ARLIS/TXMX - News: Academic Libraries

Name change: Wittliff Collections at Texas State University-San Marcos

Wed, 14 May 2008 11:50:54 -0400

WHEN THE SOUTHWESTERN Writers Collection was
founded at the University Library in 1986, its collecting
activities focused on the literature, film, and music of the
region. Several years later Bill Wittliff and Connie Todd
began to collect photographs, and in 1996 the Wittliff
Gallery of Southwestern & Mexican Photography was formally
christened at the Alkek Library.
Although sharing facilities and operating as one
organization within the university, each collection continued
to function separately for the most part in terms of
archival activities, exhibitions, and public programming.

Little Heroes online exhibit wins award

Tue, 13 May 2008 17:15:34 -0400

The Little Heroes online exhibit, created by Tara Spies for the Wittliff Collection of Southwestern & Mexican Photography at Texas State University – San Marcos, was recently awarded a merit citation in the Mitchell A. Wilder award category for Non-Print Media from the Texas Association of Museums.
The list of all the Mitchell A. Wilder awards can be found on the TAM website .

News: Schwartz 'screams' in the library

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 14:36:27 -0400

Laura Schwartz, head librarian of the Fine Arts Library, leads the College of Fine Arts freshmen in a cheer for Gone to Texas orientation.

According to American Libraries Direct, "Not only were the students provided with an introduction to key administrators, but they were also able to eat pizza, sing karaoke, and scream in the library as orchestrated by Fine Arts Librarian Laura Schwartz, who recorded the event for posterity in this YouTube video."

The heirs of Houston architect Karl Fred Kamrath (1911-1988) donated manuscript materials and other documents pertaining to Kamrath's professional career to the University of Texas at Austin Libraries. These materials, produced in the Houston offices of MacKie and Kamrath include sketchbooks, photographic prints, negatives, slides, drawings, papers, and books. Of particular interest is the MacKie and Kamrath job list that documents 1,000 projects between 1938-1983. This collection joins the Karl Kamrath Library of books, magazines, and ephemera relating to architect Frank Lloyd Wright that was donated to the Libraries in 1987.

News: Fondren Library Renovation/Expansion Project

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 16:30:26 -0400

Fondren Library, Rice University: Renovation & Expansion Project

The Board of Trustees of Rice University accepted the Fondren Library Master Plan presented by the architectural firm of Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott in May 1999. Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott will remain the project architects and Robert Venturi has been named design architect.

Before the expansion project can begin, a temporary, two-story building will be erected to house approximately 850,000 volumes. Some Circulation staff and most of the Technical Services Department will be relocated in the temporary building to be located to the northwest of the Student Center. The temporary building is scheduled for completion by spring 2001 with the move of the collection to be accomplished in early summer. Once the 1969 west wing of Fondren is vacated, Linbeck Construction will remove asbestos from six floors, and then demolish the structure to make way for the new wing. The original 1949 east wing facing the academic quadrangle will house the Brown Fine Arts collection, the Reference collection and Reference staff, Circulation/Reserve Desks, Woodson Research Center, Government Publications, SCIPPR, Interlibrary Loan and R.I.C.E. offices. Most of the Fine Arts Collection is presently housed in the wing scheduled for demolition and will need to be moved to the fourth floor of the original wing. Brown Fine Arts Library Circulation and Reserve services will be integrated with Fondren Circulation/Reserve during the summer of 2001. Staff of the Woodson Research Center will page rare books and flat folios during the demolition phase, as they will relocate to the third floor adjacent to the Brown Fine Arts Library. The Music collection will remain in the original Fondren Library until another library is built in the Shepherd School of Music. Projected opening date for the Music Library is summer 2002.

News: William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library Expansion Project

Fri, 25 Aug 2006 11:08:00 -0400

Margaret Culbertson reports that the William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library's long-awaited expansion project is finally scheduled for this coming spring semester. A space adjacent to the library, in the Architecture Building, will be renovated to provide additional shelving space. Once that is done, some major shifting will have to be done, and then the construction crew comes into the library for some additional renovation work. Margaret adds, "If you call this spring and hear hammering in the background and a frazzled sound in our voices, you will know that we are in the midst of the renovation. I am also happy to report that they have hired Charlene Kanter, of Houston, into the other half of my position, and she will start a half-time schedule in January 2000. If you need to reach me, I should be available in the Architecture and Art Library on Mondays, Tuesdays, and half of Wednesdays. We'll send more information about Charlene for the next issue of The Medium. Needless to say, I am REALLY looking forward to this schedule change."

News: Blanton Museum Design Architects Resign Commission

Fri, 25 Aug 2006 10:58:38 -0400

The University of Texas at Austin announced on November 16 that Herzog & de Meuron have resigned their commission as design architects for the planned Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art. The architects indicated that their decision was based on their judgement that it would not be practical to bridge differences over the interpretation of the project in the context of the Campus Master Plan. The plan was adopted by the UT System Board of Regents in 1996 to guide future development of the campus.

UT Austin President Larry R. Faulkner said that members of the UT community understand the basis for the decision and are in agreement that it would have been difficult to reach a jointly accepted concept of the new museum. Herzog & de Meuron representatives said that they are convinced that the process of consultation they have gone through with the UT System Board of Regents was productive in defining the parameters of the Blanton Museum. They expressed the hope that the results of the discussion will pave the way for further progress. Herzog & de Meuron, based in Basel, Switzerland, served as design consultants under subcontract with Booziotis & Company of Dallas. The Dallas firm will complete program development in a form that can be transferred to the new design architects after they are appointed.

News: UT Austin Appoints New Dean of Fine Arts

Fri, 25 Aug 2006 10:57:29 -0400

Dr. Robert Freeman, an accomplished pianist and musicologist who served as director of the prestigious Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester for 24 years, has been named dean of the College of Fine Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. His appointment is effective Jan. 16, 2000. Dr. Sheldon Ekland-Olson, UT Austin executive vice president and provost, announced Freeman's appointment November 30. Freeman replaces Dr. David Deming, who left the University to become president of the Cleveland Institute of Art.

During his tenure at Eastman from 1972 to 1996, Freeman strengthened the faculty and the concept of faculty self- governance, improved alumni relations and oversaw $50 million in new construction and $20 million in rebuilding on campus. He also reorganized the school's admissions program, resulting in a 90 percent increase during the period 1974-92 in numbers of completed applications, and he played a leading role in the University's fundraising efforts. In its most recent rankings, the U.S. News & World Report named the Eastman School of Music the nation's leading music school.

News: Sheryl Garcia Receives RLG Travel Award

Fri, 25 Aug 2006 10:54:40 -0400

The ARLIS Travel Award Committee notified Sheryl Garcia of the University of Houston that she will be receiving the $1,000 RLG Travel Award for the Pittsburgh Conference! Way to go, Sheryl!

News: Academic Libraries

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 17:46:58 -0400

Tara Carlisle, art librarian at the University of North Texas, received a Teaching with Technology grant from the University of North Texas provost to create a database that will provide access to the Texas Fashion Collection via the World Wide Web. The Texas Fashion Collection (TFC), which consists of approximately 10,000 garments and accessories created by leading designers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, is international in scope and a rich learning resource for those who are studying costume, theater, fashion design, merchandising, history, and the arts in general. However, because of the delicate condition of the garments, and the lack of exhibition space, the collection has been practically inaccessible. Viewing the collection is restricted to students enrolled in fashion history classes or to a few outsiders on an appointment-only basis. The database, which serves as both a curatorial and public online catalog, will provide virtual access to the collection for researchers and the public at large. At this time, 250 of the 8,000 records include digitized images of the object, some of which can be rotated virtually. Plans are underway to create digitized images of a majority of the collection's objects.

News: Lights at the End of the Road

Sun, 20 Aug 2006 19:10:41 -0400

The Alexander Architectural Archive at the University of Texas at Austin is proud to announce that its Charles W. Moore Room is reopened for service with a brand new lighting system. New light fixtures were a gift of Peerless Lighting Corporation, spearheaded by friend of Charles Moore and lighting expert Dick Peters (University of California at Berkeley Emeritus Professor). Many friends of the library were involved in making this happen, as this gift was two years in the making.

Dick Peters attended a Charles W. Moore symposium in April 1997 and commented on the Moore Room's need for improved lighting. We took the opportunity to express our interest in locating a potential donor for better fixtures, but we never expected this to come to fruition. A month later, in May 1997, we received notice that Dick Peters was working on a donation of Peerless lighting fixtures.

News: UT Austin

Mon, 14 Aug 2006 21:37:29 -0400

Blanton Museum of Art acquires one of the world's most important collections of old master paintings and drawings through generosity of museum benefactors -- 700-piece Suida-Manning Collection features masterpieces of Italian, French, and German art from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The version with photographs is at: http://www.utexas.edu/cofa/hag/suida.html.

Dr. Larry R. Faulkner, president of UT Austin, presided at the Oct. 17 dedication of the E. William Doty Fine Arts Building, the highlight of a year- long celebration of the 60th anniversary of the College of Fine Arts. Earlier this year, The University of Texas System Board of Regents voted to name the College of Fine Arts' administration building in honor of Doty, the founding dean of the college, who led its development for 35 years, from 1938 through 1972. For more information: http://www.utexas.edu/admin/opa/oncam pus/oc981027/oc-dean.html.

News: Southwestern Writers Collection Acquires King of the Hill Papers

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 22:07:30 -0400

Hank, Peggy, and Bobby Hill, along with all of their Arlen, Texas, friends and neighbors have found a permanent home in Alkek Library’s Southwestern Writers Collection (SWWC). In 1999, Jim Dauterive, a Dallas native and staff writer for the Mike Judge & Greg Daniels King of the Hill television series, began donating his personal papers to the collection, the bulk of which consisted of scripts, research materials, memos, promotional items, and other production records documenting the popular animated series. In 2005, as the show prepared to wrap up its final seasons, Mr. Dauterive contacted SWWC Curator Connie Todd to inquire whether the SWWC would be interested in the comprehensive archives of the series. Since one of the driving missions of the Southwestern Writers Collection is to collect and preserve papers and manuscripts documenting southwestern culture and literature, Ms. Todd was quick to accept, and over 75 boxes of scripts, artifacts, and production records arrived on campus during the spring of 2006.