Annual
Report
(2003)
Leadership
Update
2003-2004
Chairperson:
Heather Ball
Art and Architecture Librarian
Art and Architecture Library
Virginia Tech
2003-2004
Executive Board Liaison:
Carol H. Graney
Director of University Libraries
University of the Arts
2003-2004
Committee Members:
Jacqueline H. Allen
Director of Libraries and Imaging Services
Dallas Museum of Art
Tom Reed Caswell
Assistant University Librarian
Architecture and Fine Arts Library
Sara Harrington
Art Librarian
Rutgers University
V. Heidi Hass
Head of the Reference Collection
Pierpont Morgan Library
Henry Pisciotta
Arts and Architecture Librarian
University Libraries
Pennsylvania State University
We were happy to gain two new
members on the ARLIS/NA Professional Development Committee (PDC) in 2003. Tom Caswell (University of Florida) and Sara Harrington
(Rutgers University) both attended the annual meeting in 2003 and have actively
supported the committee in their first year of service.
2003
Meeting
The 2003 annual meeting of the
PDC included discussions on how to more actively recruit art and art history
students into our profession and how to better promote and get more applicants
for the Internship Award. There was
also a more general discussion about the core competencies project.
ARLIS/NA
Internship Award
In 2003, the PDC presented the
third ARLIS/NA Internship Award to Laura Mosher.
Laura completed her internship at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) under
the tutelage of Cynthia Wolfe in May of 2003.
She submitted her report to the PDC in August.
Here is an excerpt from her report:
During
my internship, I assisted with various library projects, including: re-labeling,
correcting, re-housing and filing artist files; correcting the bibliographic
records of websites catalogued in the Library OPAC to conform to current
cataloging standards; re-housing library materials in protective sleeves or
other custom holders for preservation, including checking materials in and out
of preservation as necessary; and re-housing scrap-booked photos from the Latin
American Archive collection for preservation purposes.
Occasionally, I assisted with paging duties (retrieving library materials
for patrons). I spent one morning
of each week at the reference desk, assisting the user services librarian and
the general public with patron information requests, answering phone reference
requests, and responding to emailed reference questions.
These duties helped me get acquainted with the Library collection and
with the policies of the Library and of the Museum in general.
One
of the best things about my experience at MoMA was the opportunity to speak with
and ask questions of the librarians, catalogers and preservationists who work at
the Library, thus learning about their various duties and responsibilities, and
getting an understanding of the kinds of work that go into maintaining and
expanding a major art museum Library.
Thanks to help from the ARLIS/NA
Membership Committee, the PDC received 17 strong applications for the 2003-2004
Internship Award (an increase from 2-4 applications in past years).
The increase in applications was due, in large part, to the call for
applications that was sent out to LIS school contacts via e-mail.
The PDC chairperson coordinated this with the Membership Committee
chairperson Leslie Preston, and co-chairs Kathy Corcoran and Adeane Bregman.
The members of the Membership Committee divided the responsibility of
individually e-mailing contacts on the LIS schools list.
The coordinated efforts of these two committees brought more visibility
to the Internship Award and to future ARLIS/NA members.
The members of the PDC did an
excellent job in selecting an award recipient this year.
Each committee member submitted a detailed and well-considered evaluation
of the applications we received and submitted their votes for four finalists.
The committee selected Cathy Billings of Seattle, Washington for the
award. Cathy is planning to do her
internship in the fall, as she has prior commitments with her current employer
through the summer. She has until
May 1st to settle any arrangements for her fall 2004 internship.
At this time, she is investigating internship opportunities in the
Washington, D.C. area.
ARLIS/NA
PDC Website and Internship Roster
PDC member, Tom Caswell,
graciously volunteered to take over the management of the PDC website and ARLIS/NA
Internship Roster during the summer of 2003.
ARLIS/NA Internship Roster was created in February of 2003.
A year later the roster features thirty-nine entries representing
internship opportunities in twenty states and Ontario.
Core
Competencies for Art Information Professionals
In response to the project to
establish national core competency standards for professionals in art and design
library and visual resources fields was initiated.
A subcommittee of eight members was formed in order to draft a core
competencies document. The charge
for the subcommittee was approved by Carol Graney, PDC Board liaison, and other
members of the Board. Heather Ball
has served as the main author/coordinator of the outline/document and compiled a
bibliography on core competencies that is posted on the PDC site.
Bella Kerr Gerlich, Jacqui Allen, Sarah Harrington and Heather Ball
worked together on a survey of 111 art library and visual resources job
descriptions that were posted on the ARLIS/NA, VRA and ALA websites during the
years 2002-2003. The information
compiled has served as supporting data for the core competencies outline.
It was a tedious job, but this group was extremely thorough and
consistent in their work. Heather
submitted drafts of the core competencies outline to the subcommittee members
for feedback and editing on several occasions over the year.
The majority of the feedback received has come from the three other
members who helped do the job descriptions survey, the current PDC members and
our board liaison, Carol Graney.
A panel discussion on the topic
of core competencies is scheduled for the 2004 conference and will include
presentations by Betty Jo Irvine (Fine Arts Librarian, Indiana University),
Bella Gerlich (Head, Arts and Special Collections, Hunt Library, Carnegie Mellon
University), Mary Wasserman (Slide and Associate Librarian, Philadelphia Museum
of Art) and Heather Ball (Art and Architecture Librarian, Virginia Tech). Jacqui Allen has kindly volunteered to record.
Issues
for the Executive Board
1.
Core Competencies:
Does the Executive Board need or want to formally approval the core
competencies document once it is completed?
Is this something we might want posted on the ARLIS/NA website in an area
more central then the PDC site? Or
should it simply be treated as an independently published document (Art
Documentation)? Guidance from the
Board on this would be helpful.
ARLIS/NA
Strategic Plan Action Items 2000-2005: Professional
Development Committee
1. Investigate
new methods of offering programs to the membership such as developing an ARLIS/NA
summer institute with an affiliated organization, establishing an ARLIS/NA
speakers bureau, co-hosting or sponsoring events with organizations and
institutions, as well as utilizing computer technology through distance learning
and web-based education programs. (I B, II A B C).
No action to report at this time.
2. Investigate
the possibility of an Education Coordinator for the Society. (I B) No action
to report at this time.
3. Create,
working closely with Divisions, Sections, and Chapters, a roster of libraries
and visual resource collections that support internships in art librarianship.
(I D) Internship Roster was
launched in 2003.
4.
Expand the existing mentor program to include new members, mid-career
professionals, committee chairs, and first-time presenters thus increasing
membership retention as well as offering leadership training for Society
members. Work with Chapters to develop ways to identify local mentors. (I E, IV
C) On the agenda for 2004 PDC meeting.
5. Develop
a core curriculum for art librarianship and visual resources curatorship and
create a strategy, working closely with the Executive Board, for active
recommendation of this course in graduate programs. (I A)
The decision was made, with the approval of the Executive Board, to
establish competencies for the profession as a whole. Curricula for LIS schools, continuing education and workshops
can be based on these competencies. A
subcommittee was formed and a panel discussion on this topic is scheduled for
the 2004 conference. A draft of the
competencies document will also be ready at that time.
Submitted by Heather Ball,
Chairperson
h.ball@vt.edu
540-231-9272