I wrote and presented this research paper as my final project in the Art Librarianship course. It is an exploration of critical practices within art libraries, with an emphasis on the potential to use artists’ books and artists’ publishing as tools in abandoning neutrality within art library spaces.
Critical art librarianship entails assuming a critical perspective of power structures and systems at various scales, acknowledging the social, economic, and political context of library processes and policies, articulating the systems that enable some voices to be heard and not others, and making visible the labor that is often meant to be invisible. These are overarching and formidable goals, but through examining and shifting daily practices including frameworks for reference and instruction, collection development, staffing and workplace culture, and outreach, concrete and practical shifts can take place every day within art libraries.
I give a broad overview of the topic with focus on current trends in art libraries, exploring many aspects of library work as well as intersecting topics such as the decolonization of museum spaces and using artists’ books as tools to incorporate critical pedagogy such as critical visual literacy into art library programming and description. Throughout the report I emphasize the need to break down barriers to entry in support of envisioning a more equitable future for art libraries, their patrons, and their librarians.
Beth Rudig 