Oscars: Library Mavens, Library Doyens

This art library tourism gig has led to many amazing repositories around the world, full to the brim of extraordinary goodies and interesting methodology.

It has also highlighted the lives and work of some truly extraordinary people, the builders and keepers of these collections. So an ArtLibraryCrawl focus on/biographical spotlight of these folk seems in order.

Wowed by the Judith A Hoffberg Artist Book Collection at UCLA Arts Library (artlibrarycrawlposted here), I was equally impressed by the accomplishments of the late, great Ms Hoffberg, an extraordinary librarian, writer, curator, editor, publisher. Co-founder of Art Libraries Society of North America and champion of small press publication, xerox art, mail art and book art. Soak up her bio here and here.

Judith A. Hoffberg: artlibrarycrawl maven/doyen #1

Continuing this spotlight, a quick word on the Oscars library's namesake Margaret Herrick.

Margaret Herrick (then Gledhill, nee Buck) was the librarian wife of one of the earliest Executive Directors of the Academy.

She stepped in very early in the Academy's history to take on the fledgling library, performing her work in an unpaid capacity for a number of years. No need to insert feminist discourse/commentary here. She ran the library formally through the 30's and early 40's.

Margaret Herrick, image from oscars.org

In an excellent take on Rosie the Riveter, Ms Herrick was asked in 1943 to take over the running of the Academy when the US entered the war and her husband was called up for service. However, when the boys came home she stayed on in her role (Mr Gledhill didn't get his job back, or, in fact, his wife- Margaret remarried in 1946, taking the name Herrick). She remained the Executive Director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences into the 1970's.

Upon her retirement they named the Academy Library after her. Other dedications: she is widely credited with the sobriquet "Oscar" after she mentioned the statuette awards looked "just like my uncle Oscar".

Her legacy doesn't end there. Not only did Margaret guide the Academy through decades of film industry development and change, she was also the instrumental to the Academy's (and therefore the Library's) sound economic footing.

By driving the sale and negotiation of television rights to the annual Academy Awards she ensured the economic strength and longevity of her organisation and its extraordinary library.

Margaret Herrick: Librarian, Hollywood mover/shaker, artlibrarycrawl maven/doyen #2.

Current Library Director Dr Linda Mehr describes Margaret Herrick as a "strong woman".

I bet she's right. Linda is no lightweight herself. Lookout Linda Mehr, you are next in my celebration of impressive Librariana.

UCLA Arts Library: 'The Belt'

Another very special collection held by the UCLA Arts Library is the Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana.

Donated to UCLA in the sixties, this incredible private collection was built by medical doctor Elmer Belt (a member of faculty at the UCLA Medical School) who became interested - very interested - in Leonardo da Vinci. He initially tried to recreate the personal library of Leonardo da Vinci- buying originals and facsimiles of everything that was known to be in his library, and facsimiles of his notebooks in all the different sizes. This collection now stands at over 10 000 volumes strong and includes (among other incredible titles) a first edition Alberti. Colour me impressed.

Dr Belt hired a librarian to help build this collection, and once word got out, book dealers and specialists would contact him directly with any goodies that came on the market. 

In addition to collecting Leonardo specific artefacts, he also collected a variety of reference materials in order to research Leonardo and the Italian Renaissance. Some things are not special collection material per say, but contributed to this personal quest.

UCLA has ended up with some very well known renaissance scholars and boasts a strong program in Renaissance Studies. With many graduate students doing very interesting work on Italian Renaissance, this collection continues to be one of the Art Libraries "little treasures".

Some of the (more) extremely valuable parts of this collection (there are over seventy items of incunabula) are housed with Special Collections in more controlled archival conditions. The rest of the 10,000 strong titles are housed here. This entire space is taken up by "The Belt".

Aisle upon aisle of this.

The far wall contains as yet uncatalogued parts of the Belt Collection. The gift that just keeps on giving.

Backstage at UCLA Art Library

The workroom is choc-full of bequests and donations, including this one from E! Entertainment Network, who has just closed their library. Janine was able to select from their inventory a broad range of popular culture journals and resources to fill a gap in their mostly scholarly collections.

More boxes of donated goodies.

UCLA Arts: Judith A Hoffberg Artists' Books collection

Visual Arts Librarian Robert Gore and I spent some time with their current in-house exhibition, a selection of the Judith A Hoffberg Collection of Artists' Books.
Robert is growing the Art Library's Artists' Book collection regularly through acquisitions donated and purchased. Although he has a relatively small budget for these acquisitions, he has a keen eye and his ear to the ground.

Much of UCLA's Artists' Book collection is held and managed by Special Collections. Many of their works are short run, high end objects with a finely crafted, almost sculptural element (by, for example, Julie Chen and Mary Heebner).
The Art Library's Artists' Book collection is significant, but with a different flavour (and a more modest budget). Hoffberg's collection in particular represents the flourishing of the Xerox revolution of the sixties and seventies, the 'democratic multiple' and early experiments with underground and alternative publishing and distribution.
Judith Hoffberg (1934-2009) was an industry icon I was whose background pleased to discover and explore. Librarian, curator, editor, facilitator, early promotor of Artists' Books and Mail Art. Read about her here and here. My hero.
As editor of Umbrella, a journal dedicated to the practice of Artists' Books, she was uniquely positioned to promote and collect the book as art.

She also championed Correspondence/Mail Art. Like the Artists' Book, Mail Art is another DIY movement rising in prominence in the sixties and seventies when practitioners of Art sought to separate themselves somewhat from the commodification of Culture, and to democratise the distribution of art. This practice is also represented in the donation, and the current exhibition.

The Hoffberg collection is an important acquisition for the library. A giant in her field, her tastes were broad, eclectic and non-judgemental. This scope resulted in a truly democratic survey of book art practice. The donations were made in several batches. Robert joined the team in 2005, and worked with Judith to negotiate the final group of materials from her.

The collection itself is vast, and while valuable, represents what all large donations do- a huge workload to catalogue and realise as a resource. There are literally thousands of Artists' Books awaiting cataloguing currently. Robert is working with a member of the cataloguing department who has submitted a proposal for internal funding to work on the backlog in the library as a whole. The Arts Library, as recipient of many valuable donations from individuals and organisations has a large backlog of gift materials awaiting cataloguing. While internal funding is the first step, Robert is also considering a possible external and more specific grant, from an organisation such as the Getty.

In the meantime, projects like the current exhibition are making a dent in the Hoffberg treasure trove. UCLA Information Studies Department Professor Johanna Drucker (herself an expert in the field, and book artist to boot) tasked her class with creating an inventory on the in-process Hoffberg collection. The students submitted papers on various aspects of the process, and this exhibition is a culmination of their work. The inventory provides a valuable first look at some of the uncatalogued collection, and will additionally allow Robert to better pitch it for further attention.
While much of Special Collections Artists Books are higher end, shorter run art objects, and protected accordingly, the Art Library's collection of rare and varied 'democratic multiples' is in fact a highly used resource. Not only valuable from the library science prospective of Johanna Drucker's class, fine art programs with a focus on projects in book form also contribute to it's importance as a teaching collection.

In fact, Robert himself has instructed courses on Artist Books, with undergraduates examining these works and producing new works that add to the Library's collection.

UCLA Visual Arts Librarian Robert Gore looking sharp.

Supported by the UCLA preservation/conservation unit, the works are protected with bespoke archival boxes and sheaths, accommodating of their unique structures.

The catalogued Hoffberg Collection downstairs, in the Cage.

Janine Henri and I take a peek in this box: a work titled Zero Post. "Nothing left for art to say; everything left for art to do" from Stamp Art Gallery.

UCLA Arts Library

The UCLA Arts Library supports the University's programs architecture, architectural history, art, art history, design, film, television, photography and theatre.

Architecture, Design, and Digital Services Librarian Janine Henri gave me a thorough and speedy tour of the many nooks, crannies and collections of the site. Janine is to be applauded for the breakneck pace we took on the flights of stairs, the lock and key, the gliding compactus and the inquiring students in our path...all which enabled me to get home in time to relieve the slightly inexperienced but equally valiant babysitter. More time would have not only been more leisurely, it would have possibly allowed me to take in the main campus library which is undergoing some apparently exciting renovations... Next time maybe.

My walkthrough illustrated the ingenuity of the people involved in managing this collection- space is tight at UCLA Art Library. While 40% of the collections 280 000 may be in storage, the sheer amount of resources successfully crammed into this space is quite awesome.


Janine explains they moved into the current site as a temporary relocation 7 years ago...in the meantime, they store off-site, fortunately just across campus. Any items requested will be available the next day, or if requested before 9am, that afternoon.

Human resources are also resourcefully managed. In addition to the incredible staff on board at the Arts Library, the UCLA library school provides vocationally trained student assistance at the circulation and reference desks.

Journals shelved by call number.

(current artlibrarycrawl tally on journal organisation- alpha: 2, call number: 1)