Tag Archives: art librarianship

Voices from the Field: An Interview with Kai Alexis Smith

This week, we are featuring an interview with Kai Alexis Smith, Architecture and Design Librarian at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries. Kai Alexis Smith is also Vice Moderator of the Architecture section of ARLIS/NA and will step into the Moderator position at the St. Louis Annual Conference. She is an active leader in grant/research initiatives, especially those which empower underrepresented people in the African Diaspora. In the following interview, our interviewee shares some unique experiences relating to career opportunities, networking, and making the most of a library education.

Photo credit: Bryce Vickmark

Can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you got into the field of (art) librarianship?

I am the Architecture and Design Librarian at MIT Libraries in Cambridge, MA and a mixed media visual artist. Before becoming a Librarian, I had a career in lifestyle and entertainment magazine and websites. I was at a fork in the road in my life and sought advice from my professor. At that time, I was on the path to pursue a PhD in Art History. My professor was able to take a holistic view of my skills and career and she suggested I think about Librarianship as an alternative path. Since I didn’t know any librarians at the time, I spoke with librarians in museums, public, and academic institutions about what they do day-to-day and eventually made some big life decision to pursue a MSLIS at Pratt Institute. Three and a half years of working 30-40 hours a week at a public library, commuting 5 hours a day, 4 days a week between states, going to school at night and doing 1-2 day long internships a semester later, I got my MSLIS degree from Pratt Institute. This was an accomplishment, not only for myself, but also for my family since I am the first to get a bachelor’s and master’s degree.

What “keeps you busy” these days in the field? What projects are you working on?

I am just a couple months in to my new position and am already busy in a good way. I am excited about the potential to work with great colleagues in the library and faculty and staff in the School of Architecture and Planning at MIT.
I contribute to the community through my work as the AfroCROWD New England Branch Organizer. This work involves training people that want to organize Wikipedia edit-a-thons in the region with a focus on the African diaspora. I believe in open and equitable access to information and representation of the disenfranchised while empowering underrepresented people in the African Diaspora to research, write and edit content. I am thrilled that I get to do that work with AfroCROWD. AfroCROWD aims to increase awareness of — and participation in — the Wikimedia and free knowledge, culture and software movements among people of African descent and to connect Wikimedians of African descent while educating Wikimedians about the African Diaspora.
Aside from AfroCROWD work, I am a member of Wikipedia’s Simple Annual Planning Grant (Simple APG) committee where I review grant applications from the Wikipedia community from around the world. I am also an associate editor for the Wiki Journal of the Humanities.
Research is important to me. I get to do research I find interesting with two co-researchers Laurel Bliss and Ann Roll on the California State University (CSU) Art and Architecture Librarians, which we hope to result in a collaborative working group to help with shared resources and techniques in teaching, reference, outreach and collection development. I am also planning next steps for my research into the research behaviors of the Urban and Regional Planning Faculty in the United States. I plan to write about both projects.

Do you have any advice for current students and/or those on the job market?

This is just my two cents. I have three tips:

- For those in school, be more of a generalist. I went into library school thinking I’d be a museum librarian and came out an academic librarian. You will have more job opportunities when you get out of school as a generalist versus the few openings that comes with specialization. You can always specialize on the job.
- Network while you are a student and on the job market. We rise together. Your classmate sitting next to you might be your coworker or your boss one day. Our profession is small. Take the time to get to know folks over tea/coffee. Go to a networking reception even for a couple hours. Make sure you have business cards and start small. Make SMART goals. If you are new to this, maybe have a friend help and set reasonable goals for the event you attend. For example, you might try to only meet one person and exchange cards. Then follow up with a email.
- Do informational interviews in person or by phone. This provides you the opportunity to learn about how librarians got to their positions, what librarians day-to-day work is and any advice they might want to give to a young professional.

If you could go back in time and do part of your career or education over again, is there something you would have changed? A class you would have taken? A missed opportunity?

Getting the IMLS grant off the ground for recruiting a more diverse workforce into the Art and Architecture Librarian profession. As someone who benefited from scholarship opportunities and participation in an ARL program, but still struggled financially through MSLIS school, I know how important financial support is to help attend Library school and how hard it can be to participate in an internship. Internships are important for developing skills as an early career art library professional, but ones where students are expected to work for free are exploitative and favor the privileged in our profession to advance. I believe internships should be paid. My ideal grant would help recruit early career librarians from traditionally underrepresented and disenfranchised communities into the profession by providing support with tuition and a paid internship at a local (to the applicant’s location) museum, academic, public or government library for one year. I still think there might be hope for a grant like this in the future.

Arts in the Public Library

Art librarianship generally seems to be thought of as a practice within the context of the academic library or museum. However, there is definitely a place for the arts in the public library! Public libraries provide community space for performances, exhibitions, and creative workshops. A 2017 article in the Huffington Post highlighted some ways in which public libraries across the country support the arts. I wanted to learn more about this intersection (as someone unexperienced in public librarianship) by looking closer at my own public library, the Ann Arbor District Library (AADL). I interviewed Mariah Cherem, a Librarian at AADL, a personal friend, and a longtime supporter of arts in the Ann Arbor community!

Photograph of family playing a Moog synth at the 2018 Ann Arbor Synth Expo

Photo from the 2018 Ann Arbor Synth Expo

Can you describe your position and the work you do at AADL, in general?

My title at AADL is Production Librarian. I work 8-16 hours on-desk/reference each week and the rest of my time is spent on projects and events. Some of those projects involve selection and collection maintenance (CD & LP collections), some of them involve programs (big events like A2 Synth Expo & Record Store Day), and working on smaller programs like staffing Letterpress Lab or coordinating the team who works on music-making related events year-round. During the summer, I work on the Summer Game and/or outreach initiatives (the pop-up “Library on the Lawn” we did with the University of Michigan at Summer Fest a few years ago is one example).

What do you see as the role of the arts in the public library?

I think that the arts (visual, musical, performing, literary) are naturally linked with our work as a public library. Obviously literary works are what first come to mind when folks think about us, but libraries have provided both a home for recorded versions of all of the above, inspiration for creating new work, and occasionally the opportunity to serve as a presenter and offer more space for both performance and facilitation of folks learning new creative skills. From displaying K-12 Ann Arbor Public Schools students’ artwork every year to hosting crochet groups to providing the equipment for folks to learn about letterpress, I see it as encouraging people to be active creators as well as consumers/readers/watchers of art/culture. I want to get people engaged in different ways!

Can you highlight some of the arts-related programming that happens at the AADL?

There’s so much! It’s hard to pick! Some of the biggest annual events that represent different types of art are:

Wayzgoose (printing/book arts)

Ann Arbor Comic Arts Fest (A2CAF)

Ann Arbor Synth Expo (AASE) (music)

Tiny Expo (art/craft fair)

…and we have related year-round programming that ties in with each of these big events/interest areas.

For a different sampling, here’s everything coming up that falls under art

…and here are the “art tools” we offer: https://aadl.org/arttools

How did you get into doing this sort of work at AADL?

When I went back to grad school I thought I was going to do health informatics or work with online communities, but towards the end of my first year, I started having SO many great conversations with LIS students, and realized that my arts administration background (working at a theater, an art museum, MA in AAdmin, doing DIY stuff) actually tied in really well to a lot of the programs and initiatives that were happening at forward-thinking libraries.

I started diving deep into Library as Incubator and how artists of all stripes were using their libraries, in ways we knew and ways we didn’t (making collages for zines, etc). With this wider understanding, I added an LIS specialization to my degree, and got super super lucky that a few months after graduating, a position opened up at AADL. I was interviewing at all sort of jobs at all sorts of places, but really won the lottery. I’m lucky in that since the beginning, creativity and connecting the library to folks in new ways has been a key part of my position! I’ve been here 6.5 years now and there’s still lots more to do! Currently starting work on licensing films from the Ann Arbor Film Festival and building this local music collection.

Do you have any suggestions or advice for public librarians/staff who may want to work on incorporating arts programming into their own libraries?

Each library is really different in terms of resources and support from colleagues. I’d say that before even floating any ideas, it’s super important to sit back for a few months (maybe even more) and take a big view, not just of your own organization, but what other organizations in your community are already doing. Sometimes it works best to partner with other organizations to try something new, and use something smaller with a partner as a proof of concept. You don’t need to start with anything splashy. Even just new ways for people to interact with the collection (new styles of displays that connect to programs, etc) can be the seed to get things growing. Programming Librarian is a good resource, as is/was The Artist’s Library, but it’s also important to look outside libraryland at things like Nina K. Simon’s work. Look for unmet needs/wants or gaps in the community. Find fellow staff who are also excited about possibilities!

Flyer for Telephon9 concert Friday February 8th at 7pm at the Ann Arbor Downtown Library

Poster for an upcoming music concert at the AADL.

A Success Story: Art Librarian Career Interview with Becca Pad

From artist to art librarian, Becca Pad shares her experiences and tips for embracing every opportunity in the field of art librarianship.

Can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you got into the field of (art) librarianship?

While getting my bachelors in studio art at the Maryland Institute College of Art, I spent a lot of time in the library browsing exhibition catalogs to learn about new artists. My original interest in pursuing art librarianship stemmed from a desire to surround myself with books and information on artists. After graduating from college, I completed internships at the National Museum of African Art and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Both of these experiences helped me decide to pursue a master’s in library science, with a focus on archival work in museums.

Working at the University of Texas Libraries as a graduate student in the iSchool showed me a different perspective on information science careers. I enjoyed the public services aspects of my job including working at the reference desk and staffing our chat service. I was fortunate enough to develop a mentoring relationship with the former art librarian at the Fine Arts Library and learning about her responsibilities and role solidified my decision to pursue academic art librarianship

What “keeps you busy” these days in the field? What projects are you working on?

This year I am the moderator for the Academic Division of ARLIS/NA. I am leading a project to create a report on the state of academic art libraries, which will be published in late January 2019. It is a great opportunity to help assess the current state of academic art librarianship and provide recommendations to help others at their institutions.

At UT Austin, one of my main projects this year includes refining my pilot program for integrating information and visual literacy into the freshman Art and Art history program. I am collaborating with the program coordinator and faculty members on this multiyear project. As a former studio art student, I am passionate about helping other studio artists use the library as a tool for creating new works of art.

Do you have any advice for current students and/or those on the job market?

It is important to have practical experience in the field. You can gain experience through internships or research assistant opportunities at your university or in your local arts community. There are many facets to art librarianship and field experience will help you determine what type of work is most rewarding to you.
My other advice is to be persistent in applying to jobs. The job market can be tough but continue to apply to opportunities as they present themselves; you never know where you could end up. During school, you can begin to review job applications and look at the requirements for different types of positions. This can help you select courses or internships that can prepare you for the position you really want.

What accomplishments in the field of art librarianship are you most proud of?

I am proud of my work on the UT Fine Arts Library Task Force committee. The Task Force consisted of UT librarians, College of Fine Arts faculty, and student representatives. Using feedback from the UT Austin community, interviewing peer institutions, and looking at metrics (such as circulation data) we created a report about possible outcomes for the Fine Arts Library collections and space. I am happy to report that the Fine Arts Library collections remain in the branch library and our spaces are now updated.

If you could go back in time and do part of your career or education over again, is there something you would have changed? A class you would have taken? A missed opportunity?

I wish I completed language courses in college. It was not a requirement for me and I was interested in pursuing other areas of study. However, having language skills are useful for many aspects of art librarianship including collection development and assisting scholars with research questions. I am planning to enroll in language classes at UT Austin through the staff educational benefit. I may apprendre le français, lerne Deutsch, impara l’italiano!

The Dual-Degree Art Librarian: Survey and Guide for Career Planning (by Autumn Wetli & Sarah Bilotta)

Whether or not a second Master’s, or perhaps even a PhD, is needed for the subject specialist librarian is an area of debate. We have decided to think about this conversation specifically in the terms of Art Librarianship. Gathered are some pros and cons to getting the advanced degree in art/art history, formulated from the thoughts of fellow ArLiSNAP followers and some scholarly articles on the subject.

For the purposes of informally ascertaining a consensus among early career art librarians or those interested in the field, we conducted some preliminary research with scholarly materials that address the educational requirements for professional art librarian jobs, as well as the opinions of more established art librarians. We then used this research as inspiration to formulate methods for engaging the perspectives of new and emerging art librarians. This culminated in circulating an open-ended question to evoke the thoughts and opinions of our colleagues, both via e-mail with librarians we have worked with and through the e-mail listserv of ArLiSNAP. In order to achieve varied and unrestricted opinions, we solicited feedback on the basis that we were curious to hear about colleagues’ experiences in the field in relation to this topic in a broad sense. All respondents were informed that this information would be used for an ArLiSNAP blog post (with the option to remain anonymous). For this survey and the resultant blog article, “subject Master’s degree” and “second Master’s degree” are intended to refer to a Master’s degree in a subject other than librarianship, obtained before, after, or in conjunction with a librarianship Master’s degree, and meant to bolster the scholarly research capabilities of a librarian in the field of the arts and design.

From the results of this survey, we have drawn conclusions not necessarily about the overarching value (or lack thereof) of the subject Master’s degree to the field of art librarianship, but about individual librarians’ experiences with or without a subject Master’s degree and patterns among this small sample of librarians, which may be indicative of trends warranting either further study or consideration for librarians who are considering a second Master’s degree.

From the nine responses we received from our call out for opinions, four individuals have a Master’s degree in a subject other than librarianship and five do not. Of the five respondents who do not have a second Master’s degree, two have completed partial coursework towards a second Master’s degree and one is currently applying to dual degree programs.

Responses from our survey

PROS

Research Experience
“[Getting a second Master’s degree] is a rewarding experience…something that has come in very handy as an academic librarian.”
-Librarian with a second Master’s

“I think I would consider pursuing a second Master’s degree to not only further my understanding of the field, but also have a better grasp on the type of research [that] is done at the graduate level by participating in it myself.”
-Librarian with a Master’s degree in librarianship, but without a subject Master’s

“…the [Master’s degree in Art History] provided me with appropriate knowledge of arts and art history subject areas; resources, tools, and methodologies; and vocabulary to meet the requirements of the co-op role, and that experience has been invaluable for shaping my readiness to enter the workforce in art librarianship.”
-Librarian with a Master’s degree in Art History, currently working on MLIS

“[Getting a subject Master’s degree] is a rewarding experience and really helped me learn how to sculpt a scholarly research project, something that has come in very handy as an academic librarian.”
-Librarian with an arts-related subject Master’s degree, currently working on MLIS

Job Possibilities
“I have held two professional librarian positions since graduating from library school, and both asked for an Art History MA as a preferred requirement.”
-Librarian with MLIS and MA in Art History

“…feedback [from others in the art librarianship field] has consistently been a positive assertion that having the two degrees will help me have a competitive edge in the job search.”
-Librarian with a Master’s degree in Art History, currently working on MLIS

“My current job does not require the second masters, but other positions I might be interested in down the line do require it for promotion…”
-Librarian with MLIS and partial coursework towards MA in Art History

Enhanced Opportunities for Professional Development
“Though I have yet to determine if — or how — having a second, subject specific Master’s will help my career in art librarianship, I can say that it has had a strong influence in my professional development throughout the MLIS program.”
-Librarian with a Master’s degree in Art History, currently working on MLIS

“[Having a subject Master’s degree] has gone a long way to gaining acceptance and interest from members of professional organizations that cover the intersection of arts and librarianship.”
-Librarian with an arts-related subject Master’s degree, currently working on MLIS

Strengthened Relationships with Art Scholars

“…it’s always helpful for an academic librarian to have a second master’s degree or even PhD. It can go a long way in your ability to gain respect or trust from faculty and administration.”
-Librarian with MLIS, previously enrolled in MA program in Art History

“I definitely find it easier to be an art & design librarian without an extra Master’s than I think I might serving art history [faculty].”
-Librarian with MLIS but no subject Master’s degree

“Having an advanced degree helps when you are working with senior scholars, whether curators or university academics.”
-Librarian with MA in Art History and Master’s degree in Librarianship

CONS

Cost
“[Enrollment in Master’s degree program in Art History] was costing a fortune, and I knew my loan debt was already staggering.”
-Librarian with MLIS and partial coursework towards MA in Art History

“To me the biggest reason not to get a second master’s was the money. I wasn’t sure that the investment would be necessary or pay off sufficiently to warrant the debt.”
-Librarian with MLIS but no subject Master’s degree

“If I could go back and do it again, the only thing I would change is lowering the amount of student loans I took out…Luckily I qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program because I work for a university, but who knows what will happen with that program in the near future…”
-Librarian with MLIS and MA in Art History

A Degree is Only What You Make of It
“I do think it’s a challenge to find a good position in the field regardless of whether you pursue the second degree.”
-Librarian with MLIS but no subject Master’s degree

“I think the more you do and achieve, the higher your chances will be for potentially landing that ideal position you’ve got your sights set on…”
-Librarian currently applying to Master’s degree programs

“…having served on a few search committees now, I can say that it’s not necessarily the education that gets you the job, but rather the way you present yourself and articulate the ways in which you can/have applied that education to a practical position as a librarian.”
-Librarian with MLIS and MA in Art History

Not All Art Librarian Positions Require a Subject Master’s

“[A second Master’s degree] is not required for my current role where I lead the library’s instruction program and work with a variety of subject areas.”
-Librarian with MLIS, previously enrolled in MA program in Art History

“[In my current position] the second Master’s is less needed because I’m not being asked to help with graduate level research. So in general, I think it depends on your position and the level of research you are expected to help with.”
-Librarian with MLIS but no subject Master’s degree

Responses in the Literature
In addition to reaching out to our colleagues, we looked at a couple articles that performed studies on the MLIS and an advanced subject degree. This was not an exhaustive search into the literature on this topic, but rather, a very brief look into the results of a couple similar surveys. Much like the results of our own informal survey, the importance of a second advanced subject degree, really depends on the individual and should be evaluated on case-by-case scenarios.

Echoing responses we heard from ArLiSNAP followers, one of pros of an advanced-subject degree was found in its ability to make the librarian a better researcher than if they had just pursued the MLIS. This helps the librarian in two ways. First, it better prepares them for research and publication of their own, which can help with career advancement in regards to tenure and/or promotion (Mayer & Terrill, 2005, p. 68). Secondly, the librarian has first-hand research experience that many patrons, perhaps particularly graduate students and faculty, need (ibid.) One article made an interesting note, that from their research, the demand for second masters or advanced degrees was found to be most desirable for library administrators (Ferguson, 2016, p. 732).

Many School of Information programs offer dual degrees, which allow students to receive the a second, subject specialized Master, at less cost and time than pursuing the MA/MS solely on its own. Art History as a second Masters is commonly a part of these programs. A few programs that offer such are The University of North Carolina, Indiana University Bloomington, Pratt Institute, and Kent State University.

References

Ferguson, J. (2016). Additional degree required: advanced subject knowledge and academic librarianship. Libraries and the Academy, 16(4), 721-736. Retrieved from https://muse.jhu.edu/article/632342

Mayer, J. & Terrill, L. J. (2005). Academic librarians’ attitudes about advanced-subject degrees. College & Research Libraries, 66(1), 59-70. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.66.1.59

Kress Fellowship in Art Librarianship – Yale University, New Haven, CT

Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library
Yale University, New Haven, CT

Fixed Duration Position: 10 months from date of hire; non-renewable

Expected Start Date: July 1, 2018

Yale University offers exciting opportunities for achievement and growth in New Haven, Connecticut. Conveniently located between Boston and New York, New Haven is the creative capital of Connecticut with cultural resources that include two major art museums, a critically-acclaimed repertory theater, state-of-the-art concert hall, and world-renowned schools of Architecture, Art, Drama, and Music.

THE UNIVERSITY AND THE LIBRARY

The Yale University Library, as one of the world’s leading research libraries, collects, organizes, preserves, and provides access to and services for a rich and unique record of human thought and creativity. It fosters intellectual growth and supports the teaching and research missions of Yale University and scholarly communities worldwide. A distinctive strength is its rich spectrum of resources, including around 15 million volumes and information in all media, ranging from ancient papyri to early printed books to electronic databases. The Library is engaging in numerous projects to expand access to its physical and digital collections. Housed in eighteen buildings including the Sterling Memorial Library, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, and the Bass Library, it employs a dynamic and diverse staff of approximately five hundred who offer innovative and flexible services to library readers. For additional information on the Yale University Library, please visit the Library’s web site at web.library.yale.edu.

THE ROBERT B. HAAS FAMILY ARTS LIBRARY
The Haas Family Arts Library at Yale consists of collections from three formerly-separate operating units: Art and Architecture, Arts of the Book, and Drama. Now located under one roof, these libraries support the Schools of Architecture, Art, and Drama, and the department of the History of Art, as well as the teaching and research needs of the Yale community beyond the visual arts. In addition, the Arts Library houses several prominent archival and special collections in Art and Architecture, Arts of the Book, and Drama, ranging from type specimens and woodblocks to theatrical archives to one of the world’s foremost collection of books on color. For additional information on the Haas Family Arts Library, please visit the Library’s web site at web.library.yale.edu/arts.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

The Yale University Library welcomes applications for the 2018/19 Kress Fellowship in Art Librarianship. The Kress Fellowship is intended for a recent graduate from library school who wishes to pursue a career in art librarianship. This fellowship is made possible through the generosity of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. Through this fellowship, the Kress Foundation seeks to achieve in the field of art librarianship what it has accomplished for art history and art conservation: ensuring the growth of the discipline by promoting the advancement of new professionals.

The Haas Family Arts Library at Yale serves a distinguished array of academic and museum programs, architects, artists and scholars. Kress Fellows have the opportunity to interact with faculty, staff and students in distinguished Schools of Architecture, Art, and Drama; a nationally ranked department of the History of Art; and two outstanding university art museums, the Yale Center for British Art and the Yale University Art Gallery. They also have occasion to collaborate with colleagues from throughout the Yale University Library, including the Sterling Memorial Library, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, and the library and rare books department of the Yale Center for British Art. The rich professional and scholarly resources of New York City and Boston’s art libraries and museums are within two hours’ travel, providing further opportunities for professional growth and professional contact with colleagues.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Kress Fellowship is a 10-month appointment and focuses on multiple areas of art librarianship including public services, collection development and management, special collections, and digital collections. Projects and activities will draw on subject areas served by the Haas Arts Library including the history of art, architecture, drama, and aligned area studies. The fellow will gain experience in reference services and library research education in the Haas Family Arts Library, Haas Arts Library Special Collections, and the Library and Archives of the Yale Center for British Art. Other activities will vary based on current Yale Library projects and the fellow’s interest and experience.

During their tenure at Yale, Kress Fellows are expected to pursue mutually agreed-upon projects resulting in a publishable paper, a new library service (such as a webpage or research guide), or other relevant deliverables. Kress Fellows are also introduced to a broad spectrum of professional activities and may have the opportunity to perform collection development activities or assist with library-based exhibitions. Kress Fellows also participate in library planning committees and task forces and engage in campus, regional, and national professional organizations and other collaborative activities. Fellows are expected to be professionally active and represent the Library and the University in the academic, scholarly, and professional community.

QUALIFICATIONS

Master’s degree from an ALA-accredited program for library and information science. Background in history of art, architecture or related arts disciplines. Excellent analytical, organizational, management, customer service, and interpersonal skills. Ability to effectively build partnerships and promote the benefits of change in an academic culture that often values ambiguity, diversity of opinion, and historic precedent. Ability to communicate effectively through both oral and written expression. Ability to work both independently and collegially in a demanding and rapidly changing environment.

Preferred: Advanced degree and/or relevant experience in history of art, architecture or related arts disciplines. Experience with web design and development and electronic information resources. Experience with HTML and XML. Reading knowledge of two or more Western European languages.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The Kress Fellowship is a competitive position. Applicants should submit a current resume or CV, a brief cover letter/statement of interest, and names and contact information for three professional references to Lindsay King via e-mail at lindsay.king@yale.edu, before February 1, 2018. The statement of interest is expected to reflect a genuine commitment to art librarianship and an interest in the provision of information services to the visual arts community. There is no application form. Please be sure to include “2018/19 Kress Fellowship” in the e-mail subject and cover letter. A search committee of Yale librarians will review submissions. The Kress Fellow will be in residence at Yale for ten months and will receive an award of $40,000, prorated over the fellowship term. Health insurance will be provided.

BACKGROUND CHECK REQUIREMENTS

All external candidates for employment will be subject to pre-employment background screening for this position, which may include motor vehicle and credit checks based on the position description and job requirements. Internal candidates may be subject to a motor vehicle or credit check for this position based on the position description and job requirements. All offers are contingent on successful completion of the required background check. Please visit http://your.yale.edu/policies-procedures/policies/hr-100-employment-policies for additional information on the background check requirements and process.

Yale University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. Yale values diversity in its faculty, staff, and students and strongly encourages applications from women and members of underrepresented minority groups.

The Practice and Problems of Digital Art History

I’ve written about the digital humanities (DH) before, posting a brief introduction to some DH tools, classes, and resources. In this post I want to focus specifically on the practice of DH in the field of art history. DH can bring a lot to field, but the practice of digital art history is also not without its challenges. The field of art history entered the digital world when the switch from teaching with slides to teaching with digital images occurred, but academia has pushed further into the digital realm with the increasing ubiquity of researching, publishing, and pursuing scholarship in digital environments (Zorich, 2013).

Not isolated to the field of art history is the reverence for the print publication. Print publishing is currently still the marker by which professors are evaluated for tenure and advancement, Deviating from this model could negatively affect chances for such (Zorich, 2013). Digital projects also present problems in their evaluation. As of yet, there are no general rules or guidelines on how to evaluate the merit of digital scholarship projects in academia. Difficulties also present themselves in the very visual nature of the art history field. Digital image analysis methods are not nearly as straightforward as digital text analysis. (Drucker, 2013 ). Text analysis using digital methods forms a major part of DH scholarship, providing research based on a distant reading of texts (Drucker, 2013 ) Digital methods for image analysis are still “far from being able to imitate human abilities of perception and analysis” (Drucker, 2013, p. 8).

Despite the challenges of digital art history, it is still very much a worthy field to pursue. One way art history faculty can dabble in digital art history, without the pressure and problems associated with doing so in their own research, is by bringing DH methods into the classroom (J. Schell, personal communication, December 4, 2017). The difficulty in evaluating projects still exists, how does a professor grade a digital project versus the standard term paper, but the stakes are lower (J. Schell, personal communication, December 4, 2017). DH in art history offers different ways for students to engage with the material, build skills, and spark their interest in cultural heritage in a different new way (J. Schell, personal communication, December 4, 2017).

Scalar, Omeka, and WordPress are popular tools that are used for creating digital collections and presenting digital exhibits. ImagePlot and ImageJ can be used for analyzing large sets of images. The type of digital tool used really depends on what type of question is being asked. Text analysis can be incorporated into art history studies, too. MALLETT and Voyant are two tools used for text analysis. It could be an interesting project to analyze the papers or letters from an artist’s personal archive. These are just tiny handful of digital tools that can be incorporated into art history scholarship and add meaning to the field.

So, where does the library and the art librarian fit into this? Subject specialists and liasons to art history departments may choose to explore these tools on their own and bring them to their faculty and students as seen fit. If a college has a department or librarian dedicated to DH, the art librarian can create connections between these departments and their own. Librarians have long been champions and purveyors of new technology.. I think even in departments that may be hesitant to move into digital art history territory, the art librarian can bring some simple DH tools into the practice in a way that suitably fits the environment. Creating digital exhibits is a great way to being work with digital scholarship, without using overly complicated tools or needing complex tech skills.

Lastly, I’d like to share some neat digital art history projects I found via the Frick Art Reference Library Digital Art History Lab.

Mapping Art Markets in Europe
Vincent Van Gogh The Letters
UCLA Rome Lab

Drucker, J. (2013). Is there a “digital” art history?. Visual Resources, 29(1-2), 5-13. DOI: 10.1080/01973762.2013.761106

Zorich, D. M. (2013). Digital art history: A community assessment. Visual Resources, 29(1-2), 14-21. DOI: 10.108010973762.2013.761108

A Success Story: An Interview with Coral Salomón, NDSR Fellow at The University of Pennsylvania Fisher Fine Arts Library

Can you tell us a little bit about your background, your current position, and how you got into the field of art librarianship?
Hello ARLIS/NA!,

I’m from Puerto Rico, but I moved to Boston when I was 18 to obtain my BA in International Relations. After that, I worked for a few years as a project manager in New York City’s translation industry.

I loved NYC’s wealth of cultural heritage institutions and as the years passed, I realized that I wanted to work within that sector. I stumbled upon Pratt Institute’s MLIS curriculum and decided that library school was the right fit for me.

I entered the field of art librarianship thanks to one of the cultural heritage institutions I admired from afar. I was fortunate to obtain a fellowship through Pratt at the Frick Art Reference Library where I was part of NYARC’s web archiving program. It was an incredible experience and I learned a lot from my supervisors, colleagues, and by working within the walls of The Frick Collection. Even though I’ve moved on to a different role, I feel a lot of gratitude towards The Frick. They made me feel like family since day 1 and gave me the confidence to pursue this specialty, even though I don’t have a formal background in the arts.

I’m currently the National Digital Stewardship Resident at the University of Pennsylvania Fisher Fine Arts Library. My yearlong IMLS-funded residency focuses on tackling issues pertaining to the preservation of digital artwork and art information.

You can read more about my project and my cohorts’ projects here.

What does a typical day at work look like for you? What work are you doing as an NDSR art resident?
My project has three components:
• Creating guidelines for a web archiving program focused on the arts.
• Providing repository recommendations for born-digital artworks and art resources produced at Penn.
• Writing a white paper on the acquisition and preservation of publications hosted on apps, YouTube, podcasts, and other untraditional digital platforms.

I’ve been interviewing a lot of people here at Penn to get a better sense of what are the needs of the community. A typical day might include interviewing professors in the fine arts department, curators, museum library directors or artists working on projects affiliated with Penn. I type my notes and then create a small summary of the conversations in a spreadsheet.

I’ve also been meeting with fellow Penn librarians and digital archivists to gather their recommendations and avoid siloing my work. Librarians, archivists, and new media scholars at other institutions have also generously offered me advice and discussed best practices in relation to my project.

So, my typical day involves a lot of listening and typing! Next semester, I’ll begin implementing some of the lessons I’ve learned during the past 4.5 months.

One achievement that I’m proud of is the mapathon for Puerto Rico disaster relief Penn Libraries hosted. I helped organize it, and while it doesn’t fall neatly within art librarianship, it’s an example of how libraries can rise to action in times of need. I was blown away by the student participation and the institution’s support.

Do you have any advice for current students and/or those on the job market?
My advice for current students is to seek out internships or part/full-time jobs in the field while they’re still in school. Internships make life financially difficult, so try to apply to ones that pay or to funds like the ARLIS/NA Wolfgang M. Freitag Internship Award which provide financial support to students seeking out unpaid opportunities.

For those on the job market: apply to your dream jobs, even if you think you’re not qualified. Keep on blogging, going to events, get coffee with people working in the profession, all those things your professors told you to do. Also, networking is not evil. I thought networking was terrible when I was younger, but now I’ve realized it’s just about reaching out to people that are cool and are doing admirable things within this line of work.

I know this is easier said than done, but don’t take job rejections personally. I’ve been surprised that I’ve connected with people (in a positive way!) who’ve turned down my job application. Always thank people and, if you get a human-generated rejection, ask what factors influenced the hiring decision. Sometimes people reply and you get really good advice–I got better at writing cover letters thanks to a kind rejection.

Remember, you are an awesome person and the market does not determine your worth! If anyone wants more specific advice, feel free to tweet me at @csalinphilly!

What were/are some challenges for you as an art librarian? Are these related to larger challenges in art librarianship?
The attack against net neutrality is a huge challenge. Art libraries are boundary-pushers in the effort to preserve and provide access to our digital cultural heritage, as demonstrated by our web archiving programs. This measure, which endangers the openness of the internet and threatens to increase the digital divide, imperils our work and the ability of the public to access our collections and materials. As librarians and archivists, an open and democratic web is vital to ensure we can provide information to all.

Tell us something fun about yourself! What do you do in your spare time? If you could take a trip to visit any library in the world, which would it be?
I really like to bike and luckily Philly is a great biking city.

I also enjoy exploring museums. This year I saw some really great exhibits, including the Whitney’s survey of Hélio Oiticica’s work and the Guggenheim’s Agnes Martin retrospective. I also enjoyed Philadelphia’s public art project, Monument Lab. The pieces were really thoughtful and offered a fun way of getting to know the city.

Someday, I would like to visit the Biblioteca Nacional José Martí, Cuba’s national library. Cuba and Puerto Rico were the last outposts of the Spanish empire in the Caribbean, and I wonder what tales of our combined history are safeguarded there.

Job Posting / Teaching & Research Librarian Fine Arts / Concordia University / Montreal, Quebec

Teaching & Research Librarian Fine Arts – Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec

Concordia University Library seeks a dynamic and innovative librarian for a tenure-track position as Teaching & Research Librarian – Fine Arts.

Concordia University is one of Canada’s most dynamic universities in one of North America’s most livable cities. It reflects a unique blend of commitments to diversity, accessibility, social responsibility, and innovation. With over 45,000 students (7,439 international) and over 2,000 full-time and part-time professors, Concordia is recognized for offering a rich academic experience combined with strong community engagement.

Concordia University Library provides collections and services fundamental to academic success, creation, the advancement of knowledge, and lifelong learning. With a team of 120 librarians, professionals and support staff who put student and faculty success at the centre of their practice, the Library collaborates to achieve the goals outlined in our strategic plan and in the University’s strategic framework and directions. For more information about the services and operations of the Library, see http://library.concordia.ca/.

The Teaching & Research Librarian – Fine Arts is a member of the Library’s professional team, reporting to the Associate University Librarian, Research & Graduate Studies. The incumbent provides support for teaching, learning and research activities in the visual and fine arts to enable and facilitate exploration, knowledge creation and learning. The incumbent develops and implements initiatives to support the use of digital tools for research and teaching and contributes substantively to a variety of Library and University strategic initiatives and projects, through committees, working groups, and project teams. Responsibilities also include research, publication and service to meet requirements for tenure and promotion.

Librarians are members of the Concordia University Faculty Association (CUFA).

RESPONSIBILITIES

Continually develops knowledge of information and media resources within the visual and fine arts and acts as a resource person for librarians, staff, faculty and students.

Provides research help and consultations regarding the discovery and use of information and media resources within the visual and fine arts.

Continually develops knowledge of teaching and learning practices in higher education generally, and in the disciplinary context of the visual and fine arts.

Prepares and delivers curricular and co-curricular instruction for classroom, library and online learning environments.

Develops a thorough familiarity with all aspects of the research and research-creation lifecycle within the visual and fine arts including research methods, research-creation, digital tools, scholarly communication and research data management.

Advises and collaborates with faculty, students and colleagues to facilitate research and, research-creation activities, digital scholarship, data management and scholarly outputs in the visual and fine arts.

Develops and manages digital and print collections in assigned visual and fine arts subject areas.

Participates in collection evaluation, development and management, in consultation with faculty, librarians, and the Associate University Librarian, Collection Services.

Coordinates and contributes to the Library’s exhibits.

Participates on committees, working groups and project teams to contribute to the development of Library and University strategic initiatives and projects.

Contributes to local, regional and national initiatives and projects

QUALIFICATIONS

Professional expertise

A graduate degree from a library school accredited by the American Library Association, or approved equivalent education and training acceptable for membership in the Corporation of Professional Librarians of Québec.

An undergraduate degree and/or graduate degree in the visual or fine arts or in a related discipline is an asset.

Extensive and authoritative knowledge of information resources and sources in a variety of media available to subject areas within the visual and fine arts.

Knowledge of the research and research-creation lifecycles within the visual and fine arts.

Demonstrated ability to develop and deliver effective instructional activities.

Knowledge of scholarly communication models and practices including open access, institutional repositories, and research data management.

Knowledge of research communication and collaboration tools as well as digital scholarship tools (such as data visualization, timeline, mapping, online exhibits, text mining) and the ability to advise on their value and use.

Knowledge of collections development and management issues, concepts and methods in academic libraries.

General Competencies

Demonstrated ability to develop successful partnerships and relationships with faculty and researchers.

Demonstrated project management skills and ability to handle multiple priorities and tasks as well as projects.

Strong motivation, aptitude and interest to establish student and faculty success as the centre of their professional practice.

Ability to work both independently and collaboratively, share expertise, work in teams and negotiate solutions with diverse groups.

Excellent communication skills. Strong analytical and creative problem-solving skills.

Curiosity, drive and flexibility so as to discover and try new things, in support of Library and University strategic directions.

Oral and written fluency in English is essential. Oral fluency in French and basic written French are assets.

Salary and Benefits

Compensation and rank are commensurate with qualifications and experience. The position includes a competitive and comprehensive benefit package.

Concordia University is committed to employment equity.

Application Procedure

Interested candidates must supply the following in one (1) single PDF attachment

· a letter of interest;

· curriculum vitae, which must include a statement of your citizenship;

· the names, email addresses and telephone numbers of three professional references.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority. Only selected candidates will be contacted. Interviews are planned for the week of February 5, 2018. The anticipated position start date will be June 1, 2018.

Candidates should apply in confidence by email to Ms. Sandra Biron, Library Personnel Assistant, at lib-admin@concordia.ca

Applications must be received by no later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday January 15, 2018.

Performing Arts Librarian at Reed College in Portland, OR

The Reed College Library seeks a performing arts librarian to collaborate closely with the faculty and students of the dance, music, and theatre academic programs, supporting teaching, creative work, and research activities in the performing arts. This role interacts frequently with Reed students, faculty, and staff as well as members of the public, manage collections including media and scores, and deliver course-related instruction and research assistance. The performing arts librarian manages the Performing Arts Resource Center’s library services, hiring, training, and supervising library staff and students as well as coordinating with instructional technology staff who share the Performing Arts Resource Center space. This position participates with other librarians in providing general research assistance and library instruction to the Reed community.

Core responsibilities for this position include providing instruction, research assistance, and conducting outreach activities in support of the Performing Arts disciplines (Music, Theatre, and Dance); managing the library services provided by the Performing Arts Resource Center (PARC), including circulation of collections and equipment, as well as hiring, training, and managing library staff and student assistants at the PARC; providing leadership and expertise in the acquisition and management, and use of collections that support the performing arts. As a Reed College librarian, this position actively participates in professional activities of the library and the college by leading or serving on committees, providing training and educational opportunities for staff, and developing and maintaining connections with local, regional, and national professional communities.

The successful candidate will be knowledgeable about research and practice in the performing arts; have experience with the creation, organization, and use of audio and video media, scores, and other collections relating to the performing arts; and have the ability to collaborate with others and manage multiple priorities. Passion for student success, organization skills, attention to detail, and the ability to communicate well across diverse audiences are essential. They will also have a strong interest in contributing to the library’s research assistance, instruction, and outreach initiatives including promoting the use of library collections and services in the undergraduate curriculum, particularly in the performing arts.

How to Apply / Contact

For a complete job description, application instructions, and more information about the Reed College, please see: http://jobs.reed.edu/positions/performing-arts-librarian.html

Materials Collection at The University of Michigan

Image by Sara Samuels

Libraries hold all types of things other than just books. The University of Michigan’s Art, Architecture, and Engineering Library is just one of several academic art libraries that has a Materials Collection. Comprised of around 800 samples, the collection is meant to inspire artists and designers by giving them the opportunity to touch and experience different materials in real life. Most of the collection comes from a materials consultancy company called Material Connexion, but the library adds items by request, too. Its curator, librarian Rebecca Price, hopes that with the growth of the collection and increasing awareness of its existence, more students and faculty will reach out and make requests for materials to purchase.

Image by Joanna Thielen

Most use of the Materials Collection comes from students and faculty in Architecture or Art & Design programs. Classes have used the collection to create sustainable packaging designs and signage assignments, just to name a few examples. The collection was also used by students in the Dance department who were searching for an iridescent material for costumes. The library will be loaning out some of the collection to be on display at college makerspace, hopefully sparking more interest in the collection.

Material made from snail excrement (Image by Sara Samuels)

You can learn more about The University of Michigan’s Materials Collection here. Some other universities I found that house similar collections are Princeton, Harvard, Kendall College of Art and Design, and The University of Utah.