ARLIS/NA 54th Annual Conference

Don't have a lot of time? Join us for some "p'tite vite" (lightning talks) covering a variety of topics in art librarianship.

Errand into the Maze: Untangling Photograph Vertical File Cataloguing Practices
Speakers: Sarah Fischer, Angela Rapp

The Jerome Robbins Dance Division photograph vertical files are among the most utilized of our collections. As dance is an ephemeral art form, these photographs are often some of the only visual documentation of choreographic works. Maintaining artificial collections at institutions as vast as the New York Public Library provides its own challenges and we questioned if our vertical files were truly available for “ready reference” in our reading room. In the fall of 2024, we began to actively remediate stub catalog records for our photograph files to improve their searchability and create more access points.

We will discuss our ongoing process to update all stub records from preexisting formats to RDA standard, as well as increase authorized authority files and local subject headings listed. This work will allow patrons to gain a stronger, more comprehensive understanding of what they will receive in our reading room. In addition, these controlled access points increase the visibility of underrepresented dance artists and companies. This project could also serve as a future model for remediation of other vertical files in our collections and for similar institutions that prioritize accessibility and service.

DIY Scholarship: Zines in Academic Libraries
Speaker: Autumn Wetli-Staneluis

Zines are gaining visibility on college campuses through both teaching and creation, and in academic libraries as part of archives or circulating collections. Zines are often archived as ephemera reflecting specific times, places, and cultures, while others provide extracurricular support for students’ personal lives and, in teaching contexts, zines can serve as outlets for creative self-expression. This talk will focus on zines within a scholarly realm. It will begin by briefly defining the zine and how it often appears in academia and outline the development and purpose behind a new circulating zine collection at a large academic library. Key considerations for libraries developing similar collections will be provided. The main emphasis of this talk though, will be on how zines can function as a valuable supplement to traditional, academic scholarship. Zines contribute meaningful work that complements, yet exists outside of, traditional publishing avenues, offering unique insights and showcasing scholarship that challenges conventional publishing models. Zines can elevate marginalized voices, address controversial or complex issues, and add a personal dimension to scholarly output. They can serve as easily accessible resources, often written in plain language rather than academic jargon, that spark interest in a topic and may even inspire students to pursue their own scholarly work outside traditional publishing realms. This is particularly significant because standard scholarly publishing can exclude diverse contributions due to Eurocentric, historically imposed definitions of what constitutes “scholarly work.” The speaker will share several examples from their library’s zine collection that illustrate this role of the zine in scholarly research.

Self-Publishing as Resistance: The Role of Artist-Run Centres in Collecting Small Press Publishing
Speaker: Tess Davey

Art Metropole is a non-profit artist-run centre with a 51-year history of exhibiting, publishing, collecting, and distributing printed works by contemporary artists. Recently our organization has placed a growing emphasis on placing small-press and self-published titles in libraries and special collections. This endeavour expands on our founding incentive as an artist run-centre and collection agency devoted to the documentation, archiving and distribution of all the images, by emphasizing the power of cultivating library partnerships to increase the circulation of publications that are sourced directly from the artists who produce them. By distributing a large number of self-published and small press works, Art Metropole has historically been a channel for marginalized groups to distribute works by and for their communities. Our ever-expanding inventory of zines, artists’ books and multiples is a testimony to the relationship between artists’ publishing and underground networks of resistance and information sharing. A core tenet of our mandate is ensuring such works enter the historical record, so establishing direct relationships with artists and librarians through our Library Services Program and inventory channels is a key emphasis of our organization.

Shake Those Assets! Using Special Events to Promote Your Hidden Collections
Speaker: Nicole O’Hara

Academic libraries’ institutional archives can be one of the most underutilized resources on campus. Tucked away in locked rooms and filled with crumbling papers and yellowing photographs, they’re ubiquitous yet largely invisible. Their hidden nature and limited accessibility make it difficult to secure the funding and staffing needed for long-term care—especially at smaller institutions.

In this lightning talk, one librarian will share how the library used their institution’s bicentennial celebration to showcase and strengthen support for our archives. The biggest challenge faced: in 200 years, the university has never had a dedicated archivist. Archival policy-making, acquisitions, arrangement and preservation have always been handled piecemeal, as time and resources allowed.

By leveraging exhibitions, social media, cross-campus collaborations, and special events, the library put these collections in the spotlight. This visibility revealed their value not only for scholarship, but also for promoting the university and situating it within the broader community. As a result, administrators, board members, donors, alumni, and community partners are now engaged with the archives—and far more likely to champion their preservation.

Attendees at this talk will learn about how they can shine light on their hidden collections to gain support for long term archival management and care.