FROM THE EDITORAuthor(s): Beryl SmithSource: Art Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America, Vol. 8,No. 3 (Fall 1989), p. 145Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Art Libraries Society of NorthAmericaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27948089 .

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Art Documentation, Fall, 1989 145

ARLIS/NA NEWS SECTION

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FROM THE EDITOR Change is a word that all too often causes apprehension

along with, often well-founded, confusion. As the new editor of Art Documentation I would like to take this opportunity to explain, in a general sense, the proposed changes to ARLIS/ NA's periodicals and the implications of the change.

Just as ARLIS/NA itself has moved from less than a dozen interested art librarians who founded the organization to a

membership of over 1,300, so too has the official publication grown and changed from the original six-page ARLIS/NA Newsletter, begun in November 1972, to the quarterly Art Documentation which since 1984 has been supplemented by a second publication, ARLIS/NA Update. The evolutionary process has moved Art Documentation increasingly along a more scholarly path, with a changed format, lengthier arti cles, and most recently, initiation of the referee process for longer, more theoretical articles. The changes proposed at this time merely continue this

trend. The focus of Art Documentation, as a scholarly jour nal, will be on articles of lasting value: both the long, thoroughly developed articles, as well as shorter pieces that do not lend themselves to lengthy discourse. The determi nants will not be the length of an article, but rather the ap propriateness of the subject and treatment, timeliness, and scholarly presentation, which should not be confused with obfuscated writing. Book and serial reviews will remain a part of Art Documentation, edited by Sheila Klos and Jim Carmin. Regular columns are being considered. Kathryn Vaughn, the assistant editor, will continue receiving chapter, division, section and round table reports, and other news items, as in the past. These will, however, be read from now on in ARLIS/NA Update instead of Art Documentation. Ex ceptions will be articles, developed under the aegis of any of these groups, which are deemed to have more enduring value. Articles arriving on the wrong desk will be passed along for publication in the appropriate periodical, so there need be no fear of lost articles if submitted to the wrong person.

One final, but important, point for all the membership is this: Art Documentation does not just happen four times a year. This is the journal of, as well as for, ARLIS/NA mem bers. Although articles of value can and do originate from outside sources, many should appropriately be expected to come from those most closely associated with the materials and functions of art librarianship and visual resources curatorship. As your editor I not only seek articles, but I am also soliciting your suggestions for the issues and articles you would like to read.

I look forward to serving as the editor of Art Documenta tion and to the cooperative effort that will help to continue the excellence that has evolved in this ARLIS publication over the years.

Beryl Smith Rutgers University

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FROM THE PRESIDENT I was honored to be invited to address the members of

ARLIS/Norden at their annual conference in June 1989. This year's annual meeting in Oslo, Norway, was the society's third; the first was held in 1987 in Helsinki (Helsingfors), and the second was held in Copenhagen in 1988. Oslo was the perfect place for me to set foot in Scandinavia for the first time, since in 1983 I had witnessed the enthusiasm of three Norwegian art librarians, generated by the meeting of the

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IFLA Art Section in Munich, that had led to the formation of the first ARLIS in a country that was not primarily English speaking: ARLIS/Norge.

The hospitality of the art librarians of Oslo, and the friend liness of the visiting members of ARLIS/Norden from Den

mark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, and other parts of Norway, made my stay exceptionally enjoyable. This friendliness in cluded an invitation to sit in on the pre-conference meeting of the board of ARLIS/Norden, held in the library of the Sta tene Kunstakademi.

The official language of ARLIS/Norden is English, which was fortunate for me. Only when the budget was being dis cussed, at the opening session held at the Oslo Royal Univer sity Library, did it become necessary to speak Swedish for greater clarity. (Actually everyone was told that if they could not find the Swedish term they needed they could speak in their own language

- as long as it was not Finnish ! Since the Finns generally speak Swedish too, this was not quite the hardship it might seem).

One of the highlights of the conference for me was fulfil ling a request that I read the letter that I had sent earlier to inform the officers of ARLIS/Norden that the members of

ARLIS/NA had, at their 1989 annual meeting, voted over whelmingly in favor of affiliation with ARLIS/Norden. To be able to deliver such news and greetings from the members of ARLIS/NA, in person, was very gratifying, especially as the establishment of this new bond between the two societies

was warmly received. On the same day as the annual business meeting there

were tours of the city's art libraries. My choices included the University Library, which is also the National Library, and the Nasjonalgalleriet Library. Then in the evening of this first full day, 40 or 50 of us were accommodated at Engebrets Caf? for dinner, and proceeded to get to know each other better.

The second day was devoted to formal papers on the sub ject of automation, and was held just outside Oslo at the beautifully situated and lively Henie-Onstad Kunstsenter. After my opening paper, a representative from each of the Nordic countries discussed the current state of automation in relation to art bibliography and/or art libraries in their own country. While there was inevitably not a uniform picture across the region, the amount of planning that had been ac complished, and the establishment of pilot projects and fully operating ventures, was most impressive. In general Nordic librarians seem to be approaching automation with careful attention to its implications, and giving a great deal of thought to cooperative activity. It was interesting to observe

wide knowledge of utilities and vendors, both European and American, and to listen to informed criticism of such Ameri can-based entities as the RLG art conspectus, the Art and Architecture Thesaurus, and RILA. My own insistence on standards such as the MARC format turned out to be un necessary since there were many Nordic advocates of the same position.

After lunch there was a guided discussion of the morn ing's papers, followed by the opportunity to look around the Henie-Onstad contemporary art center. We were also able to see and hear about the library of the Kunstsenter, and to peruse the artist book collection and Fluxus archives. Since many of the conferees had begun to head home by the even ing, only about 20 of us went to dinner at the splendid Norwegian-Viennese Theatercaf?en in downtown Oslo.

On the third and final day of the conference, those of us who remained went on the ferry across Oslo Fjord to Bygd0y to see the Maritime Museum and two other museums de voted to specific ships: Nansen and Amundsen's Fram, and Heyerdahl's Kon Tiki and Ra II. The fourth museum further across the promontory was the superb Viking Ship Museum. Then, last of all, we visited the Norwegian Folk Museum, which includes old wooden buildings and farmsteads that

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