ARLIS/NA 43rd Annual Conference

Speakers:

The Picture Collection: A Century of Inspiration — Billy Parrott, Managing Librarian, Art and Picture Collections, Mid-Manhattan Library, New York Public Library

Artist in the Library: A Case Study — Claire Kennedy, Archivist/Librarian, Studio of John Baldessari

Public Libraries: The Working Artist’s Toolbox — Dayna Holz, Librarian, Art & Music Department, Berkeley Public Library

Moderator:
Dayna Holz, Librarian, Art & Music Department, Berkeley Public Library

Students, historians, faculty, and curators go to art libraries to research the work of artists. But how do artists themselves use art libraries? What more we can do as librarians to support their work? This session will explore ways art librarians can work with practicing artists and how we can reach out to this population of content creators to meaningfully engage with library resources and services.

Since 1915, the Picture Collection of the New York Public Library has been inspiring creativity in its users. Billy Parrott will discuss how it remains relevant even in this digital age of Google Images as an unparalleled visual resource for creative people.

Claire Kennedy will explore relationships between artists and academic, public, and personal libraries. Using a case study, she will specifically discuss her role as librarian and archivist to the artist John Baldessari and examine the types of resources artists find useful for artistic inspiration and production.

Public librarians support working artists by developing targeted collections, curating exhibitions in public space, and providing a bridge between art school and becoming a rock-star artist. Dayna Holz will explore some of the techniques librarians employ to effectively serve this patron base.