Collection Development Statement

Purpose

The Fine Arts Library collects materials of research and instructional value in the history of the visual arts. These works are generally classed as N, NA, NB, NC, ND, NE, NK, NX, and TR in the Library of Congress classification schedules. Major headings within this range include: visual art in general(N); architecture(NA), sculpture(NB), drawing(NC), painting(ND), graphic arts(NE), decorative arts(NK), art theory(NX), art criticism(NX), and photography(TR).

The primary users of the Fine Arts Library are students and faculty of the Department of the History of Art, curatorial staff of the Museum of Art, and the university community at large. Other users include faculty and students from nearby educational institutions and the general public. The Bachelor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree are awarded by the department. Primary areas of art history teaching include: Ancient Greek and Near Eastern, Ancient Egyptian and Coptic, Roman, Late Antique, Early Christian and Byzantine, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, eighteenth, nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries, African, American, African-American, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and Islamic.

Language, Geographic, and Subject Coverage

Major serial and monographic titles are purchased from the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, China, India, and the Netherlands among other countries. Foreign language monographs frequently address the art of the country of origin but not exclusively. (German scholarship for instance, addresses a wide variety of art historical categories other than German).

Monographic subjects include individual artists or architects, iconographic studies, artistic movements, thematic concepts, artistic genre, art theory, critical theory, and race as well as gender studies in relation to art. Exhibition catalogs and other publications produced by museums and galleries in the United States and abroad, are purchased by the Fine Arts Library. Preference is given to current publications in the field, however retrospective purchasing is frequently undertaken to fill lacunae, support new areas of teaching and research, and replace missing items when available.

Formats

The Fine Arts Library purchases monographs and serials as well as microforms, CD-ROMS, and web-based electronic resources within the scope defined above.

Exclusions

Publications designated as "popular" or written for a non-academic audience, contemporary architecture, industrial design, instructional manuals, and art education are currently excluded from the collection, and are purchased primarily by the Media Union Library.

Interdisciplinary Relationships

The Fine Arts Library collects selectively within the area of interdisciplinary studies, making selections based upon the significance of a title to the visual arts and art historical study. Selected subjects include feminist analysis of art, racial and gendered interpretations of visual art and art history, the history of art produced by ethnic minorities and traditionally underrepresented groups, art and society, as well as art and material culture.

Resource Sharing Relationships

The Fine Arts Library engages in co-operative collection development with other libraries in the University Library, particularly the Media Union Library, the Graduate Library, the Shapiro Undergraduate Library, and the Asia Library. Items are selectively duplicated as necessary, based on the importance of their subject matter and the projected use of an item for teaching and research. There is some overlap with the Media Union Library in the fields of art and architecture from the mid-nineteenth through the twentieth centuries. There is also some overlap with the Shapiro Undergraduate Library for basic instructional texts used for course reserves at University Reserve Service.

The Fine Arts Library participates in the resource sharing projects established by the University Library, such as the Michigan Libraries Research Triangle (University of Michigan, Wayne State University, and Michigan State University) and the CIC Libraries ("the Big Ten" plus the University of Chicago).