In Japan, art museums have created databases for management, educational and promotional purposes, rather than for research. At the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo, a group consisting of a librarian, three curators, and a systems specialist, embarked in 1984 on a four year project to assemble and test a system which, utilising machine-readable thesauri and classification systems developed in Western countries, will, it is hoped, facilitate research into Western art.

The Bibliothèque nationale du Québec (BNQ), a legal deposit library established in 1968, holds an extensive collection of over 900 artists’ books. This special collection also includes illustrated books of French and Québécois origin; modern editions with fine bindings and limited ‘editions de luxe’. As of 1992, legal deposit expanded to include prints. This collection now comprises over 8,000 items. The artists’ books collection includes three major types: the fine limited edition, the book object and the unlimited edition, which reveal a range of work where the book is the site for visual experimentation. The BNQ is privileged to preserve this vital heritage, to promote its study and to make it known in the widest sense.

Kunstbibliotheken in Österreich können gemäß ihrer jeweiligen institutionellen Verankerung in drei Gruppen unterteilt werden: in Museums- und Universitätsbibliotheken sowie in Bibliotheken, die in anderen Austellungs-institutionen, Galerien und Kunsthallen untergebracht sind. Gerade in jüngster Vergangenheit ist die Zahl der ‘alternativen’ Ausstellungsräume stark gewachsen, die vorwiegend internationale Gegenwartskunst präsentieren und in ihren Bibliotheken und Archiven grundlegende Materialien dazu sammeln. Museums- und Universitätsbibliotheken verfügen hingegen meist über einen umfangreichen Bestand an Basisliteratur zur bildenden Kunst und Kunstgeschichte, aber auch über Literatur zu ihren Sammlungs- und Studien-schwerpunkten. Insgesamt muß festgestellt werden, daß aufgrund der äußerst unterschiedlichen Organisationsstrukturen Fragen von allgemeinem Interesse (etwa eine zentrale Vernetzung aller Daten oder eine generelle Ausbildungs-regelung) nicht koordiniert werden und die Situation daher recht unzufriedenstellend ist. Immerhin ist aber ein Trend in Richtung länger-fristiger Kooperationen im Ansatz zu erkennen. Zu nennen wären in diesem Zusammenhang etwa der Verein zur Förderung der Errichtung einer Fachhochschule für Informationsberufe (FIB) oder die ‘Kunstreferentensitzungen’, bei denen (seit 1949!) Bibliothekarlnnen aktuelle Probleme und Entwicklungen im Bibliotheksbereich diskutieren.

Art libraries in Austria are basically divided into three main groups according to their specific form of institutional organisation: museum libraries, university libraries, and libraries in galleries. The latter are often situated in recently founded institutions and usually put their focus on contemporary art. Museums and university libraries traditionally have rather extensive collections of basic literature on art and art history as well as specialized literature according to the main subject of their collections. It is characteristic of the present stage of development that innovations in the organisation of these libraries (i.e. computer systems for online catalogues, specialized training, etc.) are not being co-ordinated and the results of local improvements are therefore not as rewarding as they could be. Nevertheless, the first steps towards long term cooperation are being taken, and include such initiatives as the Verein zur Förderung der Errichtung einer Fachhochschule für Informationsberufe, FIB (= Association to promote the foundation of an academy for information professions), and the Kunstreferentensitzungen, an assembly of librarians who discuss current trends and problems in library organization.

The Brooklyn Museum’s collection of Islamic art, gathered from early in the 20th century, represents the full range of Islamic artistic production, with objects dating from the earliest periods of Islam through the 20th century, from Spain and India, and executed in a variety of media. An extensive library collection of over 5,000 titles has been developed since the establishment of the Museum Libraries in 1923. The collection was enhanced by the acquisition of the personal library of Charles Edwin Wilbour, and by the bequeathing of the library of Charles K. Wilkinson, and it continues to benefit from the generosity of foundation and individual support. The Library is open to the public by appointment, and bibliographic records of its collection are entered on RLIN.

As a pilot project, a low-cost image database of selected works in the Aberdeen Art Gallery has been created. The database is available to members of the public in the Gallery’s library. It is hoped that the project can be developed further, with a CD-ROM as a possible outcome.

There is a fundamental dichotomy between conservation and access. The ambiguity which clouds discussion on the issue starts with the selection process. Who selects what for whom. Librarians are trained to be objective in the selection process using tried and tested tools. Much material from the mid-19th century is in an unusable state and until really cheap mass deacidification or paper strengthening programmes are started, conservation must rely on microform to supply the user with required material. Digitisation is no substitute for the microform. Increasing use of personal computers will familiarise our readers with material outside their specific sphere of interest and will stimulate demand for access to original material. Conservation of some art forms distorts the artist’s intention and should be avoided. Research has demonstrated that the environmental conditions for storage are more flexible than hitherto believed. This will have a bearing on international loan exhibitions. Librarians and conservators should make common cause to serve the user and allow maximum appropriate access.

Design-Bibliotheken in Deutschland definieren sich über ihren in der Regel sehr speziellen Bestand zu Themen im Produkt- und Grafik-Design. Diese Bibliotheken sind häufig in Institutionen angesiedelt, die sich in vielfältiger Weise mit Designthemen auseinandersetzen, wie z.B. Design-Zentren, Hochschulen, Museen oder als Spezialabteilungen in großen Bibliotheken. Die Verteilung der Design-Bibliotheken auf sehr unterschiedliche Einrichtungen bedeutet auch, daß ein durchaus großer Benutzerkreis angesprochen wird.

Design libraries in Germany are characterized by their generally extremely specialized collections dedicated to aspects of product and graphic design. These libraries are frequently located in institutions which concern themselves with a wide range of design-related subject areas, such as design centres, universities, and museums, or else they exist as special collections in large libraries. This distribution of design libraries amongst very different institutions also means that they reach a very wide spectrum of users. Librarians working in design libraries have formed a loose network known as the Initiative der Design-Bibliotheken.

The dynamism of elements of the archive profession has been particularly apparent over the past two decades as change and innovations have shaken up a profession previously perceived, perhaps not always unfairly, as pedestrian and static. The impetus for change has come both from outside and within the archive community. The lack in the UK of a national legislative framework covering the collecting of all types of archives, and an increased awareness of both the research and commercial value of historical records, have encouraged an expansion both in the types of organisations collecting archives and in the types of archives being collected. The shifting focus of attention of professional historians away from a preoccupation with ‘official’ records and the encouragement of more source-based teaching, both in schools and at undergraduate level, have facilitated such changes. The archive profession, however, is very aware that collecting by itself is not enough, and while lack of resources means that most archivists are still embarrassed by backlogs of material that have not been catalogued as fully as they would wish, greater attention is being focused on issues such as the need to widen access to archive collections, to increase security within repositories and to promote a greater understanding of conservation techniques.

In Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz hat sich in den vergangenen zwei Jahrhunderten eine vielfältige Museumslandschaft mit entsprechenden Kunstbibliotheken herausgebildet. In den letzten beiden Jahrzehnten kamen viele Neugründungen von Museen, Ausstellungshallen und Hochschulen hinzu (man sprach vom ‘Museums-boom’). Viele dieser Institutionen haben damit begonnen, entsprechend ihren Schwerpunkten eine Bibliothek aufzubauen, die in erster Linie den Wissenschaftlern und Studenten der jeweiligen Einrichtung dient. Diese jungen’ Bibliotheken waren aufgerufen, sich mit Kurzbeschreibungen in dieser Ausgabe zu präsentieren und international auf ihre Arbeit hinzuweisen. Die neugegründeten Bibliotheken, die unserer Einladung gefolgt sind, werden hier kurz vorgestellt.

Germany, Austria and Switzerland are countries with long and vigorous histories of cultural activities. Thus there have been art museums with their own libraries for approximately two hundred of years. However, in the last two decades there has been a boom in the founding of art museums, galleries and academies. Most of them are in the process of developing a library relating to their work or collections. As a first priority, these libraries serve the staff and students of the parent body, but they may also be accessible to the public. These newly founded libraries were invited to introduce themselves to an international public in this issue of Art Libraries Journal.

Das Studium zum/r Diplom-Bibliothekar/in unterliegt in den letzten Jahren einem noch andauernden Reformprozeß: An die Stelle der traditionellen, dreijährigen verwaltungsinternen Studiengänge tritt zunehmend ein verwaltungsexternes, 7-8-semestriges und integriertes Studium. Gemeinsame Grundstudien sollen dabei den wachsenden funktionalen Verflechtungen zwischen wissenschaftlichem und öffentlichem Bibliothekswesen wie auch Dokumentationseinrichtungen Rechnung tragen. In einigen Einrichtungen besteht mittlerweile die Möglichkeit, die allgemeine Ausbildung durch Kenntnisse in Spezialbereichen wie z.B. Kunstbibliotheken zu ergänzen. Darüber hinaus beginnt die neugegründete AKMB Weiterbildungen fur Bibliothekarinnen, die in Kunstbibliotheken arbeiten, zu organisieren.

In recent years, education for certified librarians has been undergoing a process of reform which will continue. The traditional 3-year-long education within the civil service is being replaced by a 7-8 semester integrated study program, outside the civil service. A general curriculum aims at bridging the growing functional connections between research libraries and public libraries and documentation facilities. In a few institutions, opportunities now exist for adding special subjects to this general training in librarianship, including, in at least one institution, subjects relevant to art librarianship. In addition, the newly formed AKMB is beginning to address the need for training opportunities for working art librarians.