Explore information and documents from past conferences, discussion forums, and webinars. Join the Arts Section at the upcoming ALA conference and by attending Arts programs, meetings, and events.
2023
The Arts Section hosted a reprise presentation of the only art-focused session at the ACRL 2023 Conference in Pittsburgh, No Thoughts, Just Vibes?: Interrogating Algorithms through Visual Art and Information Literacy. The impact of AI on both art and education is a hot topic, and this session thoughtfully addressed the issue and provided inspiration for art librarians on how to engage with this evolving technology.
Session Description:
“Building on the work of contemporary artists who use creative practice to surface and disrupt the influence of algorithms in society, we seek to introduce friction into students’ algorithmic experience, highlighting where algorithms intersect with bias, visibility, privacy, serendipity, inspiration, and authorship in our information literacy pedagogy. In this moderated panel, we will discuss some key questions, including: How can students engage creatively with algorithmic environments while maintaining a critical focus? In what ways does art allow us to reframe and rethink our use of technology?”
Originally presented on March 18, 2023 Reprise webinar on March 29, 2023
Find additional details and a session recording here: https://acrl.ala.org/arts/2023/04/03/acrl-2023-reprise-session-no-thoughts-just-vibes-interrogating-algorithms-through-visual-art-and-information-literacy/
2020
ACRL Arts Section and WGSS Program Planning Committees collaborated to present a webinar Building Bridges between Libraries and Marginalized Arts Groups: A closer look at engaging with women artists of Mexican ancestry to preserve their work.
Session Description:
Libraries and archives have historically ignored or underrepresented artistic contributions from artists of Mexican descent in the United States. Women of color built a foundation for arts and activism on the lower west side of Chicago, yet their history remains largely unpreserved, unwritten, and therefore missing from libraries and archives. Archivists and librarians are now working directly with artists to ensure their work is preserved. Focusing on Chicago’s women artists of Mexican ancestry, the panel showcases the experiences from the perspective of a librarian, a professor, and an artist. Panelists will discuss challenges and triumphs from their perspectives, and provide resources for librarians and archivists who are interested in Chicago efforts and similar projects across the nation.
Originally presented Tuesday, August 11, 2021
Find additional details and a session recording here: https://acrl.ala.org/arts/2020/08/03/2020-acrl-arts-section-and-wgss-program-planning-committees-present-building-bridges-between-libraries-and-marginalized-arts-groups/
2017
Chicago, IL – Annual 2017 ACRL Arts/LES Forum Exploring Chicago Architecture through Art, Literature, and History Saturday, June 24 from 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Hilton Chicago, Stevens Center, Salon A-5 From the top of Willis Tower to tiny Pickwick Stable, Chicago is with rich architectural history. This program will explore architecture through the lenses of art, literature, and history with three engaging presentations: Discover the role the Auditorium Building and the Fine Arts Building played in hosting significant artists’ clubs; Go on a virtual tour of Chicago’s architecture and literature; and hear from the Director of The Archimedia Workshop, an architecture-focused not-for-profit media group. ACRL Arts Publications and Research Committee Forum Saturday, June 24 from 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm Hilton Chicago, Conference Room 4E This year’s forum features the following presentations, with Ariel Turner, Discovery Librarian, Kennesaw State University, as moderator: Visual Literacy as Active Learning in Library Instruction Raymond Pun, First-Year Student Success Librarian, California State University, Fresno
The presenter will discuss a few ways to integrate the act of drawing in library instruction for first year students. These active learning techniques can engage with students and their research process through visual literacy. 1. Mind-mapping through pictionary and 2. ethno-mapping. For one-shots, selected students were required to “draw” their subjects and other students created keywords (or guesses) for this topic. Similar to pictionary, these guesses were shared and discussed and actively engaged with students to think about images in their research process. In ethno-mapping, students had to draw a map of the library and share their knowledge of how and what the library services can do for their research needs. These visual techniques can enhance student’s learning abilities in all subject matters but mostly importantly to engage with students in a one-shot library workshop.
Blending Old and New Traditions: Communicating Choices Through Sight Alessia Zanin-Yost, Reference & Instruction Librarian, Penn State Altoona
The proposed presentation focus on the restoration of the Querini Stampalia building in Venice conducted by the Italian architect Carlo Scarpa (1906-1978). The original building, a family home of the Querini Stampalia, was donated to the city of Venice in 1869 under the condition that the building and the library, which at the time housed more than 20,000 volumes, would remain open at all hours and days to support research and the community. Scarpa was highly influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright, Josef Hoffmann and Japanese landscape and the building is a unique combination of old (the museum and reading rooms) and new (the ground floor and garden) elements. The presentation will focus on the restoration of the ground floor (the entrance, the stairs and the hallway) and the garden (1959-1963) and will illustrates why Scarpa selected specific materials, shapes and design to combine modern elements into an historic building ultimately showing how the Querini Stampalia echo the light, water and history of Venice.
Steering the Conversation: Using Outreach to Make Connections on Campus Leah Sherman, Visual & Performing Arts Librarian, Florida State University
As a new Arts Librarian, outreach to my departments has been a major theme of my time at Florida State University since beginning this position in early 2016. My goals have centered on improving existing relationships between my constituents and the library while also opening new lines of communication with institutional partners such as student organizations and specialized offices. In my efforts as liaison with our Museum of Fine Arts, the FSU Master Craftsman Studio, the Ringling Museum of Art, and all departments within the College of Fine Arts, I have sought to broaden the definition of outreach toward a proactive vehicle for communication, not just event programming. Accordingly, using outreach as a primary tool, I have embraced the role of facilitator for these resulting conversations at FSU. The goal for this presentation is to illustrate the value of outreach as a major component in the role of the subject liaison. Using my work within the Arts community at Florida State University as a case study, I seek to frame my discussion visually by using as a ship’s wheel as a model where these groups are its spokes and my outreach initiatives unite them to a variety of partners at the wheel’s center. Ultimately, I hope to explicitly show the value of outreach not just as a one area of responsibility among many, but as an asset for making connections at the institutional level.
Atlanta, GA – Midwinter 2017 Virtual Discussion Forum Wednesday, January 18, 2017 1:00pm – 2:00pm (CST) Recording of the Virtual Discussion Forum. Collaborative Design: Solving Undergraduate Library Navigation Presenter: Andi Back, Fine Arts and Humanities Librarian, University of Kansas Wayfinding, a term when used in the context of architecture, refers to the individual’s experience of orienting and choosing a path within a physical space. Reconsidering the existing academic library space through the concept of wayfinding is a means to improve undergraduate students’ ability to not only navigate the library space, but also locate the resources and services they need. This presentation will highlight a collaborative wayfinding project at the University of Kansas Art and Architecture Library, between a librarian and an undergraduate design class. Rather than conduct a more traditional library orientation session, the librarian turned a request for instruction into an opportunity to use students’ classroom knowledge to teach them information literacy and improve their library. The librarian and the public services staff hoped to use the wayfinding method to eliminate two main obstacles for successful use of the library: difficulty locating materials on the shelf and (the need to ask directional questions. The students’ suggestions, benefits, challenges, and outcomes of the project will be highlighted. By collaborating with the undergraduate design students, the library staff will ensure that the library environment is reflective of the physical information seeking behaviors of undergraduates in the arts, while also teaching the student participants about the resources and services of the library. Evolving the Hometown Map: documenting and preserving student work from the School of Architecture Presenter: Gilda Santana, Head, Architecture Library / Art & Art History, University of Miami
The Hometown Map Project http://scholar.library.miami.
A vehicle for showcasing the creative talent of our student body, the Hometown Map also underscores the international diversity inherent to both the School of Architecture and the University of Miami. A legacy, undergraduate, studio assignment that dates back to 1997, it has its roots in the tradition of hand drawing, however, because of technological advancements in mapping tools, greater access to electronic resources in general, and modifications to the exercise over time, the project continues to evolve; its evolution articulated in perpetuity through contemporary, graphic interpretations of the universally understood theme of hometown. This presentation will demonstrate the evolution of the project by deconstructing the layers of intellectual, administrative, and technical scaffolding that led up to its most current manifestation as an interactive global map. Past Presentations & Webinars 2016 2013 2010 2015 2012 2006 – 2008 2014 2011 2000 – 2005