Digital access to the old and the rare: Bibliothèque Artistique

The small shoestring-budget team is trying to create digital access to their rare material as much as they possibly can as they continue the Herculean cataloguing task. They regularly utilise other organisations high quality digital collections. 

Books that are already digitised by other projects (NYPL, Archive.org etc) are furnished with embedded links to that product in the Bibliothèque Artistique's catalogue.

Here is an entry for the title L'ornement des tissus : recueil historique et pratique , utilising the NYPL digital gallery under the "Uniform Resource Locator" tab:

Full description

Contents A
Title Proper	L'ornement des tissus : recueil historique et pratique
First Statement of Responsibility	par M. Dupont-Auberville ; éd. ss la dir. de M. Bachelin-Deflorenne
Place of Publication, Distribution, etc.	Paris : Ducher et Cie , 1877
Collation	37 p., [100] pl. : lithographies coul. ; 39,50 cm
Note	Tables des planches Notes explicatives Une version numérisée de ce livre est disponible sur http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/mais ne comprend que 49 pl.
Serie	Art industriel
Uniform Resource Locator	Voir copie numérique nypl de ce livre ici
Shelfmark	Bib. artistique : Magasin 677(09) DUP O R B Not loanable Details
Authors	Dupont-Auberville , Auguste  Bachelin-Deflorenne
Subject Term	Textiles et tissus -- Motifs Textiles et tissus -- Histoire
CDU	677(09)

All Bibliotheque Artistique titles with full entries on archive.org under the "Uniform Resource Locator" tab. I love how archive.org virtually flicks throughout the entire tome as you are checking out its bib details.

Titles not included in other institutional projects are photographed and presented in online albums using Jalbum, and Flickr.

The Jalbum digital projects are divided into albums on subject: painting, sculpture, architecture, drawing, fashion, prints/graphic arts, decorative arts.

Floral Ornament: Bibliothèque Artistique

Out of the ongoing cataloguing work on the rare book collections at the Bibliothèque Artistique came the physical and virtual exhibition "From the Plants to the Ornament". The 19th century collection holds an impressive selection of anthologies of the ornament, of floral decoration. 

The lithographs satisfying this botanical bent are rich and surprisingly vivid, the books servicing the fashion of their times, and the historical appetite of ours.

Bibliothèque Artistique: Brussels, Belgium

The Bibliothèque Artistique is a unique library beast.
Nestled deep within the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles (Royal Academy of Fine Arts Brussels), it's collections have serviced the prestigious art school since 1711.
A strange schism occurred in the 1973 however, when the library was officially absorbed into the public library system of Brussels. It essentially became a regular public library branch, albeit with a particular subject specialisation, and an incredible and uncatalogued rare book collection requiring an immense amount of Serious Library Work. This rare book collection remained the property of the Academy, but remained housed and protected by this Bibliotheque Artistique.
Branch Librarian Christine Feron has been doing an incredible job with this unusual arrangement, juggling the responsibilities of a small public library service, and the daunting task of assessing, cataloguing and digitising their rare holdings, all with a staff of 2. That number includes Christine.

Upon the split, the Library chiefs and representatives of the Academy allocated autonomous care and responsibility of the 19th century collection (over 10,000 titles) to the library staff.
Decision-making and management of the 17th and 18th century collection (about 400 titles) is shared by the Academy and the Library.
The collaboration is working well, and since 2002 Christine and her small team (one other coworker and the occasional intern) have catalogued nearly 5000 titles from the impressive 19th century collection of folios.

Bibliothèque Artistique: old pages

Bibliothèque Artistique: Books on Trolleys

Books on trolleys. I will not be stopped.

Bibliothèque Artistique: Brussels

Bibliothèque Artistique: Brussels

Many great lines, 

Bibliothèque Artistique: Brussels

Bibliothèque Artistique: Brussels

Next up: I visit the Bibliotheque Artistique in Brussels, Belgium.
Servicing the Royal Academy of Fine Arts  here in Brussels since 1711, this collection predates European settlement back home in Australia. Lovely.