Museum Library Division Business Meeting Minutes
ARLIS/NA Conference, St. Louis
Saturday, March 23, 2002
8:00-9:30 a.m.

The minutes from the 2001 Business Meeting were approved with minor alterations.

The current officers were introduced, including Mr. Ken Soehner, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Division Moderator, Ms. Francis Clymer, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, incoming Co-moderator, and Ms. Eumie Imm-Stroukoff, Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Update column Editor.  Mr. Jeffrey Weidman, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, incoming Co-moderator, was unable to attend.

Ms. Imm-Stroukoff was nominated as Moderator of the Division for 2004 by Ms. Jeannette Dixon, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and was seconded by Ms. Clymer.  Ms. Imm-Stroukoff was unanimously elected Division Moderator for 2004.

Following this, nomination of Update editor occurred.  Current editor Ms. Imm-Stroukoff provided the group with a description of the duties, which includes the solicitation of ideas over ARLIS-L, editing of the column, addressing research topics, and incorporating museum news.  Ms. Lilah Mittelstaedt, Philadelphia Museum of Art, volunteered and was elected to serve as next year’s editor.

During Mr. Soehner’s tenure he undertook the gathering of public service policies.  He felt that this would be an effective way to tap into the collective wisdom of the group.  He found that this did not come to fruition for a variety of reasons.  The first of which was that it was in some ways a reinvention of the wheel, because ALA has created a similar range of policies in the past.  Secondarily, it was felt that these types of policies are consulted on an as needed basis, rather than developed or consulted systematically.  Furthermore, use of the listserv can tap this collective wisdom at will.

Ms. Imm-Stroukoff reported on the status of the Update column.  She noted that two columns had been written during the past year.  The first focused on the development of the Solo Librarians Discussion Group, which recruited 17 active members.  The second addressed MOMA’s reduction in hours, as well as reductions at other institutions.

Mr. Roger Lawson, National Gallery of Art, discussed the recent work of NINCH (The National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage) which last gathered in December 2001.  NINCH is a non-profit organization that is funded by the Mellon Foundation.  It has recently published the Guide to Good Practice in the Digital Representation & Management of Cultural Heritage Material.  It has also recently held a series of copyright town hall meetings across the country, which focused on such issues as copyright, trademark, the information commons, as well as material in the public domain.

Ms. Joan Benedetti, LACMA, announced that she will serve on a panel discussion at this conference devoted to the concerns of solo librarians.  In preparation for this she conducted a survey that was sent to 44 art librarians, who were members of a solo librarians discussion group.  Of this grouping, 31 were art museum librarians.  Of the 44 art librarians poled, 27 respondents replied - a 55% rate of return.  Her motivation was partly a personal one as she wanted to determine what had happened in the four intervening years since she had left her solo position.  The questionnaire was comprised of 25 questions relating to size, budget, staff, etc.  Ms. Benedetti indicated that she will post a message via ARLIS-L indicating when the results have been tabulated.  She will then send the complete results to individuals as requested.

Ms. Lori Thorrat, Cleveland Museum of Art, expressed that she sees a lot of diversity in the division, and added that we don’t have a strong sense of who we are.  She indicated that Ms. Benedetti’s survey might shed some light on best practices.

Ms. Clymer, incoming Co-moderator, welcomed suggestions for topics of discussion during the coming year.  She put forth the possibility that the division could build upon Ms. Benedetti’s survey by including mid- to large-size art museum libraries.  Another topic proposed was impact that technology has had upon user expectations, as well as upon the resources available within our institutions.  Further, she suggested that the group could build upon Mr. Soehner’s concept of a spec kit. 

Ms. Dixon proposed a rejuvenation of the Museum Library Director’s Discussion Group that has convened at past conferences.

Another suggestion from the floor was the mounting of collection policies on the ARLIS/NA website, as well as the inclusion of statistics.  Mr. Soehner commented upon the issue of maintenance of the site and the challenges of updating information in a timely manner.

Ms. Meg Klinkow, Kenamore and Klinkow, supported the idea of compiling a range of policies and approaches, so that others could learn from one another, rather than view a gathering of policies as a method for establishing a standard.

As a follow-up to this, another member suggested that a bibliography be compiled of mission statements and policies, in order to create a gathering of best practices. 

Mr. Soehner addressed a topic of concern for many - erosion of institutional support.  He asked whether this was a trend or merely an aberration.  He volunteered to moderate a session on museum libraries that focused on survival strategies.  When canvassing the membership prior to the conference, he was pleased to learn of several expansions projects underway or completed at the following institutions: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Amon Carter Museum , Philadelphia Museum of Art, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, to name a few.  However, many others are now facing cutbacks in staff, and in some cases the closure of libraries altogether.  He felt that part of the reason for such closures is that libraries don’t offer much in the way of revenue to the institutions that they support.  He suspected that in these difficult times there may be a bust to follow the boom of the last five years.  Mr. Soehner asked for broader confirmation of these varying trends.  Are people seeing staff cuts, postponements of expansions or other projects?

Ms. Susan Nurse, Memorial Art Gallery, provided testimony as to the condition of her library.  She noted that the library is used less frequently by college students for a variety of reasons.  Several reasons stated were cutbacks by schools in art programs, an increasing number of adjunct faculty members who are not as prone to encourage students to use libraries, as well as increasing access to collections via the web.  On a positive note, her library has received a grant to start an educational resource center in the library, which she is willing to address at next year’s conference.  Despite the low number of users, circulation is up 400% percent over the past year.  Ms. Nurse noted that the library is part of the education department.

Ms. Nancy McKowpen, Dayton Art Institute, has seen a double in usage recently.  Part of their success has been as a result of programming that focused around exhibits.  She also noted that her library is part of the education department, which has served her quite well.

Ms. Rodica Preda, Frick Art Reference Library, commented upon the differences between those libraries within education departments and those outside.

Ms. Klinkow noted that Ms. Nancy Simon, previously of the Denver Art Museum, was not present at the conference this year as the library at her institution has been closed.  She suggested that we lobby to ensure that this does not happen in the future.  Ms. Ann Abid, Cleveland Museum of Art, commented that Denver has never had a strong view of libraries, and as a result has had little support.

Mr. Soehner commented that this was an unfortunate trend this past year, as a number of our colleagues are not present as a result of cutbacks and closures.  One way to counteract this is to make ourselves an integral part of the institution.

Mr. Milan Hughston, MOMA, noted that building projects can have a negative impact upon museum libraries.  They are often exciting times, but can make it difficult for libraries to remain focused during times of transition.  Mr. Hughston proposed a program for Baltimore tentatively entitled “How to Cope with an Expansion Project.”

Mr. Soehner noted that increases in infrastructure often do not result in increases in staff levels.

Ms. Debby Aframe, Worcester Art Museum, noted that their library could well have been closed were it not for the support of a local university, the College of Holy Cross, who now manage and provide funding for the library.  This is the first of a three-year contract.  As can be seen, this is still a precarious situation.

Ms. Ursula Kolmstetter, Indianapolis Museum of Art, noted the loss of a librarian at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. 

Ms. Heidi Hass, Pierpont Morgan Library, stated that it is important to maintain open lines of communication throughout the year with your financial officers.  This will help to alleviate financial crises. 

Ms. Barbara Mathe, American Museum of Natural History, indicated that institutions are no longer solely about research and education, but about the box office.  She used the Smithsonian as an example.  She further noted that they are now doing more projects than ever, like the recent expansion of web projects such as the American Museum of Natural History Congo Expedition.  However, the same level of staff is expected to do more work.

Ms. Liz O’Keefe, Pierpont Morgan Library, noted that they have a big expansion planned, which may result in a temporary move to Queens.

Ms. Abid indicated that she recently conducted an informal survey of four institutions regarding staffing levels for various job functions.  She attempted to gauge the number of staff members utilized for each function.  Ms. Dixon requested that Ms. Abid make the resulting data available to the group.

Ms. Patrice O’Donahue, Arkansas Arts Center, stated that funding is a concern at her library.  They are presently looking for grant funding, as their budget has been cut.  She would like to hear more about how others utilize volunteers as a method for dealing with lean budgets.

Ms. Kathleen Stacey, Walters Art Library, addressed the issue of budgets, indicating that volunteers, boards, and friends groups can be excellent sources of funding.

Mr. Floyd Sweeting, Frick Art Reference Library, recommended that libraries consider applying for e-rate discounts for which schools and libraries are eligible.  He will post the relevant information to ARLIS-L.

Ms. Joan Stahl reviewed the types of session formats that will be available at the upcoming conference in Baltimore.  Unlike previous years, individuals are encouraged to submit proposals.  It is no longer necessary to get division or section support for proposals.  Further, there will not be any AskArlis sessions.  However, a point-counterpoint format will be made available.

Mr. Soehner polled the group for session proposals.  Based upon the preceding discussion, the following were suggested “Synergy: partnering in creative ways” and “Coping with cuts: creative budgeting. ”

Susanna Tejada, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, made a proposal to the group about co-sponsoring a session with the International Relations Committee related to Nordic libraries. 

Another session proposal from the floor focused upon biennials and fairs.

Mr. Soehner noted in closing that he felt the scheduling of the business meeting and discussion group together was a good combination, as it brings together members of the museum library community for both of these important discussions.

Respectfully submitted by Jon Evans on May 13, 2002.