Reflections on three facets of professional art librarianship as experienced by the author over the past twenty years: the status of librarians, the status of the art library, information storage and retrieval. The University of Manitoba Faculty Association was one of the first in Canada to accept professional librarians as equal to faculty, a major step for the profession. Canadian librarians have played significant roles in the development of the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) which from the beginning interested itself in collection development, technical practices of art libraries, and the needs, qualifications and physical surroundings of art librarians. The major technological development of the eighties for art libraries was not the widespread automation of major academic and public libraries, but the introduction of relatively inexpensive personal computers and attendant technology, which gives any library the capacity to access national and international databases and to assemble their files in a format which makes them readily available to a wider public.

Arlis was established as a result of this letter which Trevor Fawcett, then Sub-Librarian at the University of East Anglia, published in the Library Association Record, March 1968. (Reproduced here with permission.)

Although its replacement has not yet been fully developed, the traditional book is likely to be largely superseded in the foreseeable future by electronic publishing. Libraries will become book museums; with librarians as curators; many other librarians will find themselves dealing with unlimited and unpackaged information rather than with pre-packaged artefacts, in a role which will include facilitating and championing public access to information. The electronic ‘virtual library’ will encompass visual as well as verbal information; it will subsume art libraries except insofar as art libraries will become museums, but both the ‘virtual library’ and art libraries will continue to require the skills and vision of art librarians. Finally, in the short term, and perhaps indefinitely, the ‘virtual library’ and the ‘book library’ may not diverge to the extent of parting company altogether: the latter may continue to function as one gateway providing access to the latter.

The growth of art history and art practice courses in Australia has been remarkable over the last 20 years. Unfortunately training for art librarianship has not matched this growth. There are eleven universities in Australia offering graduate degrees and post-graduate diplomas in librarianship but none offer specific courses leading towards a specialisation in art librarianship. ARLIS/ANZ provides opportunities for training and education. Advances in scholarly art research and publishing in Australia, the development of Australian-related electronic art databases, the growth of specialist collections in State and public libraries, and the increased demand by the general community for art-related information, confirm the need for well-developed skills in the management and dissemination of art information.

The Internet is a worldwide network of electronic networks which is growing rapidly. Access to resources is facilitated by a number of ‘systems’, including Gopher and World Wide Web. Improvements in the organisation of and access to Internet resources are certain to be developed, and librarians may have a rok to play. Meanwhile libraries are involved in introducing users to different kinds of information resources including those available on the Internet. Art librarians should be aware in particular of five sites which are useful starting points foi looking at art resources in the Internet: ArtSource, Art Navigator, ArtWorlc Online, World Arts Resources, and Fine Art Forum Online.

Libraries cannot any longer align themselves with their institutions’ priorities because public institutions in Canada are undergoing a fundamental restructuring, the outcome of which is unclear. Federal and provincial governments are transferring responsibilities to the municipal level, putting cultural funding in direct competition with schools, hospitals, social and emergency services. Multi-culturalism will alter the mandate, collections, programming and staffing of cultural institutions. Art librarians, lacking the ability to communicate with decision-makers, need a strategy to allow them to embrace new values and technology or they will be swept aside in the rapid change already evidenced daily which marginalizes the library and calls into question time-honoured traditions such as free access to information.

Big changes in the educational system of Sweden took place in 1992/1993 because of political changes in the government. Earlier the government and parliament made decisions about course details at the different universities, and research education was offered only by the universities, and not by the colleges. In the early 1970s the College of Librarianship in Borås was commissioned by the government to offer a two-year academic level supplementary course in librarianship. Until the spring term in 1993, education for librarianship in Borås changed course several times, and five years ago courses in art and music librarianship, which had given students some insights in art history, were discontinued. Beginning in the autumn of 1993 the education system in Sweden will be much freer, implying that every university and college will be permitted to make its own decisions about courses. And from now on courses in librarianship will be offered by the universities in Umeå, Stockholm (starting spring 1994) and Lund, as well as in Borås. Librarianship at the research level was established three years ago at Göteborg University in close cooperation with the college of librarianship in Borås

Arlis arose in the late 1960s out of the need for British art and design librarians to have a specialist organisation to support their emerging professional concerns. The Society was independent from other library bodies and has remained so. From its original modest aim of ‘promoting art librarianship’ it has become a force for redefining this subject specialist area and creating international links, especially with sister organisations across the world; from ‘gossip shop’ for domestic concerns to an active participant in the IFLA Section of Art Libraries. The Art Libraries Journal has been the principal vehicle for promulgating this concern. ARLIS/UK & Ireland can look forward to extending its role and pursuing its activities with vigour in the next 25 years.

This article is a slightly revised version of a paper delivered to the 25th Anniversary Conference of ARLIS/UK & Ireland, London, 7th-10th April 1994.

How has the vision of the pioneers of ARLIS translated into the activities and achievements of the Society and its members in the present? The relationship of ARLIS and the National Art Library at the Victoria and Albert Museum has radically improved; collaborative projects in the areas of periodicals, slides and exhibition catalogues have yielded fruits in the form of union lists, surveys and directories; the longstanding Directory of members has been joined by a new directory documenting art, design and architecture resources in the UK and Ireland. However, as the Follett Report shows, the demands on libraries in the UK are heavier than ever before and will continue to increase, meaning that libraries will have to find new strategies to keep abreast of demand and take advantage of the new technologies. ARLIS should broaden its membership and may be able to achieve some of its long-term goals through the Visual Arts Library and Information Plan.

This article is a revised version of a paper delivered to the 25th Anniversary Conference of ARLIS/UK & Ireland, London, 7th-10th April 1994.

In 1974 the list of bibliographic works on the literature of Canadian art and architecture totalled 14 items, some in typescript. Since then there has been a surge of bibliographical activity including the creation of databases. Canadian art librarians are urged to lobby publishers to develop more precise index terminology and to improve indexing coverage of Canadian art periodical literature. Librarians should use the computer technology now in place to prepare exhibition histories, exhibition catalogue lists and indexes, while retaining their traditional respect for content, for bibliographic standards, and for the experience and specialized knowledge of qualified bibliographers and indexers.

In 1985 the dual master’s degree program in art librarianship was developed at Indiana University by the head of the Fine Arts Library, working with faculty members in the School of Fine Arts/Art History and the School of Library and Information Science. This program is designed to prepare students in the United States for professional library and information specialist positions in fine arts libraries and information centers. The student is offered a coordinated approach to achieving two masters degrees — one in art history and the other in library and information science — and must be admitted to both schools. For this program the course ‘Seminar in Art Librarianship’ was devised, covering topics such as administration, collection development, reference services, and visual resources management. Further requirements include a research bibliography course in art history and fieldwork experience in the Fine Arts and Slide libraries. This program seeks to meet the need for a marketable combination of subject–specific and library/information science education for art library and visual resources professionals.

The Internet affords the librarian many opportunities to enhance reference services. Online reference tools such as library catalogs, specialized indexes, directories, dictionaries, etc. provide access to bibliographic information, organizational information, and information about the net itself. In addition to the information resources available on the net, its communications power facilitates exchange of information and efficient use of expertise. Although finding specific information on the net can sometimes be a problem, due to the quantity of data and the net’s rapid expansion, search tools are being developed to mine the riches of the Internet. (This article is based on a paper presented at the 22nd annual ARLIS/NA Conference at Providence, Rhode Island, 15th February 1994).

Art librarians in Canada find themselves in the position of Janus, who simultaneously turns one face to the past and the other toward the future. They have the responsibility to care for collections from the past; at the same time they face a future of continuous change, escalating costs, dwindling resources and institutional agendas. Long-range planning is essential, and an up-to-date collection development policy is fundamental for identifying strengths and weaknesses, confirming commitments and setting priorities. The National Gallery of Canada Library (NGCL) has recently developed a draft collection policy which is now under review within and outside the Gallery. In addition to considerations of selection and bibliographic control, the policy deals with related companion activities such as evaluation, interpretation, and preservation.

There are 58 universities in the US and Canada which offer graduate degrees in library and information science. At 33 of these, students can take elective courses in subject areas such as art history, but only eight of them provide a special course focussing on art librarianship. There are, however, numerous courses and work study oportunities which allow a student to prepare for jobs in this field. An annual survey conducted by ARLIS/NA reveals some interesting facts regarding educational opportunities, and these facts illustrate a tendency towards intermixing generalist and specialist aspects of professional education. The College of Library and Information Services, University of Maryland, offers a course in ‘Literature and Research in the Arts’, enabling library science students to explore the ‘bibliography’ of art (including electronic sources) as one element in a broader program of study.