Art Libraries Society of North America 32^nd Annual Conference

The Roosevelt Hotel, New York City – April 15-21, 2004

Workshop III. They Never Covered This in Library School: Basic and Advanced Tools for Research in the Western Middle Ages Parts I and II

Friday April 16

Moderators: Terrie Wilson and Linda Zieper

Workshop Committee members: Barbara Prior (chair), Barbara Polowy, Lou Adrean, Sara Harrington, Laurel Bliss, Linda Zieper, Terrie Wilson

This work shop was another is the ongoing series, "They Never Covered This in Library School." The workshop was sponsored by RISS (Reference and Information Services Section), and participants could choose to attend either for either a half or whole day. The New York Public Library graciously hosted the workshop in a new, highly impressive, classroom facility. The workshop filled up early and had a waiting list.

The workshop was split in terms of chronology and geography. The morning session began with a focus on late antique, early Christian, and Byzantine art. Speakers included Tom Jacoby (late antique/early Christian) and Deborah Brown (Byzantine), both of whom presented highly informative discussions of their respective areas and supplied attendees with lengthy bibliographies. After a short break, participants returned to receive an introduction and overview of the Index of Christian Art from its director, Dr. Colum Hourihane. Dr. Hourihane began his presentation with the history of the Index, then summarized the transition from the print to electronic versions. He concluded with a demonstration of the online version. The workshop broke for lunch.

The afternoon section was supposed to begin with a "hands-on" session with the Index of Christian Art. Unfortunately, only the speakers' computer was registered for the online version, so after a brief question and answer period, we went on to the next speaker. Covering the "dark ages", or early medieval art, Mary Clare Altenhofen gave an enlightening discussion. She also had a bibliography for attendees. The last speaker of the day was Dr. Suzanna Simor, who spoke about late or "high" medieval art, architecture and resources in the field. Dr. Simor's bibliography was extensive and invaluable as a resource in its own right. Together with Mary Clare Altenhofen, Dr. Simor also provided a list of LC subject headings for medieval topics.

After a long but information-packed day, the workshop drew to a close with time for questions and completion of evaluations. Overall, attendees, committee members and speakers indicated the workshop was a success. Look for the next in the series "They Never Covered This in Library School" at the 2005 Houston conference!

Terrie Wilson