Smithsonian Libraries

Cutest Assemblages of Electrons

It's not only e-books that are electron-rich. Books are jam-packed with electrons, too! Plus, books can be cute, intriguing, glamorous ... we could go on ... and they have inspired lots of artists.

Here are some images for your delectation from a book by Barry Nemett, a local artist and Chair of Painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

We have just added the book to our collection:

Barry Nemett: paintings, poems, & passages. Bloomington, IN : Authorhouse, 2009.

And we have a lot more book art — here are examples of additional titles you might wish to check out:

Bibliomancy: an exhibition of holograms, by Susan Gamble and Michael Wenyon. Boston, Mass. : Boston Athenaeum, c1998.

John Latham: time-base and the universe. Southampton : John Hansard Gallery, c2006.

Reading women. Stefan Bollmann; foreword by Karen Joy Fowler; translated by Christine Shuttleworth. London; New York: Merrell, 2006.

The other book: the book as image and object in art. Sally Alatalo and Karen Reimer, Gerry Sue Burdette ... [et al.] [Cleveland, Ohio] : Cleveland State University Art Gallery, [1999].

Stella Waitzkin, selected work 1973-1983: Everson Museum of Art, March 25-May 29. Syracuse, N.Y.: The Museum, [1983?].

Hidden Collection — Artist's Books

The Smithsonian Institution Libraries (SIL) has a “hidden collection” of artists’ books that is underused by researchers and the public. Artists’ books are diverse in form and concept, making them difficult to define. Some are handmade, published as unique works or in limited editions. Others are inexpensive and mass-produced, available for nearly everyone to purchase and consume. Despite these differences, scholars generally agree that an artist’s book is a book or book-like object that reflects an artist’s creative vision and is intended as a work of art. Our assignment this summer was to investigate the SIL’s artist’s book collection, consider it in the context of other local collections, and develop a proposal to increase access to this relatively unknown resource.

Stephanie and Chloe with National Museum of African Art librarian Janet Stanley, photograph by Sam Schubert.

Our internship is part of a collaborative effort among three SIL branch libraries to bring their artists’ books holdings to light. We spent significant time examining the collections of artists’ books at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Library, the Smithsonian American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery Library, and the Warren M. Robbins Library, National Museum of African Art. We also conducted research on artists’ books as a genre, focusing specifically on the challenges they present to art libraries. We first consulted librarians Anna Brooke, Doug Litts, and Janet Stanley about their collections, and then we met with rare books cataloger Diane Shaw and metadata librarian Doug Dunlop to explore ways to improve access via the library’s catalog, an artist’s book blog, or a database of digital images.

A major component of our internship was a series of research visits to other local libraries and artists’ books collections. These visits greatly informed our overall understanding of artists’ books, refined our definition of the genre, and improved our ability to analyze the books in the Smithsonian’s collection. They also gave us the opportunity to meet professionals knowledgeable about the creation, distribution, curation, and exhibition of artists’ books, including librarians, curators, book artists, and booksellers.

At the National Museum of Women in the Arts, we met Krystyna Wasserman, the curator of book arts. She oversees a rotating display of artists’ books in the library’s reading room and curates the museum’sBook as Art exhibition series. During a visit to the Rare Book and Special Collections Reading Room at the Library of Congress, Mark Dimunation showed us a small percentage of the nation’s impressive artist’s book collection. He expressed a desire to increase the collection’s visibility and use, a concern that other librarians echoed. We also met with Lamia Doumato, head of reader services at the National Gallery of Art library, who showed us a selection of artists’ books that are now on exhibit in the museum.

Chloe and Stephanie study artists’ books at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, photograph by Anna Brooke

Another enlightening visit was our trip to the Corcoran College of Art + Design, where librarian Mario Ascencio collects artists’ books that refer to the theme “social consciousness.” He also acquires books that are excellent teaching resources for the college’s book arts program. We learned how private booksellers market and sell artists’ books during our visit to Joshua Heller Rare Books, Inc. Joshua and Phyllis Heller, the owners, taught us the importance of networking with artists and impressed upon us the very personal nature of the bookselling business.

Toward the end of our internship, we toured Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, an art community that specializes in papermaking, printmaking, and artists’ books. Their artistic director, Gretchen Schermerhorn, showed us how to make paper and how to create letterpress prints using movable type. These research visits brought us full circle, allowing us to explore everything from the creation of the artist’s book to its exhibition.

Detail of the artists’ books display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery Library,
photograph by Stephanie Fletcher

Our research culminated in a report that included a survey of the artists’ books holdings at the Smithsonian, recommendations for improving access to the collection, a proposal of themes for a future exhibition, and an extensive bibliography. We also created a small exhibit of artists’ books at the Smithsonian American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery Library, which will be on display for the next year. Our internship was a headlong foray into the world of artists’ books. We emerged deeply informed and excited to reveal this “hidden collection.”

—Stephanie Fletcher and Chloe Barnett

Stephanie Fletcher and Chloe Barnett are Smithsonian Institution Library interns. Stephanie holds an MA in art history from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and is an MLIS student at Dominican University. Chloe received an MA in art history and an MSIS from the University of Texas, Austin and recently accepted a job as arts and humanities librarian at Bucknell University.

Related articles

• Listen, Listen: Adadam Agofomma A Fine-Press Artists' Book in the Warren M. Robbins National Museum of African Art Library (smithsonianlibraries.si.edu)
• Q&A with ... HMSG Librarian Anna Brooke, Part 1 (smithsonianlibraries.si.edu)
• Q&A with ... HMSG Librarian Anna Brooke, Part 2 (smithsonianlibraries.si.edu)

Q&A with ... HMSG Librarian Anna Brooke, Part 2

This is Part 2 of an interview. You can read Part 1, which ran yesterday, about how the library came to Washington, D.C.

Jody Mussoff, currently a Cataloger for the Libraries, worked with Librarian Anna Brooke from 1977-2001 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (HMSG) Library. Jody conducted this recent interview with Anna, tracing the history of the library and how it came with Joseph Hirshhorn's art collection to Washington, D.C. The interview will be published in two parts, beginning today and concluding tomorrow.

Anna Brooke

Q. Was it difficult for you to make the transition from Greenwich, CT to D.C.?

A. We never worked in Greenwich. New York was the center of the art world and Washington D.C. seemed very slow and provincial by comparison. All our friends and contacts were in New York City; we missed New York. Mrs. Lerner, our director’s wife, would share bagels with us, imported from New York.

Q. Was the opening of the Museum in 1974 a grand experience?

A. There was a lot of excitement, press, parties, clean new offices, a growing staff, and the adjustment to the Smithsonian bureaucracy. Bill Walker, Librarian of the NCFA, was a great mentor, endlessly patient and helpful. He assisted me in planning the layout and the furniture for library with Joyce Blum from the architectural design firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.

Q. What kind of cataloging system did you have for the library, both in Greenwich and then in D.C.?

A. I had to select a classification system. Bernard Karpel, Librarian of the Museum of Modern Art, was helpful and recommended their library’s classification system which was based on the telephone dial. Mrs. Usher, Librarian of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was also a generous mentor; their library classification system was also unique, not the standard Library of Congress classification. I decided to use the L.C. system taking the numbers from the cards we ordered. It turned out to be the best solution for the future of shared cataloging.

Q. How fast did the library collection grow, once the Museum opened to the public?

A. I do not have figures to compare the growth rate after 1974; library growth fluctuates depending on budget, space and gifts.

Q. What is the collection policy for the library and has this changed over the years?

A. The collection development policy has always been to support the research of the museum staff members, both for exhibitions and for the permanent collection. In New York, before 1974, we had only the permanent collection research to support. The art collection has changed over the years from paintings, sculpture and works on paper, to include video, photography, films and installation art. The Washington Art Resources Committee (WALRC) was formed by Bill Walker, Chief Librarian, NCFA/NPG, and the National Gallery’s Library Director, Mel Edelstein, to cooperate with Library of Congress and other art libraries in the Washington area when purchasing expensive books. Now I try not to duplicate books already owned by AAPG Library.

A view of the HMSG Library

Q. Can you describe the origin and growth of your exchange program?

A. Gift books have always been sent to our curators and director. In 1974 we began our exchange program based on the advice of Bill Walker. We kept records on index cards, but later when we needed software we moved onto Dbase 3. In 1999, with the help of Karen Cassedy, National Gallery of Art Library, we moved the database onto Filemaker Pro software. Later the program to transfer to Access was written by Keri Thompson, from the Libraries.

Three years ago there were over 150 exchange partners. With the down turn in the economy many museums and galleries have cut budgets eliminating exhibition catalogs, library staff, and publication exchange programs, so there are currently 139 exchange partners. As I’ve added a few new exchange partners over the last three years, we have also experienced a decrease in the formerly active exchange partners.

Q. The Museum has had several directors over the years. How do you think the Museum and its art collection have changed because of them?

A. Our first Director, Al Lerner, was hired by Joe Hirshhorn and was his curator and friend. Al was an artist, and a very warm, fatherly man. I don’t think the art collection changed very much until the arrival of James Demetrion, our second director. He had been Director of the Des Moines Art Center and wanted to make the museum a national collection of modern and contemporary art. He began the de-accessioning program and transferred the Eskimo, African, Pre-Columbian, Cycladic, Islamic and Asian works to other Smithsonian museums. Ned Rifkin, and later, Olga Viso, embraced the trends in contemporary art, adding photography, film and video to the collection and exhibition program. The current Director, Richard Koshalek, is active in international cultural programs that bring artists and the public together in dialogue. His priorities include transforming the lobby into an education space and bringing conferences to the proposed temporary inflatable addition that will fill the interior of the building’s elliptical shape.

Q. How do you think the library has transitioned over the years, with the change of directors, the growth of the collection, the emergence of the computer, and finally, the merge with the entire Smithsonian Libraries?

A. Computers, shared cataloging, and online databases have increased access. The museum visitors have also become more interested in contemporary art since 1974. We received a grant to preserve and make digital audio copies of 306 archival audio tapes dating from 1969 to 2004. They include interviews of artists and Hirshhorn Museum auditorium programs that will be made available to Libraries' researchers.

Q. Who uses your library now, and how do you think you can improve upon its usefulness in the digital age?

A. The library is used by Smithsonian staff, scholars and visitors and ILL borrowers. We are limited in our ability to digitize contemporary art material because of copyright law. We are also limited in what we can lend because many exhibition catalogs, printed in small editions, are irreplaceable. We catalog small publications and often scan them for users when they cannot be loaned.

—Anna Brooke & Jody Mussoff, photos by Sam Schubert

Q&A with ... HMSG Librarian Anna Brooke, Part 1

Jody Mussoff, currently a Cataloger for the Libraries, worked with Librarian Anna Brooke from 1977-2001 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (HMSG) Library. Jody conducted this recent interview with Anna, tracing the history of the library and how it came with Joseph Hirshhorn's art collection to Washongton, D.C. The interview will be published in two parts, beginning today and concluding tomorrow.

Anna Brooke

Q. How did you get the job as librarian for Mr. Hirshhorn?

A. I did not work for Mr. Hirshhorn. The job as librarian for the Hirshhorn Museum, Smithsonian Institution, was posted at the School of Library Service, Columbia University where I had been taking a class, “Information Systems” taught by Theodore C. Hines, Spring 1970. I had been the Librarian for the Office Products Division of IBM on Madison Avenue and 57^th Street. When the Division moved their offices to New Jersey, I resigned because I wanted to stay in New York. I had developed an interest in art museums, so I was looking for an art library job.

Q. Where was the art collection, and where was the library?

A. Before the museum staff members moved to Washington D.C. in 1973, the art works were in different locations: in a Morgan Manhattan Warehouse on 510 West 21^rd Street in New York, in our offices 135 East 65^th Street, and at Mr. and Mrs. Hirshhorn’s house on Round Hill Road, Greenwich, Connecticut. The library books were in the offices at 135 East 65^th Street, where we had two floors of a brownstone. My office was in the kitchen, next to the refrigerator and the sink. I was the first librarian and had no assistant. My job was to catalog the library and order new books. I ordered Library of Congress cards and typed the headings and labels. I purchased art books and serials from Wittenborn Art Books, Weyhe, Rizzoli and an occasional auction.

Q. Did you have much interaction with Mr. Hirshhorn or his family?

A. Not really. He had offices on Park Avenue. Every so often he would rush in to see Mr. Lerner, the Hirshhorn Museum Director. When he visited, he asked the young women on the staff how old we were and why we were not married. Except for Mr. Lerner and Mr. Sefekar, the Administrator, the employees on 65^th Street were all young women.

Q. Any anecdotes?

A. The museum staff members were invited to lunch at his house in Greenwich one day. I had never seen a private sculpture garden; it was very large and impressive. We were served lunch on the terrace looking out on the gardens and the Alexander Calder sculpture in the distance, Mrs. Hirshhorn arrived in a tennis dress, as I remember; she was then, and still is, an energetic and very pretty woman.

Q. How large was the art collection?

A. 6,000 works of art

Q. How large was the original library and how many books did it consist of?

A. 4460 books and serials on 2/1/1972

Q. Did Hirshhorn give you instructions and/or a budget for the library?

A. The museum staff members all worked for the Smithsonian Institution from the date the legislation   passed to fund the Hirshhorn Museum in 1967; we were federal employees. Cynthia McCabe, one of the curators, was my boss and gave me federal money to buy books (supplies). The book Budget in FY73 was $5200. Cynthia suggested I take a class at the New School for Social Research on contemporary art. The class visited local artists’ studios, including those of Clement Meadmore and Seymour Lipton.

Q. Who used the books?

A. In New York the books were used by the director and the curators as they are now. The curators needed books to research the 1000 works from the collection that would be included in the Abrams book published for the opening of the museum in 1974.

Q. How long were you with the art collection before it came down to D.C.?

A. I began work in April 1971, we moved to Washington in June 1973.

A view of the HMSG Library in Washington, D.C.

Q. What was the move like?

A. An adventure. Most of us were not happy to leave New York City, but we did not want to miss the opening party. Our new building on the corner of 7^th Street and Independence Avenue was not finished in 1973, so our offices were moved next door into the Arts and Industry Building, where the Air and Space Museum was also housed. In the hall outside our offices there was an ascension balloon exhibition and very annoying music of the period that played all day. There were Quonset huts in the Haupt Garden for some of the airplanes. Most of the art books stayed in boxes until the new Hirshhorn Museum building, designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill was completed.

Check out tomorrow's post with Part 2 pf Jody's interview with Anna, where she talks more about setting up the HMSG Library and the library as it is today.

—Anna Brooke & Jody Mussoff, photos by Sam Schubert