the Directory of Art History Libraries and Documentation Centres in the Paris Area as well as current work on a computerised list of art periodicals.

Relevant British Standards are cited, and advice on the establishment of priorities and programmes for the conservation of photographs is provided. Environmental hazards, mounting, storage and good ‘housekeeping’ practices are described.

The Library is a research library for the Gallery’s staff and subject coverage is related to the two collections, Historic British and Modem. Some indication of the categories of material in the Library is given. Stock selection is on a co-operative basis with the staff readership and an exchange scheme with other museums is operated. The Library provides a direct service to Gallery staff but restricts outside use owing to limitations of accommodation and staffing. New premises on the Millbank Hospital Site are needed before any national role could be undertaken. (Based on a paper submitted to the National Co-ordination of Art Library Resources Committee).

The Biennale comprises a unique sequence of 20th century exhibitions of international (if uneven) coverage from 1895 onwards with only two breaks – between 1914-20 and 1942-48. It documents for the pre-Second World War period the non avant-garde in whom there is now increasing interest and since 1948 the activities of the avant-garde. It is a particularly useful source for Italian art and illustrates the metamorphosis of futurist art into fascist art. The Biennale has become part of art history: what has been shown has influenced what has subsequently been produced: the 1958 and 1960 Biennali, for example, were influential in the propagation of abstract-expressionism in Europe.

A description of some of the more ephemeral types of documentation surrounding contemporary art is followed by an indication of some of the problems involved in their acquisition, cataloguing and preservation. This is a revised version of a paper given at the two-day course on the Literature of Art and Architecture, organised by ARLIS and the Library Association in December 1979.

The specific properties of film, video recordings, audiotapes, cassettes and discs are described, and attention is drawn to problems and hazards. Methods of storage, cleaning, use and long term preservation are recommended, and environmental factors are considered.

The problems encountered in trying to answer queries on local artists of the past prompt an experimental attempt to find out what material by and about one of Newcastle’s better-known artists. Thomas Bewick, exists within the bounds of Newcastle upon Tyne itself. The results are not particularly encouraging. Printed catalogues of holdings are rare, although check-lists of material held by the institution concerned are rather more frequent. Some holdings are not catalogued at all. The long-term desideratum is for the compilation of a union-catalogue of all the public collections of Newcastle.

A brief outline is given of events which in 1979 led to the Art and Design Library being moved out of the main faculty block at Grand Parade into an adjacent building. This is followed by a description and assessment of the improved facilities in the new library.

Acknowledgements are due to Leslie Willmot, site librarian from 1962-1977, for his help with information on the development of the Library. Photographs courtesy of Zul Mukhida.

Rather than present a commentary on the business of the Round Table of Art Librarians at Manila, this article is an attempt to provide a picture of the way in which the event is organised, and perhaps encourage others to participate actively in future meetings.

The first point to be made is that anyone may attend an IFLA Congress, whether or not they represent an institution or association. The only requirement is the payment in advance of the requisite registration fee. The meeting point for national discussion on IFLA matters in this country is the British National IFLA Committee (BNIC). This holds regular meetings throughout the year at the Library Association in Store Street. Part of the work of the Committee is to ensure that there is adequate representation at all meetings held during the Congress. The BNIC also provides details on the availability of charter travel for those wishing to attend.

The basic structure of the codex book is described. The problems of large format and heavy volumes are discussed, and storage recommendations made. Inadequate adhesive bindings are analysed and a technique (double fan) is recommended. The need for, use and construction of protective containers is briefly examined. A method for securing loosely tipped-in plates is described, but tackling in-house repairs is discouraged.

Ephemera, the fleeting images of moments in time, are valuable for the historical perspectives, social insights and visual stimuli they can generate. The means of collecting are various and frequently cheap. Collections can be organised along simple or sophisticated lines depending on individual libraries’ resources.

These notes started life as a short paper, presented to audiences at Sydney, Melbourne, and Hobart during a tour of Australia which the author made at the invitation of ARLIS/ANZ in September 1979; in this revised and extended form they were read to an inaugural meeting of an ARLIS North West of England group, at Preston Polytechnic on October 31st 1979.

In my previous article, published in the last issue of Art Libraries Journal, I described three large libraries which form parts of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Kunstbibliotheken: the Kunstbibliothek at Berlin, the library of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum at Nuremberg, and the Kunst- und Museumsbibliothek der Stadt Köln. I also wrote of the smaller Museumsbibliothek in Berlin, and I now go on to describe my visits to three other museum libraries.

The nature of much material in the art library poses problems of security. Types of material at risk are discussed. Solutions to security are considered: closed access, electronic security devices, owner identification and provision of good photocopying facilities. Efficient library administration (including regular stock checking and enforcing of sanctions) is essential. Planning the library for security is considered. Security is an expensive but important responsibility of the art librarian.

The study of art history in Japan, and its documentation, have developed since the end of the 19th century, very largely (especially prior to World War II) as a national project dependent on national institutions, development of a kind which, while making considerable achievements possible, has been subject to certain limitations and which has failed to produce co-operative networks involving museums and art libraries which now exist in greater variety. In particular, some categories of material tend not to be acquired by either museums or libraries. These are problems which must be resolved if art history scholarship is to continue to flourish in Japan, and if Japan is to contribute as fully as it might to scholarship worldwide.

A paper presented to the Art Libraries Round Table at the IFLA General Conference, Manila, 1980.