Cornell University

Fine Arts Library

Collection Development Policy

Architecture Clientele:

The architecture collection of the Fine Arts Library serves the Architecture Department and the Preservation Planning Department in the College of Architecture, Art and Planning as well as the History of Art Department in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Design and Environmental Analysis in the College of Human Ecology. The chief clientele are the undergraduate architects who participate in a 5 year program leading to the B.Arch. degree. The College of Architecture, Art and Planning also gives an M. Arch. degree, an M.A. and Ph.D. in History of Architecture, and a Masters degree in Preservation Planning.

Existing Collection: The existing collection dates back to the 19th century when in 1871 the first President of Cornell, Andrew Dickson White, gave his personal collection of 4,000 architecture books to the university on the promise that they would teach architecture. Cornell's architecture school is the second oldest in the United States. The collection of the Fine Arts Library reflects a long history of collecting monographs and serials on architecture and is the strongest part of the Fine Arts Library collection. The collection encompasses a much broader spectrum than the art collection.

Current Collecting: Monographs and serials are collected from around the world in an attempt to open a "window on the world" to architecture students. Illustrations are considered more important than the language of the publication. The history of architecture and "artistic" aspects of architecture are collected rather than publications emphasizing the technical side. High style architecture is predominant in the collection but vernacular architecture is not ignored. Doctoral dissertations are collected selectively as are videos. Travel books that might be cataloged "description and travel-views" are collected. Reprints are purchased when the original is old enough to have brittle paper or if the reprint contains new material.

Subjects Covered: Architecture. NA

Geographical Information: The United States, all of Western Europe but concentrating on France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain; to a lesser extent Spain, Eastern Europe, Russia, Latin America, Canada, Scandinavia, India. Marginal on Australia, Africa, the Middle East. The Fine Arts Library depends on the area bibliographers for collecting imprints originating in Latin America, Russia, Central Europe, and India. Imprints on the architecture of these areas from other parts of the world are selected by the Fine Arts bibliographer.

Exclusions: The technical aspects of architecture i.e. building science, building and fire codes, computer aided design, "how-to" books, acoustics.

Notes: If only 1-5 books per annum, it is considered an exclusion.

Art Clientele:

The art collection of the Fine Arts Library chiefly serves the History of Art Department in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Art Department in the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, the curatorial staff of the Johnson Art Museum and to a lesser extent, the Departments of Classics, Near Eastern Studies, and Design and Environmental Analysis in the College of Human Ecology. The History of Art Department is a small department with few undergraduate majors and few graduate students but a large undergraduate population taking History of Art courses. The Art Department has undergraduate majors and graduate students working in studio courses in painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, and photography. The Fine Arts Library is the largest art library in New York State outside the metropolitan area and serves as a resource for anyone interested in the visual arts for much of upstate New York.

Existing Collection: Perhaps no other subject must cover such a long time period or encompass as large a geographic area as art. The existing Cornell collection covers the art of the Western World from the dawn of history to the present day although the major part of the collection concentrates on the period from the Middle Ages to the present. The collection is strong in traditional areas such as the art of the Italian Renaissance, Impressionism and other "isms" of the 19th and 20th centuries. Since illustrations are an important consideration in an art library, the language of the publications is of less importance and publications are collected from around the world. The library has extensive runs of periodical literature and is able to support doctoral research.

Current Collecting: Current collecting follows the strengths of the existing collections. No attempt is made to keep up with new artists exhibiting in New York galleries; the library depends on the Johnson Art Museum to pass on exhibition catalogs they receive on exchange from other university art museums and from New York dealers. This gives us an excellent collection that is used heavily by Art Department members. The library buys works on established artists from established publishers and museums. An attempt is made to collect exhibition catalogs from major museums around the United States and Europe.

Catalogue raisonné are collected for major artists as the library is able to afford them. Because Cornell students do not have access to a major art museum, the Fine Arts Library must concentrate on providing images from books in lieu of actual art objects, therefore the library has no qualms in collecting "coffee table" books that chiefly consist of pretty pictures. Selected videos on art are collected but not video art. Travel books that emphasize art collections, i.e, "Kunstfuhrer" are collected. Reprints are purchased if the original is old enough to have brittle paper or if the reprint contains new material.

Subjects Covered: Art(includes history and theory), painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, photography, decorative arts: (in descending order of importance) N, ND, NB, NE, NC, TR, NK, NX

Geographical Information: The United States, all of Western Europe but concentrating on France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain; to a lesser extent Spain, Eastern Europe, Russia, Latin America, Canada, Scandinavia, India. Marginal on Australia, Africa and the Middle East. The Fine Arts Library depends on the area bibliographers for collecting imprints originating in Latin America, Russia, Central Europe, and India. Imprints on the art of these areas from other parts of the world are selected by the Fine Arts bibliographer.

Exclusions: Art of the East, Southeast Asia, art education, aesthetics, antiques and "collectibles", crafts, set design, archaeology, numismatics, textiles, arms and armour, auction catalogs, conservation of works of art, jewelry, dissertations, "how-to" books, Native American art, juvenile literature, lifestyle books.

Notes: If only 1-5 books are collected per annum, it is considered an exclusion.

Landscape Architecture Clientele:

The landscape architecture collection of the Fine Arts Library serves the Department of Landscape Architecture in the College of Architecture, Art and Planning and, to a lesser extent the Department of Landscape Architecture in the College of Agriculture.

Existing Collection: The existing collection was started in the 1920s. The department in the College of Architecture ceased to exist during the Depression and was not started again until the 1970s. The collection reflects this hiatus but has a good collection of landscape architecture books from the 1920s.

Current Collecting: The collection emphasizes works on design and the history of gardens rather than plant materials and the practical aspects of landscape architecture. Reprints are purchased if the original is old enough to have brittle paper or if the reprint contains new material.

Subjects Covered: History and design of gardens. SB

Geographical Information: The entire world but emphasis is on the United States and Western Europe and gardens from temperate rather than tropical climates.

Exclusions: Works on plant materials.

Notes: If only 1-5 books are collected per annum, it is considered an exclusion.