ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries April 1 9 9 2 /2 4 7 Toward a Bibliothèque Conference N atio n ale des Arts C ircuit B y C h e r y l S p ie s e M cK ee The new library will result in improved access a n d services P ublic discussion on the new Bibliothèque de France has eclipsed another significant developm ent. In early 1990 it w as annou that the Bibliothèque Nationale’s (BN) former facility in the Rue Richelieu w ould ho u se a “Bibliothèque Nationale des Arts.” As conceived by the governm ent, this new national library o f the arts will bring together several collec­ tions w hich are now physically dispersed and administratively unconnected: the D épartem ent des Estampes et de la Photographie (which will rem ain in its quarters in the present BN); the Bibliothèque d ’Art et d ’Archéologie, the Biblio­ th è q u e C entrale d u Louvre et d es M usées N a tio n a u x ; th e B ib lio th è q u e d e l ’E co le Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. The first open, professional discussion of the project took place at a one-day conference in Paris on D ecem ber 12, 1991, and w as orga­ nized by the Paris group of the special libraries section o f the “Association des Bibliothecaires Francais.” Administrators from the affected li­ braries outlined the impact of the project on their institutions. An excellent analysis o f the entire project w as then follow ed by additional sp eak ers representing various categories of “users” w ho presented their views of the im­ pact of the new facility on their ow n work. Planning and timetable Recurrent criticism focused o n the lack o f con­ sultation associated w ith the governm ent’s d e­ cision. Librarians, having had n o input, must now w ork out logistics and problems. Officials w ere unaw are of the trem endous complexities n involved in relocating and consolidating the various collections and services, especially with regard to the projected timetable. For example, the process of readying materials for transfer has revealed numerous preservation issues which, ideally, should be addressed before any move. Consolidation of the separate administrations cepdo ses major problem s vis à vis personnel and reporting structure. Also, the relation of this library to the research institute and to the new Bibliothèque de France still remains to be d e­ termined. A working group called the “Asso­ ciation pour la Bibliothèque Nationale des Arts” has b e e n established to address these adminis­ trative and policy issues. Defining "arts" and identifying collections Several speakers indicated that the most diffi­ cult task initially w as defining the scope of “arts” and then identifying specific collections to be m erged into such a library. The final choice w as generally characterized as “arbitrary.” Fur­ thermore, disciplines such as archeology and architecture go beyond the traditional confines o f “art” in their dependence on technical mate­ rial. There w ere also questions concerning the noninclusion o f other “arts” collections. O ne speaker criticized the creation of yet another centralized, Paris-based collection and felt that resources could be better used to iden­ tify all major French art historical collections and to create a union catalogue. She em pha­ sized the n eed to shift from the idea of “collec­ tion” (i.e., ow nership) to “identification et com­ munication” (i.e., access). Collection diversity While all the libraries have a core of traditional published material, o ther resources such as Cheryl Spiese McKee is a bibliographer in comparative literature a n d German at the State University o f New York at Binghamton (Bitnet: CMCKEE@BINGVMB) 2 4 8 /C&RL News engravings, draw ings, blueprints, an d architec­ tural m odels will require diverse treatm ent and m odes of access. Concern w as ex p ressed for the disposition o f each institution’s internal ar­ chives, w hich exist independently o f the col­ lections, bu t w hich should be included in any m oves since archival docum entation concern­ ing the institutions of art is increasingly im por­ tant in tracing the history o f art. Access and services It w as g enerally a g reed th at the co m p leted project should result in im proved access and services since it will unite several dispersed collections in a single facility that is, in m ost respects, superior to the current ones. Preser­ vation efforts w o u ld certainly b e im proved. H owever, issues concerning levels o f service an d access n e e d to be resolved. The libraries have historically served different clienteles; the new facility will n o w serve th em all, y et m ust avoid the “encyclopédism e” o f being all things to all people. There is special concern o n th e p art o f those libraries w h o se mission has b een primarily pedagogical that th e association of th e arts library w ith a research institute will restrict the access formerly enjoyed by students. Automation Merging the catalogues to provide im proved bibliographic access presents a major challenge. Centuries of independent practices have resulted in neither standardized cataloging nor standard­ ized terminology. The task of “harm onizing” the separate catalogues will b e im m ense, achiev­ able only through a major autom ation effort that in c lu d e s retro co n v ersio n . C o m p u terizatio n , therefore, is essential an d should be at the heart of th e project. G overnm ent financial support has so far focused on physical facilities, although the Louvre library has just b een aw arded a large sum to begin autom ating the catalogue o f the M usées Nationaux. But m ore funding will be n e e d e d to consolidate an d up grade all the cata­ logues that will com prise the n ew infrastruc­ ture. A nticipating future developm ents, one sp eak er also envisioned the establishm ent o f a “distance research” service, utilizing imaging tech­ nology, fax, scanning, etc. to provide materials to researchers located elsewhere. Conclusions T he entire project will involve massive finan­ cial com m itm ents and considerable upheaval for the institutions involved. T hat it will pro­ ceed is a given and, despite criticisms concern­ ing its inception, th e library professionals at this conference seem ed com m itted to a w ork­ able solution. Several speakers em phasized that th e project does provide a m uch-needed and long-overdue chance to reevaluate the various libraries’ collections, services, a n d policies. ■ (Murphy cont. fro m page 246) expressions o f the art w ork as it is captured in the video presentation? 2) W hat d o es the p re ­ senter lose in ticket sales if video cam eras take u p seats that could be sold? 3) W hat are the things th e perform er considers im portant to be p resen ted in each video piece? 4) Is the video being created for study, a grant application, or public relations? an d 5) W here should the video d o c u m e n t be kept? All o f th e p an elists re ­ s p o n d e d to these questions by expanding on som e o f th e issues that they h ad ad d ressed in Part I of the program o n Saturday night. H ow ­ ever, n ew subjects discussed included issues such as: 1) W hat kinds of o ther forms o f do cu ­ m entation of a perform ance such as perform er notes o r m asters of studio recordings an d the like are available from the perform er to su p p le­ m e n t th e v id e o d o c u m e n t? 2) D o e s th e docum enter or th e perform er o r som eone else o w n the copyright on any given w ork after it is produced? 3) Are libraries presenting perfor­ m ance art videotapes instead o f bringing in the actual performer? 4) H ow can funding for bet­ ter docum entation o f perform ance art b e dis­ tributed to docum enters? an d 5) H ow can li­ brary netw orking help to distribute information about performance art to persons w h o are in­ terested in it no matter where they are? The session concluded with a question-and-answer period. T hese tw o sessions w ere interesting because they w ere connected to o n e another an d gave the participant w h o h ad the opportunity to at­ ten d them both a g ood understanding o f the issues from the artist, the docum enter, an d the library point o f view. In listening to each o f the speakers it becam e increasingly ap p aren t that libraries can b e active participants in preserv­ ing an d docum enting perform ance art and that th e artists and the docum enters recognized that libraries could b e a m u ch n e e d e d im partial w id esp read distributor o f their w ork. ■