ARLIS/CANADA: ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING

ARLIS/NA Conference, Houston, April 4, 2005

Chair: Jonathan Franklin

Members Present: Catherine Carlyle, Paul Chnier, Nicole Gjertsen, Rosemarie Keough, Michael May, Marilyn Nasserden, Jill Patrick, Irene Puchalski (recorder), Christine Sammon, Deborah Vincelli, Sheila Wallace, Kathy Zimon

1. Welcome and introductions

The meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Jonathan Franklin, Chair ARLIS/Canada. Jonathan introduced Barbara Rockenbach from ARTstor, who spoke to us briefly about the availability of ARTstor in Canada.

2. Adoption of the agenda

The agenda of the meeting was approved. Moved by Marilyn Nasserden and seconded by Paul Chnier.

3. Approve minutes of ARLIS/Canada members meeting April 19, 2004 (New York)

Add Melinda Reinhardt to attendee list. Motion to approve the revised minutes moved by Nicole Gjertsen, seconded by Sheila Wallace.

4. Business arising from the minutes

No business arising.

5. Report from the Chair

Jonathan reported on his activities this past year, which included attendance at five chapter meetings; the revised ARLIS/Canada bylaws which were approved by the Executive Board; and thanked James Rout for his work on the ARLIS/Canada website. James has overhauled and redesigned the website, and made it easy to update by future Canadian Representatives.

Jonathan Franklins detailed annual report is available at: http://www.arlisna.org/arlismembers/annreports/2004/rep_canada.html

6. Local chapter reports / Rapports des sections locales

More news from these chapters can be found on the individual websites:

ARLIS/MOQ http://arlismoq.library.concordia.ca/

ARLIS/NW http://hnear.home.mindspring.com/arlisnw/

ARLIS/Ontario http://www.fis.utoronto.ca/people/affiliated/arlisont/



A. Montreal Ottawa Quebec

Paul Chnier reported that in 2004 the Executive Committee of ARLIS/MOQ, responding to concerns among the membership about the future of the chapter, undertook a survey to query members about their views on the chapter and the direction it should take. Allegiance to ARLIS/MOQ remains high. Issues discussed were the challenge of attracting new members and the desire to increase the relevance of the chapter by taking a proactive stance on issues relating to arts librarianship and by organising targeted activities.

Three proposals which came out of the discussion were:

The creation of an ad hoc team to recommend special activities or projects for ARLIS-MOQ

The possibility of creating a "directory of expertise" about and for our members

The establishment of a form of mentoring program to link up with Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec library school students who are interested in art librarianship



Dr. Irena Murray and Francesca Maniaci were travel award recipients in 2004 and Catherine Carlyle is the travel award recipient for 2005.

Two meetings were held in Montreal in 2004 (Universit de Montral and CCA) and a 2005 spring meeting is planned in Ottawa at the new Canadian War Museum.

The ARLIS/MOQ annual report is available at: http://www.arlisna.org/arlismembers/annreports/2004/chapter_moq.html

B. Ontario

Irene Puchalski reported for ARLIS/Ontario. The ARLIS Ontario Chapter is preparing to host a joint meeting with our colleagues in Western New York. The meeting will take place 12-14 May 2005 at the Ontario College of Art and Design. Both groups would like to extend a sincere thanks to the ARLIS NA executive board for generously providing special funding for this event.

The theme of our three day event will be re-mapping our urban space, which was, in part, inspired by the numerous new construction projects for major arts and culture-based institutions in the city of Toronto. These include:

new OCAD building (Will Alsop)

AGO expansion (Frank Gehry)

ROM addition (Daniel Libeskind)

Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts



as well as new projects involving the Gardiner Museum, the Glenn Gould School of Music, and the Radio City/National Ballet School. Sadly, one of the more tangible examples of new urban transportation initiatives, the Breeze Ferry between Rochester, NY and Toronto (which was to provide a transportation link for our WNY attendees) has since ceased operations. Both groups, despite this set-back, are forging ahead with planning and have set an exciting agenda for the meeting. More details about the spring meeting are available at: http://www.fis.utoronto.ca/people/affiliated/arlisont/ARLISONspring2005.pdf

The ARLIS/Ontario annual report is available at: http://www.arlisna.org/arlismembers/annreports/2004/chapter_on.html

Irene Puchalski is the 2005 recipient of the ARLIS Ontario travel award.

C. Northwest (Jonathan Franklin for Cheryl Siegel)

The death of ARLIS/NW member Diana Cooper in the fall of 2004 was marked with a donation by the Chapter to the library at the Van Dusen Botanical Gardens, where Diana was an active member.

The Northwest Chapter of ARLIS/NA met in Seattle in 2004. This was opportune, as the opening of the new Seattle Public Library was headline news and we were able to meet in this glorious new space and soak up some of the ambiance of a Rem Koolhaas building.

The full and stimulating meeting,held November 19-21, 2004, was arranged by Jodee Fenton. Details are available at: http://hnear.home.mindspring.com/arlisnw/past_meetings.htm

New Chapter officers are:

Chair, Jodee Fenton, Seattle Public Library

Vice-Chair-Chair Elect, Jane Devine Mejia

Secretary, Connie Okada, University of Washington

Treasurer, John Cull, Vancouver Public Library

Representative to ARLIS/Canada, Cheryl Siegel



Hollis Near reported on upgrades to the website.

Carole Goldsmith reported on the Listserv.

Western Representative Peggy Keeran and Canadian Representative Jonathan Franklin reported from ARLIS/NA.

Marilyn Nasserden reported on planning for the Banff Conference in 2006 and the Chapter designated funds to assist with the Banff Conference.

ARLIS/NW awarded two travel grants for the Houston Conference. Sharon Winters, Tacoma Art Museum, and Ed Loera, Portland State University are the recipients.

7. Regional Representative Reports / Rapports des reprsentants rgionaux

A. Atlantic Region (Jonathan Franklin for Ilga Leja)

1. NSCAD University is currently conducting a search for a Librarian to head the Visual Resources Collection. An important component of this position will be the transition from a slide library to a digital image resource.

2. NSCAD University is expanding its campus and will be acquiring another building on the Halifax Waterfront. This building is part of the Halifax Port Authority and within walking distance of the main campus. It will provide an additional 60,000 to 70,000 sq. ft. of space. It is expected that the large-object areas such as sculpture, ceramics, metal shop will be moved into the new space.

3. NSCAD University, as part of the Novanet consortium of university libraries, is engaged in the move to a new library management system, Aleph, from the company Ex Libris.

B. Prairie Region (Jonathan Franklin for Mary Lochhead)

Liv Valmestad was on sabbatical from January 2004 to January 2005. She applied for and was accepted into MAWA's (Mentoring Artist's for Women'sArt) Foundation Advisory Program, where she worked with her mentor, prominent Winnipeg and Canadian artist Diane Whitehouse.

Due to major construction in and around the John A. Russell Building the Architecture/Fine Arts Library will be closed from April 30 to September 1. If all goes as planned we will be open for business before the fall term starts. Construction will continue into the fall on the rest of the building and the Faculty of Architecture will move back in at the end of December.

Work continues on the Winnipeg Building Index, a web-database including digitized images of Winnipeg architecture. An official launch of this new product is expected in the fall.

8. Upcoming conferences / Prochaines conferences

A. ARLIS/NA Banff, 2006 (Marilyn Nasserden/Jill Patrick/Kathy Zimon/Christine Sammon)

Marilyn Nasserden addressed the group and reminded everyone to fill out the Houston evaluation form and the Banff proposal form, which is available on the conference website: http://www.arliscanada.ca/banff2006/home

Marilyn and Jill delivered an excellent presentation at the Membership Meeting earlier in the day, aided by James Rout, who although was not in attendance, contributed his technological wizardry combining music, digital footage, and Powerpoint images. The theme of the conference is Transcontinental Perspectives.

A sampling of session ideas that have come up include: railroads and their influence on art and architecture; the development of national parks across the borders; the development of native art across the borders; What They Never Taught Us in Library School session on Canadian resources. Marilyn mentioned the idea of having a Canadian day which would feature a Canadian copyright workshop. Feedback from the membership has indicated that members want sessions to tie into Core Competencies.

Marilyn requested that Canadians reassure potential attendees that Banff has galleries, a town, restaurants, the Banff Centre for the Arts.

Jonathan Franklin has offered to translate the Banff proposal form into French.

ARLIS/NW has generously donated $1,500 towards the conference in Banff. ARLIS/MOQ and ARLIS/Ontario are also being asked to donate money towards the Welcome Party.

Sheila Wallace requested that the co-chairs direct an invitation to NW Chapter members to volunteer and get involved in the conference. Melinda Reinhardt and Jo Beglo (ARLIS/MOQ) have already offered their services. An invitation for volunteers is being extended to all Canadian chapters.

Christine Sammon, Chair of Exhibitions, spoke about the exhibitors and is asking for suggestions for Canadian vendors.

B. ARLIS/NA Atlanta, 2007

The dates are 25-30 April, 2007.

C. ARLIS/NA Indianapolis, 2008

The dates are still to be determined.

9. Canadian art museum libraries consortium proposal

This item comes from Karen McKenzie (AGO). In Canada consortia do not include museum libraries. Academic consortia are provincially funded and separate. Another example, AICAD for Art College and Design Libraries, includes approximately 38 institutions and is cross-border (Canada and U.S.). Jonathan Franklin will do research on the kinds of resources that are of interest to museum libraries in Canada.

10. History of Art Libraries in Canada (Jonathan Franklin for / pour Jo Beglo)

As the cost of printing is very high, Jo Beglo suggests having this as a web resource instead. She would like the History of Art Libraries in Canada to be available on the web in time for the Banff conference.

11. Chapter officers' breakout session at Leadership Breakfast feedback

One innovation of this years ARLIS/NA Conference in Houston was the introduction of a Chapter Officers breakout session at the Leadership Breakfast. Eighteen officers or delegated members gathered to discuss chapter issues. Please send your feedback to Jonathan Franklin.

12. ARLIS/NA Update and chapter news

ARLIS/NA Update will cease after the June issue. The new mechanism is for news to be sent to Carol Graney, the ARLIS/NA News & Features Editor.

13. Melva J. Dwyer Award

The 2005 Melva J. Dwyer Award winner is Jonathan Franklin for the Index to Nineteenth Century Canadian Catalogues of Art. Jury members were Paul Chnier, Nicole Gjertsen, and Ilga Leja. The award was presented by Paul Chnier at the Convocation ceremony held at Stude Hall, Rice University.

14. Other business

Jonathan is encouraging Canadian content on the ARLIS/NA website. He would like Canadians to contribute their member profile to the new ARLIS/NA member feature.

15. Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.