F.
W. Olin Art & Architecture Visual Resources Collection
COLLECTION
DEVELOPMENT POLICY
2009
A COMMUNITY
DESCRIPTION
The Art & Architecture VRC primarily services the slide
and digital imaging needs of the Art and Art History Department, and the
Hammons School of Architecture at
The Art and Art History Department offers Bachelor of Arts
in Studio and Design Arts and Bachelor of Arts in Art History degrees, and provides
the studio art component for the Bachelor of Science in Education with K-12
certification in Art.
The Hammons School of Architecture offers a NAAB accredited
5+ year Master of Architecture degree.
These two departments operate within the context of a
small, private, four-year liberal arts university. Occasionally the collection is utilized by
faculty from other departments on campus, particularly Theatre, History,
Interdisciplinary Studies, Honors, and Literature.
B CLIENTELE
TO BE SERVED
The clientele consists of faculty and students. The primary clientele are the faculties of
the Art and Architecture Departments.
Circulation of slides is extended to all students and faculty
campus-wide. Access to the online
digital image collection (MDID) is extended to faculty via accounts, giving
their students access to assigned course content.
C PARAMETERS
Subject matter is limited to the visual arts and
architecture. Since 2008, the format is
limited to still digital images.
D PROGRAMS
AND PATRON NEEDS
The primary function of the image collection is to support
the curriculum of the Art, Art History, and Architecture programs by providing
images for lectures and class discussions conducted by faculty or students.
E LIMITATIONS
& PRIORITIES
Limited funding and limited staff require that priorities
be set. The first priority is to build a
basic general support collection that is balanced in its coverage of all areas
addressed in the curriculum, such as all:
1. Time
periods.
2. Geographic
and ethnic areas.
3. Mediums
taught in studio classes.
-DETAILS-
A FORMATS
Beginning in 2008, the VRC collects only digital images to
add to MDID or its successor, while maintaining the 35mm slide collection.
B SUBJECTS
The collection is divided into a main collection that is
predominately of Western Civilization, and organized chronologically. Within that chronology, it is hoped that all
major art mediums will be represented.
These include Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, and Drawing. Where appropriate or available for the time
period, many "minor arts" are collected as well. These include Ceramics, Metals, Woods,
Textiles, Prints (including Photography), Performance Art, and Industrial
Design.
Beyond the main western collection, we have collections to
support special topic art and architecture history classes. These include Far Eastern, Islamic, Native
American, Oceanic and African collections.
It is hoped that within all of these, the studio classes
will find images in their mediums from which to teach. Where this is not the case, a special effort
will be made to acquire materials needed.
C INTENSITY
LEVEL
The intensity level of the main western collection is
expected to be somewhat higher than that of the Oceanic, Native American, or
Eastern collections. This is in keeping
with Drury's tradition of teaching the western cultural heritage within the
context of a global society.
D RESPONSIBILITY
FOR SELECTION
The selection process is a cooperative effort between the
curator and the faculties of both departments.
Though it is the curator's responsibility to make the final decision
concerning selection and gifts, every effort will be made to produce and/or
procure all materials requested by the faculty.
It is also the responsibility of the curator to maintain balance in the
collection.
E SELECTION
CRITERIA
General Criteria:
The objective for the image collection is to maintain a
balanced general support collection to support the curriculum of the two departments
it serves. Selections will be based on:
1. Requests from
faculty.
2. Knowledge of the
curriculum.
3. Knowledge of the
collection.
Specific Criteria:
Materials will also be considered for selection based on:
1. Subject matter.
2. Bibliographic
data and documentation for cataloging purposes.
3. Quality, correct,
color reproduction (when possible).
4. Reviews of
commercial suppliers in review sources such as:
Image Buyer's Guide
Visual Resources Association Bulletin
Visual Resources
-ADDITIONAL
CONSIDERATIONS-
A GIFTS
Gifts will be added to the collection only if they meet the
selection criteria stated above. Care
should be taken to avoid offending or discouraging donors, while maintaining
the quality and objectives of the collection.
B WEEDING
Weeding should be performed on an on-going basis. Older slides that have faded or discolored
should be replaced with new digital images if the curator finds them to still
be appropriate for the collection. Discolored slides that cannot be replaced
but are deemed necessary to the collection will remain until a replacement can
be produced or purchased, and, in the case of architectural or sculptural
images, may be scanned with color removed so they appear to be black &
white images.
C DUPLICATE
COPIES
There will be duplicate copies in the 35mm slide collection
where need exists. There are also many
major works that merit multiple views and details.
D EVALUATION
OF COLLECTION
Like selection, evaluation is a cooperative effort between
the curator and the faculty. It is the
responsibility of the curator to be aware of:
1. How well the
needs of the faculty are being met.
2. The quality of
the images in the collection.
3. The quantity of
materials in each area of the collection.
An awareness of quality is an on-going process. A triennial inventory of the collection
provides quantitative data for determining areas of weakness.
E CENSORSHIP
ISSUES
Because it is sometimes the nature of art to challenge
ideas, portray the human form, or create images that some would find offensive,
it is imperative that the image collections uphold the American Library
Association's Freedom to View Statement.
Any complaint concerning materials should be submitted in
writing, and will be considered by the curator, the Library Director, and the
chairpersons of the Art & Art History and Architecture Departments.
REFERENCES
Evans,
Edward G. Developing Library and
Taylor, Mary M. School
Library and
Rev.
02/19/09
