Dear Librarian or Information Professional,

Paul Glassman of Felician College and I have developed a brief but, we hope, elastic outline for a Handbook of Art and Design Librarianship.  We think it might be a solid companion to Joan Benedetti's Art Museum Libraries and Librarianship (Scarecrow, 2007).  We're looking for chapters from individuals within the world of art and design libraries in academic settings on a broad range of topics grounded in theory or research and written from a practical perspective.  We're also hoping that the library profiles at the conclusion of the publication would directly reflect those discussed in the essays.

If you think you'd be interested in contributing to the publication, please let us know by replying to this message and responding to the following points:

• The chapter--from the outline below--within which your contribution could reside
• Working title
• Expected date of submission of manuscript
• Estimated length of chapter
• Abstract
• Name, mailing address, e-mail address, phone number, and fax number of the contributor
• The art and design library or libraries to which you would be referring in the chapter

Handbook of Art and Design Librarianship

PREMISE

While much attention has been paid to art librarianship as it exists in museum settings, comparatively less notice has been taken of the development of academic and art-and-design- school art librarianship as a distinct focus.  However, the skills of subject specialists in the arts and their advocacy on behalf of their patrons are fundamental elements in vital art libraries that fully support and anticipate the needs of artists, designers, architects, and the historians who study these disciplines.  Building on the core competencies and standards established by the Art Libraries Society (ARLIS), the Handbook of Art and Design Librarianship will examine methods of innovative librarianship in academic and art-school libraries throughout the world.  With a focus on the intersection of "best practice" and best opportunities, this book will bring together the philosophies and realities of the most creative librarians working in the field of art librarianship today and will serve as a field guide to academic art libraries in the twenty-first century.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword

Preface and Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part I:  Roles and Responsibilities

. Leadership and Administration

. Specialization in Art and Design Reference

. Technology & Discovery

. The Art Library as Space

Part II:  Materials and Materiality

. Print materials

. Special Collections, Ephemera, and Realia

. Visual Resources

. Electronic Resources

Part III:  Promotion & Sustainability

. The Art Librarian as Practitioner

. Outreach and Advocacy

. Instruction

. Patrons and Their Multiple Literacies

Part IV:  Library Profiles

Appendixes

Bibliography

Index