Into the present

Hi all… its been awhile since my last post. I like to use the common excuse, “time has a way of getting away from you”, and it usually works, but this time I will say, sorry for the long absence. It seems that blogs often die a quiet death, but it is time to revive this one. I have worked at the Barbara & Leonard Littman Architecture Library at NJIT since March 2007, my first position in the library field. Yeah, almost a year. I am doing so much there… reference, a little bit of instruction, and I am working on some digital projects.

Joint ARLIS Western New York/Ontario Meeting in Buffalo, New York

Friday, October 20, 2006 the ARLIS Western New York/Ontario Chapters held their joint meeting, “Frank Lloyd Wright in Buffalo” at UB’s Anderson Gallery. Attended by art librarians from the local area including Cornell University, University at Buffalo, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, and from the other side of the border, University of Toronto, Art Gallery of Ontario, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Design Library, and others, attendance was impressive and provided a wonderful networking opportunity, especially for a recent library school graduate like myself. The opportunity to discuss my recent projects with other practitioners in the field, who were enthusiastic about discussing the ongoing projects at their respective institutions, and with current library school students with studio art backgrounds within an informal relaxed atmosphere, was especially valuable. I felt right at home.

Following a lecture by UB Professor and Frank Lloyd Wright scholar Jack Quinan entitled, “Frank Lloyd Wright’s Darwin D. Martin House and Wright’s Impact on Architecture in Buffalo”, the WNY chapter meeting was called to order by Northeast Regional Representative Carole Ann Fabian of ArtStor.

Following lunch, the group proceeded to the Wright landmark for a tour led by Associate Curator Eric Jackson-Forsberg. The tour covers the history of the complex, highlighting the effort underway to restore the complex to its 1906 state, as it has been in steady decline since the house was vacated in the 1930s.  

 The day wrapped up with a closing reception at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery Library, where we were provided passes to the Chuck Close exhibition.

Western New York/Ontario Chapter of the ACRL

The WNY/O ACRL Fall Conference on Friday, October 13th must have been the smallest conference gathering I have ever seen, due to the inclement weather in Western New York that affected many in the area. Sadly, some of the Buffalo-area speakers were not able to make the trip to the conference site in Grimsby, Ontario, so the conference was abbreviated, yet well worth attending. Titled Adaptations! Leadership for Staffing, Services, and Collections, several forward-looking topics were discussed during the presentation and panel discussion. As I never got the opportunity to take a Collection Development class at UB’s DLIS, I was delighted to hear the presentation by Rand Bellavia of D’Youville College, “Selection in a Shifting Environment”, which not only outlined the process of collection development, but also the role the Internet has come to play in this process. The increase in the quality and quantity of tools and formats available, as well as the public’s increased awareness of the resources their library holds, can also be attributed to the “Internet/digital revolution”. This led into the issue of Adaptation versus Philosophy, which is simply putting theory into practice, and leads to the issue of “Quality versus Demand.” The opposing viewpoints surrounding this issue in the development of the library’s collection was discussed in groups, then debated by representative members of each group. The panel discussion (Amanda Etches-Johnson of McMaster University, and Diane Marie Ward and Jennifer Graham, both of the University at Buffalo) consisted of the main theme of emerging technologies. These included the increased importance and awareness of Web 2.0 and RFID technologies and their importance to academic libraries. This discussion on Web 2.0 included the usefulness of blogs in an academic library environment, ie., as a reference tool, as well as the role of wikis, social networking sites (ie. MySpace), and folksonomies and how these communication tools contribute to, and enhance, the services provided by academic libraries.

  

The Digital Future of Libraries

I found an interesting annotation for a CLIR report on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s blog UI Current LIS CLIPS (September 2006 Issue compiled and annotated by Sue Searing and Karla Stover Lucht) regarding the how digitization in libraries is rapidly changing the library’s role from custodian of physical books to managers of information:

Library as Place: Rethinking Roles, Rethinking Space.
Washington, DC: Council on Library and Information Resources, February 2005. 89pp.
Purchase Article at http://www.clir.org/pubs/abstract/pub129abst.html (HTML or PDF full text)

 Bernard Frischer, a scholar of classics, claims that “the research library will survive because of the introduction of ever more and newer digital technologies, not in spite of them.” As print-on-demand becomes the norm, physical libraries will gain greater value as repositories for rare books, manuscripts, and books that have not been digitized. Volume counts will not be the measure of great libraries, but rather the quality of their information management and presentation. Some digital formats are not designed for dissemination over the Internet – for example, immersive 3-D computer models, for which libraries should build theaters. Libraries should design work environments for optimal use of multiple e-resources at a time, to satisfy the humanist’s need to consult many editions of a text, and to foster collaborative scholarship. Inspirational library spaces should emphasize the “the centripetal, community-building power of real physical presence over the alienating, community-rending effects of mere virtual presence.”

The Birth of ArLiSNAP

It is absolutely essential to formally introduce a new resource that is directed toward Art Library Society members who are library students or new professionals, in the U.S., Canada, or abroad. Bloggers on ArLiSNAP discuss relevant hot topics in the field, announce upcoming conferences and events, as well as job postings. Keeping with current technology, the arlis-student Listserv members felt it necessary to convert to a blog to “streamline” the lines of communication on these topics of interest. It is, in my opinion, a more effective medium to communicate these various issues, and for that reason it is replacing the Arlis-Student Listserv.

This librarian’s world

Hello all! As a new librarian, I am starting this blog in order to focus on, and bring attention to, my specific interests on art and visual resources librarianship, which are my ultimate career goals. The evolution of visual resources collections from analog to digital cannot be ignored, so some of the content here will reflect my intention to learn as much as possible about the management of digital assets in a visual resources collection. Currently, I am spending much of my time searching for a full-time position, so the development of this blog will be slow-moving (like molasses in January).