London Museum holds a library collection of 28,000 volumes. Traditionally used only by staff as a research resource, the Library has now the opportunity to transform its service as the organisation prepares to open a brand new museum. One of the consequent streams of work taking place is the audit and recataloguing of the complete library collection. Due to the nature of the holdings (and some historical developments), this is happening in two collections management systems, the library’s and the museum’s. This article looks at the complexities and the opportunities that this dual recording brings.
How can a uniform approach be applied to art archives with different origins? How can an artist’s personal library be arranged, classified, and made available to users? Is there a digital strategy that effectively addresses the unique requirements of different materials? What challenges arise during the process and how can they be confronted? These and other questions were considered at the outset of three projects at the Art Library at Fundación Juan March: the legacy of an artist, a collective archive of artists, and the historical archive of the exhibitions department. In this article, we undertake a journey through each of the projects, highlighting and reflecting about the most relevant aspects of their management, showcasing some of the materials, explaining the processes undertaken and our vision for future work.
The Library of the Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España 1 (Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute) is one of the most important libraries specialized in the conservation and restoration of cultural heritage. Its collection, originated in 1990 after the merger of predecessor institutions, contains more than 50,000 publications, including books, exhibition catalogues, conference proceedings, and specialized journals. Its architectural design, 2 by architects Fernando Higueras and Antonio Miró, is a prominent example of brutalism, with a circular structure that integrates vegetation, and was inaugurated in 1990. Throughout its history, the library has maintained an approach prioritizing open access for both internal and external users, and offering services such as in-room consultation, internal loans, document reproduction, and specialized bibliographies. In recent years, its activity has grown, reflecting an expansion of services and staff. Among future projects are the digitization of collections, subscription to electronic journals, and integration of its catalogue into various national and international bibliographic networks, such as BCIN. 3 These efforts aim to solidify the library as a leading institution in cultural heritage documentation preservation and dissemination, adapting to modern trends in library science and user experience. This article is an adaptation of the communication presented at the 10 th International Conference of Art Libraries held in Museo Nacional de Arte de Cataluña (Barcelona, Spain) on October 3-5 th 2024.
The Library and Documentation Centre of the MNCARS is a specialised research centre that collects and preserves books and documentation on artists and artistic movements from 1881 to the present day. Despite the specific nature of this library and the uniqueness of its holdings, access to its collections is open not only to researchers, but also to the general public. Far from considering this situation as a threat, it was seen as an opportunity and was one of the reasons for the birth of Casi libros (Almost Books). Almost Books is the Library’s public programme and proposes an approach to its spaces, collections and services going beyond its nature as a centre for research into contemporary art. The programme, implemented since 2021, understands the Library as a reflective and participatory space, promoting links between visitors and its documentary and artistic collections. Its lines of action - some developed inside the Library, others outside its walls - are based on the book and the document as common central elements, generating different projects, such as: Outros libros, y eso (Other Books and So), a narrative and essay reading club; Aguja imantada (Magnetised Needle), a programme of visits to the documentary exhibitions of Space D and the Library’s facilities, Mirar de cerca (Look Closely), a user training programme based on the collections held by the centre, and Salirse del Margen (Leave the Margin), a series of guided tours of the museum collection based on readings of books and documents stored in the Library. The innovative and plural nature of this programme has been recognised externally (Consejo de Cooperación Bibliotecaria/Council for Library Cooperation Seal finalist project 2022). The experiences and the feedback gained during the development of this library outreach programme have enabled us to identify strengths and weaknesses that will be adressed in the coming years in order to make the Almost Books project more coherent, solid and cohesive in the future.
What happens when responsibility devolves upon a library for a wider institution’s heritage pictures and sculptures, albeit with neither additional resources nor art-historical knowledge to care for them? The situation is, if not the norm, by no means unique. At the central University of London art joined the rare books portfolio. How did we cope? This article describes the sort of artwork under consideration, how we catalogued it and why, what we did on the website, and how we could turn a potential burden into an asset, not only by using the art to strengthen corporate identity, but by exploiting it as visual signposts to library strengths. An overall spotlight is now on issues of ethnicity, diversity and inclusion, and art is becoming important to show the University’s values. As the profile of the pictures increased, so did the library profile within the University. Ultimately, it made sense for librarians to care for the art collection.
