The Dallas Art Libraries Consortium, officially organized in 2005, was set up to facilitate the research needs of local art researchers. At this time, there are four members: Hamon Fine Arts Library at Southern Methodist University, Mildred M. Kelly Library of the Art Institute of Dallas, Fine Arts Division of the Dallas Public Library and the Mayer Library of the Dallas Museum of Art. The Consortium's Web site describes each member's collection and what patrons it serves and how. There are no elected officers, no dues and no set meeting times.
The idea for Dallas Art Libraries Consortium originated with Tinsley Silcox, Director of the Hamon Fine Arts Library at SMU. Tin, (as everyone calls him), felt a need for an informal local group of art librarians to provide researchers and other librarians knowledge of local collections and resources. It was also considered useful for each librarian to meet and know other librarians in the field. Each librarian was asked to provide a description of each collection for the Web site, including strengths, who to contact, hours and location, and rules for usage. The Web site is managed by Chris Edwards, administrative assistant at SMU's Hamon Arts Library.
The first and organizational meeting was at the Art Institute of Dallas where we toured the library then had lunch at the Culinary Institute, a part of the school. The second meeting was at the SMU Hamon Library where the librarian, Beverly Gibbons, demonstrated ArtStor. In keeping with the getting-to-know-each-other approach, we had lunch afterwards at a local restaurant. At this time there are no other meetings scheduled.
Gwen Dixie