Art Libraries Society
Central Plains
ARLIS/CP is a chapter of:
Central Plains Irregular
Number 37, September 2003
MEMBER NEWS
Kansas
Ron Michael continues his work as Curator at the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery in Lindsborg. He is also serving as an adjunct instructor at Bethany College, teaching an Introduction to Ceramics class.
The Sandzén Gallery is preparing a traveling exhibition titled "Sandzén and the New Land" which will go to the Lakes Arts Center in Okoboji, Iowa. Also underway are several traveling print exhibitions.
Ron has also been creating and exhibiting his ceramic work. His most recent exhibition is titled "When Clay Ruled the World" and is showing at Small World Gallery in Lindsborg.
Missouri
Ellen Petraits, Washington University, St. Louis, sends along the following
news items. Carmen Doering started working as the new Art Reference Librarian
on September 15th. Carmen recently completed her MLS from Emporia State
University. She is A.B.D. in Art History and holds a M.A. in art history
both from University of Kansas, Lawrence.
The groundbreaking for the new Sam Fox Arts Center is scheduled for April
14, 2004. A new Art & Architecture Library will be located within
the Arts Center. The architectural firm for the project is Maki & Associates,
Fumohiko Maki, principal.
LUNA Insight has been selected as the system to provide university-wide
digital image distribution. The implementation process has started and
public access is scheduled to begin December 2003.
Gloria Short left the Springfield Art Museum last summer but plans to stay in touch via our mailing list. “So far,” she writes, “retirement goes well. I'm still remodeling my kitchen, but it nears completion. I still haven't used my New York fund on the kitchen remodeling, so I still hope to see everyone next April at the 2004 ARLIS Conference.”
Susan Potter is Gloria’s replacement at the Springfield Art Museum.
Oklahoma
Tom Young, Philbrook Art Museum, organized two exhibitions recently.
The first exhibition is titled "Artists' Books from the Minnesota
Center for the Book Arts," (June 29-October 19, 2003) which includes
a selection of their Winter Books and books produced by their Jerome
Fellows. The annual Winter Book is a collaborative effort between a literary
work, artists, printers, etc. Artists are selected to be Jerome Fellows
based on applications to work at the Center on proposed projects.
The second exhibition "Matthaus Merian and his views of European
Cities," (October 26, 2003 - January 25, 2004) is drawn from Merian's
work "Topographia Germaniae,” an encyclopedia of topographical
views of German cities begun in 1642. The exhibition will include some
of the original volumes as well as selected individual etchings from
companion volumes for other European countries.
Nebraska
These days, writes Kay Logan-Peters, the UNL Libraries are faring a little better. In May the NU Board of Regents approved a library fee to generate additional revenue for the University Libraries. Every student is assessed $2 per credit hour to support library services. With over 22,000 students this amounts to a significant amount of money. We are adding several new librarian positions and a web editor. Funding for new projects is available, and several existing services are being upgraded. What a relief after the past year of budget cuts.
The Architecture Library Visual Resources Collection received funding
to begin digitizing our instructional collection. We are partnering with
several faculty members to scan the images they use regularly in class.
Judy Winkler, our image curator, has five student assistants, plus additional
help from our technical services department, to make all of this happen.
By the end of the academic year, we will have at least three image intensive
courses converted to digital format.
Kay's new position as Chair of Access and Branch Services is providing plenty of challenges. In addition to retaining her responsibilities as Architecture Librarian, she is also responsible for Circulation, ILL, Documents, Microforms, and 7 small branch libraries. The entire department has about 35 staff members. In 2005, three of the small branches will close, and our new remote storage facility will open, becoming part of Access and Branch Services.
This undertaking will involve moving staff to
new positions, closing facilities, shifting collections in the main
library
as well as to the storage facility, and lots of details we haven't
yet anticipated. Construction on the storage facility, which we are calling
a Library Materials Depository, begins in the spring.
Finally, Kay was recently appointed to the search committee for a new Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. This position reports directly to the Chancellor and is the chief academic officer of the University, including the direct supervisor of the academic deans and other vice chancellors. This is the first time in several years the Libraries have had representation on a high-level search committee. Kay is both eager and apprehensive about this assignment, particularly since her boss, the Dean of Libraries, reports to the SVC.
Chris Jorgensen, formerly with the Joslyn Art Museum, has accepted a
new position as Reference/Web Services Librarian at Creighton University.
Mari Russell is the Director of Library Programs at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Mari and her staff moved the collections from the old library into a new 7.8 million dollar facility on July 30 and 31. The IAIA Library, located in the new LTC building, officially opened on August 12, 2003.
The new library, at 12,540 square feet, is spacious with well appointed, beautiful furnishings, excellent lighting, and floor to ceiling windows that overlook the mountain ranges to the east and the south of Santa Fe. The main entrance to the library faces north to the Plaza center. The Plaza is designed as the center, the heart of the campus. Everything on the IAIA campus radiates from the Plaza center.
There are numerous persons who through the years have contributed to the vision and realization of the new library. The library staff wishes to thank all that have made the library a reality. There have been numerous visitors to the library since it opened.
One of the visitors, Mario Nick Klimiades, Library and Archives Director of the Billie Jane Baguley Library and Archives at the Heard Museum, made the following comment: “I had the pleasure of seeing the new and spectacular Institute of American Indian Arts Library during Santa Fe Indian Market this August. This is a magnificent facility with a stunning location, great architecture, handsome furnishings and floor coverings that are reminiscent of Dan Namingha paintings. I want to extol the importance and the beauty of this spectacular facility.”
Other features of the library include a wireless network, areas for quiet reading, group study rooms, audio/visual viewing stations, work areas for 23 computers, a laptop computer center, a magazine/ newspaper reading area with comfortable seating, and shelving to accommodate growth of the library collection.
Offices for staff are easily accessible to patrons; a visual resources room houses photos from the National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution and a slide collection. There is also a climate controlled archives room to house the history of IAIA, the T.C. Cannon Special Collection, the Lloyd Kiva New Special Collection and future acquisitions.
In the future the Archival Center will be used to increase student, faculty, staff, tribal, and academic research of Native American arts and cultures.