ARLIS/NA 54th Annual Conference

For over 70 years, artists have used artists’ books to bypass conventional art world channels, ripe with gatekeeping, exclusion, and bias. Their unprecedented portability and accessibility allowed artists more agency over production and distribution. Artists’ books continue to be a vital mode of creative expression, particularly for exploring socio-political issues; however, the same qualities that make these works vibrant and democratic pose challenges for libraries. Artists’ books inherently resist traditional ways that libraries acquire, describe, and provide access.

This panel explores how librarians can navigate these challenges and remove barriers to engagement in artists’ books collections. We will present case studies from museum and academic libraries, along with historical examples, to demonstrate how artists’ books can be promoted as essential library materials and how we can work together to steward these collections for future generations. By opening the doors to artists’ books collections, we can champion underengaged perspectives and allow more users to see themselves in our holdings.

From Activism to Access: Resisting the Status Quo with Artists' Books
Speaker: Joey Vincennie

By examining the history of activism through the lens of artists' books, this presentation aims to show how this form was used as a tool for uncensored artistic expression and consciousness-raising. Drawing parallels from historical examples to contemporary artists’ books, we explore how these objects circumvent the hegemony of traditional art and publishing structures and act as vehicles for socio-political activism, arguing that artists' books in library collections push back against limits to expression. By revising access policies for artist book collections, participating in art book fairs, promoting artists’ books through programming, and supporting small publishers, the author aims to show how librarians can resist the gatekeeping of information, ideas, and access.

The Role of Research in Undergraduate Studio Practice: A Qualitative Study
Speaker: Giana Ricci

The inherent challenges of collecting artists’ books for circulating academic libraries often deter librarians from considering them for inclusion. At New York University Libraries, we see an opportunity to interrogate existing methods of collecting that may exclude or discourage creative research in higher education. In this presentation, I will discuss original qualitative research concluding that student artists are keen to use non-traditional resources in their creative practices, but that library conventions may limit their engagement. I will propose ways we can resist these conventions, while maintaining professional standards, in order to bring artists’ books and other creative resources into the hands of our users.

Mentorship and Meaning in a Museum Library Special Collections
Speaker: Ivy Blackman

The Whitney Museum of American Art’s Frances Mulhall Achilles Library offers our student interns a rare opportunity to select and present artists’ books to an audience of museum professionals as a part of their participation in our program. Their selections and research are used as the basis for special collections and artists’ books education for the following year. The project invites students into the meaningful work of artists’ books research and curation, and provides a useful model for engaging emerging professionals in work with artists' books that goes well beyond paging and shelving. This presentation discusses the ways in which removing barriers to pre-professional work with artists' books has proven fruitful for our interns, our staff, and our understanding of our collections.