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AASL 41st Annual Conference Report

AASL Column, July 2019
Lucy Campbell and Barbara Opar, column editors
Column by Megan Piemonte, Library Assistant, Boston Architectural College, 2019 Student Travel Award Recipient

Association of Architecture School Librarians 41st Annual Conference Report: March 28-31, 2019, Pittsburgh, PA

I would first like to express my gratitude to the Association of Architecture School Librarians for granting me the opportunity to attend their 41st Annual Conference. This was not only my first time visiting Pittsburgh, but it was also my first time attending a professional conference, and it was truly an edifying experience. I am deeply appreciative to those I had the opportunity to meet at the conference, all of whom were incredibly engaging, accommodating, and congenial.

I found the content overall to be both relevant and diversified. Each presentation offered a new perspective while coinciding neatly with this year’s theme: Articulating the Architecture Information Professional’s Core in a Post-Digital Era. I am eager to apply the invaluable knowledge I’ve gained from this experience to my current role at the Boston Architectural College, and I look forward to attending next year’s conference in San Diego.

Pittsburgh’s Built Environment
Following President Chris Sala’s opening remarks and the vendor showcase, Martin Aurand of Carnegie Mellon University moderated a discussion panel on Pittsburgh’s culture and architectural identity. Panelists Christine Mondor of evolve: Environment::Architecture, Rob Pfaffman of Pfaffman + Associates, and art and architecture journalist Charles L. Rosenblum discussed the influence of Pittsburgh’s topography and natural resources on urban design. Major riverways not only abut the numerous mill buildings, but run concurrently with major roadways. As a major hub of industry during the 19th century, remnants of pollution on building exteriors live on as an element of Pittsburgh’s artistic identity. This challenges whether urban revival can be achieved without compromising Pittsburgh’s unique and layered history. This conversation not only provided valuable insight for those of us who were first-time visitors to the city, but it was directly analogous to the many discussions that followed.

Architecture Information in a Post-Digital Era
As information professionals, our careers are intrinsically linked with technology; an aspect which furnishes both exciting opportunities as well as great obstacles. Our first joint session, Architectural Information in a Post-Digital Era, discussed some of these challenges. Panelists Matthew Allen of University of Toronto, Katie Pierce Meyer of University of Texas at Austin, and Ann Whiteside of Harvard University Graduate School of Design, addressed the value of teaching data management practices in the classroom. Many students are unaware of the implications of collecting data and the value of archiving their design processes for future generations. I found the discussion on Software Presentation Network (SPN) particularly fascinating, especially as conversations about the pitfalls of the digital dark age escalate within the information science community.

Maya Gervits of New Jersey Institute of Technology and Gilda Santana of University of Miami extended this conversation in their session on documenting non-traditional collections, specifically oral histories. Their discussion further illustrated the importance of archiving for the future. Personal narratives of faculty members can offer valuable contributions to an institution’s collective memory and provide new perspectives into personal and professional relationships within the community.

Even the vendor showcase demonstrated new developments in research tools in order to best meet the needs of the post-digital patron. Though each representative presented the unique components of their respective platforms, each of the databases demonstrated a powerful implementation of metadata which facilitates a variety of search and browse options for users.

The Architecture Librarian’s Role
Digital storage and preservation are some of the more discernible challenges we encounter as information professionals in the post-digital era. However, many of the sessions also addressed some of the more inconspicuous challenges that arise. Presentations from Nilda Sanchez-Rodriguez of the City College of New York and Kevin Block of UC Berkeley each addressed perspectives on pedagogical methods in architecture education. Sanchez-Rodriguez detailed the many challenges and opportunities as a solo architecture librarian, whereas Block discussed the interminable challenge of encouraging students to utilize library resources.

From an archival perspective, Pamela Casey of Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library discussed the difficulties of navigating legacy data. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Archives (FLWFA), consisting of tens of thousands of architectural drawings, photographs, models, and other documents, was jointly acquired by Avery and MoMA in 2012. While the procurement of a collection of such remarkable stature and breadth is certainly exciting, it does not come without challenges. Some of which include tackling inconsistent metadata standards and lack of adherence to provenance and original order.

Paula Farrar of University of British Columbia addressed the need for accreditation modernization for American and Canadian architecture schools. The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) “Library Statistics Report,” currently does not include data reporting fields for electronic resources which in turn prohibits libraries from disclosing accurate expenditure or proudly exhibiting valuable digital resources held by their institution. This illustrates how fundamentally crucial it is for professionals in our field to maintain corresponding visions of the future in order to ensure seamless progression.

Cathryn Copper of Virginia Tech and Clarissa Carr of University of Florida each presented on the benefits of envisioning the future and the value of hybridity for the modern library professional. Copper addressed students’ preference for a smooth transition between digital and physical collections and the advantages of merging traditional library space with the creative studio environment. Carr discussed Esri Story maps: an innovative method by which to organize information, and provide users with new perspective while also engaging with them socially.

Our final session on architectural design theses appropriately concluded our conversations on designing for the future. Though technology has advanced exponentially over the past couple of decades, digital and physical storage continue to pose preservation challenges. Rebecca Price of University of Michigan discussed the divergent and uneven practices for preserving 3-dimensional models. Panoramic photography presents a possible solution but is very time consuming, and more advanced 3-D preservation practices may not be built to last. These challenges pose the question of what kinds of standards we can implement as architecture information professionals.

I found each of the conference sessions to be distinctly pertinent to my education and professional development as both a student of library and information science and a library professional at an architectural college. Much of my coursework at Simmons has been related to data management and digital services, and each of the presentations at this year’s AASL conference contributed directly to fundamental components of these areas of study. I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to be a part of such meaningful conversations with so many intelligent and innovative individuals. I look forward to maintaining these connections, and I hope to become more involved with this terrific organization.

Architecture Networks: Building Connections between Collections

AASL column, May 2019
Lucy Campbell and Barbara Opar, column editors

Architecture Networks: Building Connections between Collections
Column by Aimee Lind, Reference Librarian, Getty Research Library (alind@getty.edu)

Much of the contact faculty and students have with architecture librarians takes the form of reference or collection development requests. Yet, as professionals, architecture librarians are also actively engaged in seeking ways of increasing access to resources. Open discussions on such issues are more than professional development. They serve to help us look for means and opportunities to improve the user experience. Initiatives like the one I describe below are aimed at taking on these challenges and developing new tools for our constituents.

This column originally appeared on ARCHSEC: the official website of the Art Libraries Society of North America Architecture Section.

For those of you who weren’t able to attend the ARLIS conference in Salt Lake City at all or were simply unable to attend the Architecture Networks panel, I wanted to share a summary of the content of the session and provide a place for feedback on the potential future form(s) a project like this might take.

The idea for the panel was sparked by conversations with colleagues over the past few years regarding ways we could increase discovery of our own architecture resources, highlight links to complementary collections, identify connections between collaborators, and facilitate creation of and access to metadata at a deeper level in order to bring to light the important contributions of historically marginalized groups within architecture and its affiliated professions. As we pondered how something like this might work, we began to focus on the component parts necessary to construct these architecture networks virtually:

rich, authoritative data on the people, places, and events critical to the study of the built environment
standardized, controlled vocabularies that can help link this data effectively
a flexible underlying system for data management
a user-friendly interface for discovery, and, most importantly…
individuals willing to put in the work to make it all happen.

I invited a group of esteemed panelists to speak to these essential elements in order to explore the feasibility of developing a freely available, comprehensive, authoritative scholarly resource devoted to the study of the built environment.

Alan Michelson, Head of the Built Environments Library at the University of Washington, discussed the past development and potential future directions of the Pacific Coast Architecture Database.

Margaret Smithglass, Registrar and Digital Content Librarian at Columbia University’s Avery Library, spoke about the challenges encountered while developing the Built Works Registry, as well as considerations for the future of the project.

Robin Johnson, Vocabularies Editor at the Getty Research Institute, detailed relevant authority work done within the Getty Vocabularies (ULAN and CONA, in particular).

and

Annabel Lee Enriquez, Associate Project Manager at the Getty Conservation Institute, provided an overview of Arches, an open source heritage inventory and management platform, and consider how it might be used for a collaborative project of this type.

Our goals were threefold:

to learn about projects, tools, systems, and standards relevant to the study of the built environment
to establish what a comprehensive, collaborative resource might look like and whom it might serve and
to gauge interest in participation at any level, from individuals contributing data to institutions facilitating larger initiatives

We’d allocated ample time for the engaging discussion that followed the presentation. Happily, many members of the audience indicated that they thought this was a project worth pursuing and several signed up to be part of working group(s) going forward. We hope some of you might like to do the same! Please have a look at the PowerPoint slides. Our goal in the coming months is to identify a preliminary dataset that could serve as a proof of concept for a collaborative grant. Interested? Questions? Please be in touch! You can reach me at alind@getty.edu.

The AASL Conference at Pittsburgh

March 19, 2019/in AASL AASL /by Michelle Sturges

AASL Column, March 2019
Lucy Campbell and Barbara Opar, column editors

AASL will be meeting alongside ACSA in Pittsburgh so we wanted to share details of our sessions. ACSA members are welcome to join us as time permits. Our Friday sessions will take place in the Washington Room on the second floor of the Westin Hotel.

Friday will kick off with a vendor showcase at 8:00 a.m. In attendance will be representatives from Artstor, Building Types Online, FIMo, Bloomsbury Digital Library, and Pidgeon Digital.

“Pittsburgh’s Built Environment: What’s the Story? What’s the Buzz? will begin at 10:05a.m. The panelists are Christine Mondor, Rob Pfaffmann, and Charles L. Rosenblum.

We hope you will consider joining us for our Digital Preservation Panel which takes place from 12:30 p.m.-2 p.m. The Planning Committee for the upcoming AASL Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh is excited to invite the members of ACSA to this joint session on digital preservation. Our conference theme is Black Box: Articulating the Architecture Information Professional’s Core in a Post-Digital Era building on ACSA’s conference theme. We ask the question: What are the challenges that information professionals specializing in Architecture and its related fields face in a post-digital era? One of the major challenges is the preservation of architectural records which include and will continue to include mixed media – drawings, physical models, and a dizzying array of digital records. Our panelists – Katie Pierce Meyer, Head of Architectural Collections at the University of Texas at Austin, Ann Whiteside, Librarian/Assistant Dean for Information Resources at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and Matthew Allen, a lecturer at the University of Toronto and a PhD candidate in the History and Theory of Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design – are experts in this field and have undertaken research and practical projects in order to develop best practices and to search for possible solutions. Please join us on Friday to learn more.

Our Saturday sessions will be held at Carnegie Mellon University.

Some spots are available for the Association of Architecture School Librarian’s (AASL) Frank Lloyd Wright tours on Sunday, March 31^st. These tours are open to both ACSA and AASL attendees and attractively priced.

Just 60 minutes from Pittsburgh in Laurel Highlands are three Frank Lloyd Wright masterpieces; Polymath Park Resort’s Duncan House, Fallingwater, and Kentuck Knob. AASL is offering two tours on Sunday, March 31st. The first tour is a full day of all three Frank Lloyd Wright houses for $100. The tour includes the bus ride from the Westin Hotel to Polymath Park to tour the Duncan House, lunch at TreeTop Restaurant, bus to Fallingwater and then to Kentuck Knob. The second tour is to Fallingwater for $50. The tour includes a bus ride to Fallingwater and then the bus will take you to the Pittsburgh airport. The agenda and times are below.

Sunday, March 31, 2019
8:00 am – 9:30 am | FLW Tour 1, Westin Hotel Lobby to board bus at 8am sharp (1 hour and 30 min bus ride)
10:00 am – 11:00 am | Duncan House
11:30 am – 12:30 pm | Lunch at Polymath Park
12:40 pm – 1:30 pm | bus ride
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm | Fallingwater tour
3:30 pm – 3:45 pm | bus ride
3:45 pm – 4:00 pm | Coffee break at Kentuck Knob
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm | Kentuck Knob tour
5:15 pm – 7:00 pm | FLW Tour 1, Bus ride back to Westin Hotel

For the full day tour Click here to register.

8:00 am | FLW Tour 2, Meet up: Westin Hotel Lobby, Westin Hotel Lobby to board bus at 8am
sharp (1 hour and 30 min bus ride)
10:00 am -11:00 am | tour of Fallingwater
11:30 am – 12:30 pm | lunch at Fallingwater Cafe (not included in price)
12:30 pm -2:00 pm | gift shop/walk grounds
2:00 pm – 3:45 pm: bus to Pittsburgh airport (1 hour and 45 min. bus ride – will arrive at airport around 3:45 pm)
3:45 pm | FLW Tour 2, Arrives at Airport

For the Fallingwater tour Click here to register

Visit our conference website to learn more: https://research.lib.buffalo.edu/2019AASLPittsburghConference/home

The Twelve Books of Christmas (with one extra for good measure)

December 13, 2018/in AASL AASL /by Matrix Admin

AASL Column, December 2018
Lucy Campbell and Barbara Opar, column editors
Column by Barbara Opar

Yes, it’s that time of year. Based upon feedback from last year, we thought we’d again share a list of notable books from 2018. Any one of these would make a great gift for you to suggest or give to yourself!

Albornoz, Cristina Carrillo de. Santiago Calatrava: Drawing, Building, Reflecting. London: Thames & Hudson, 2018. ISBN: 9780500343418. 224 pages. $28.46

Many books have described and shown Calatrava’s built work. This book, written in the first person, reveals the architect/engineer’s creative process through beautifully presented sketches.

Bradbury, Dominic. Essential Modernism : Design between the world wars . New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2018. ISBN: 9780300238341. 480 pages. $53.90

An encyclopedic overview of the modern movement, Bradbury has chosen to divide modernism into two categories: Media & Masters and Houses & Interiors. Many of the images shown are iconic. A robust text with background information and the influence of the designer follows. Furniture, lighting, ceramics and glass, industrial and product design, and graphics and posters make up the first category. In the section on houses and interiors, emphasis is placed on masterfully selected color photographs detailing the structures. The book distills the modern movement in a highly visual and engaging way, making it a great addition to anyone’s collection.

Chalk, Warren. Archigram : the book. London: Circa Press, 2018. ISBN: 9781911422044. 300 pages. $85.07

This book is a must-have for anyone interested in the ideas of Archigram. It faithfully presents the work of this important group, with major endeavors shown in full color. The covers of the zines are realistically shown with the pop-ups found in the originals.

Doshi, Balkrishna. Balkrishna Doshi: Architecture for the People. Rhien: Vitra Design Museum, 2018. ISBN: 9783945852316. 400 pages. $85.00

Balkrishna Doshi just won the Pritzker Prize for Architecture, though this title will not be released until late May 2019. But the wait may be worth it as there are few current books on this leading figure in modern Indian architecture.

Jones, Susan. Mass Timber: Design and Research. Novato: ORO Editions, 2017. ISBN: 9781939621955. 160 pages. $19.37

Susan Jones, responding to the challenge of climate change, has written a book about this new construction technology. Jones’ research includes a study of sustainable forest management and carbon emission issues, then moves on to present the actualization of her research in the designing of her own home.

Koolhaas , Rem. Rem Koolhaas: Elements of Architecture. Cologne: Taschen, 2018. ISBN: 9783836556149. 2528 pages. $97.69

This new release is the edited version of the multi-volume set based on two HGSD studios and written for the 2014 Venice Biennale. The format is much larger and clearer and errors corrected. Each chapter traces the origins, use and issues related to a specific building element.

Kreisberg, Glenn. Spirits in Stone. Rochester: Bear & Company, 2018. ISBN: 978-1591431626. 432 pages. $20.56

The topic of this book is unique with its study of the ceremonial stone landscapes of the Northeastern United States. The author has prepared a field guide to the known, lost, forgotten and misidentified megalithic stone structures, discussing their symbolism and asserting them to be remnants of a past now lost civilization.

Lamster, Mark. The Man in the Glass House: Philip Johnson. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2018. ISBN: 9780316126434. 528 pages. $22.48

This newly released biography of Philip Johnson presents him in all his complexity with his paradoxical views and often controversial stances. The author details Johnson’s contributions to modern architecture such as the creation and funding of MOMA’s architecture department, his impact as a theorist, his changing views on architectural styles and legacy of notable built works. But he also describes the Jewish gay man with a fascination for Nazism. While entertaining, the book delves depth into the life of Philip Johnson, the stararchitect.

Libeskind, Daniel. Edge of Order. New York: Clarkson Potter, 2018. ISBN: 9780451497352. 320 pages. $37.42

In an engaging book, Libeskind reveals his creative process and talks about the myriad sources he draws upon for inspiration for his buildings. Libeskind shares his ideas, sketches, drawings and photographs for a select list of built and unbuilt works, revealing how his architectural projects evolve.

McLeod, Virginia(Ed). Atlas of Brutalist Architecture. New York: Phaidon Press, 2018. ISBN: 9780714875668. 560 pages. $107.00

High resolution black and white photographs help tell the story of this modernist movement. The author lists buildings according to region of the globe, providing a basic description of the work along with function, status and condition. The author’s approach makes a compelling case for the wide variety of forms that constitute this often reviled form of architecture which at one point in time spanned the globe .

Mumford, Eric. Designing the Modern City: Urbanism Since 1850. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2018. ISBN: 9780300207729. 360 pages. $38.00

Eric Mumford has written a number of critical texts on the urbanism of the modern movement. In this book he presents an overview of both actual and theoretical designs, from a global perspective.

Pauly, Danièle. Le Corbusier: Drawing as Process. . New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2018. ISBN: 9780300230994. 304 pages. $32.37

Written by a scholar of the work and especially art of Le Corbusier, Pauly discusses how Le Corbusier used drawing to understand the world and how his drawings influenced his other work.

Pelkonen, Eeva-Liisa. Exhibit A: Exhibitions That Transformed Architecture. New York: Phaidon Press, 2018. ISBN: 9780714875170. 288 pages. $49.35

A thorough review of the role of the architectural exhibitions in shaping both discourse and design, Pelkonen highlights watershed moments with stunning images.

Worth the Risk

November 12, 2018/in AASL AASL /by Matrix Admin

AASL Column, November 2018

Lucy Campbell and Barbara Opar, column editors

Worth the risk?

Column by Lucy Campbell, Librarian, NewSchool of Architecture and Design

Information professionals concur that fundamentally, libraries are about information access. This concept encompasses all the ‘abilities’ we love to talk about: findability; retrievability; browseability, usability, discoverability and of course availability. For architecture and design librarians, this creates a conundrum. The desire to make information available conflicts directly with the desire to maintain collections. But with increased access comes increased risk. Architecture and design books are generally more expensive than those in other subject areas. They are often not designed for libraries in terms of their format and binding. One must also consider the inherent value of the object versus the intellectual content. Architecture is a discipline in which recent titles can quickly become out of print, and/or prohibitively expensive. An item that cost less than $30 can, within a few short years, be worth much, much more. To be fair, not every book increases in value. The size of the print run, timeliness of the topic, and interest in the author’s writings all come into play when determining value. A recently out of print may have a higher replacement cost than one from some time ago.

For example, Bernard Tschumi’s Manhattan Transcripts (1994) could set you back anywhere from $200 to $700. Kengo Kuma’s 2006 contribution to Architecture Words, a series of deceptively small paperbacks, now fetches nearly $2,000. The first volume of the popular Construction and Design Manual series Architectural and Program Diagrams (2012) now sells for anywhere from $2,500 to over $4,000. At NewSchool, such items are shelved in the open stacks and circulate. We operate on the principle that academic libraries exist to increase access to knowledge, not lock it away. However a few months ago a faculty member left a 2014 exhibition catalog in a café, and upon attempting to replace it was horrified to discover in four short years its worth had increased from $65 to $1,000.

So what to do? We could not reasonably expect an employee using resources for class preparation to pay up, especially when he had no prior knowledge of the books value. Simultaneously, budget restrictions prevented us from replacing it. Ultimately, we resigned ourselves to the loss of an irreplaceable item. This painful problem led us to rethink our principles and reach out to other professionals for solutions.

We were surprised to learn the myriad approaches in existence. While the care, handling and storage of rare books is widely discussed, there is currently no generally accepted practice for expensive items in regular use. Our colleagues utilize a variety of approaches, some of which include:

Relocating expensive items to closed collections (for example library cupboards, cages, or shelves behind circulation desks)
Creating specific collections with short circulation parameters and prohibitive fines
Making items non-circulating while keeping them in the open stacks to maintain browseability
Keeping a running list of high value items
Adding labels to items identifying them as rare, expensive, or both
Flagging items with warning messages in library management systems
Trusting patrons to be responsible

Each approach rouses concerns in the age old debate of steward versus gatekeeper: reducing access can discourage use; labels may make items targets for theft; and watch lists require consistent consultation. While libraries are revisiting access to unique and costly materials, some are still trying to maintain control. Breaking up collections of complete works and allowing them to circulate can make them less accessible and useable. Patrons have difficulty identifying where things are located when changes are made.

When I joined NewSchool the library had a confusing number of collections. Having worked to merge them and increase browseability, it seems counter intuitive to start creating separate collections again. At a time when libraries are constantly required to justify the space they occupy, policies that might reduce circulation statistics and/ or perceived value make little sense. We should be celebrating these unique collections, not hiding them from scholars and students.

Ultimately we chose to flag items worth $200 plus with a stop message and inform patrons at the desk of item value. In the past three months 14 items have been flagged. We make sure to explain our replacement policy, and hope this impresses a stronger sense of responsibility on users.

Our decision was based solely on conversations with colleagues and informal debate, but it would be interesting to draw some evidence-based conclusions about best practices. Such work could inform libraries how best to ensure access and prevent losses. Digitization may in due course be the answer to this problem.

In general libraries – especially larger public institutions- are moving towards increasing access to unique and costly materials. The trend towards access has seen the disbanding of what might be called “medium rare” or limited access collections. As more resources become available in digital format, print collections can be locked up or relocated with justification.

There are many reasons for and against special treatment of unique and costly architecture books. Ultimately it comes down to the mission and objectives of individual libraries. For whom does the collection exist? While librarians must grapple with the ethics of access, faculty should weigh in as well. How important are certain books to your teaching? Your research? Your thoughts and ideas are welcome. Email me at lcampbell@newschoolarch.edu.

Serendipitous Digitization Results in Open Access to Two Canadian Architecture Journals

October 26, 2018/in AASL AASL, Canadian Region, Journals /by Matrix Admin

AASL Column, October 2018
Lucy Campbell and Barbara Opar, column editors

Column by Allison Fulford, Architecture Librarian, Dalhousie University Libraries, Dalhousie University Halifax, NS Canada

It is incredible what can be accomplished when circumstances demand novel solutions, creativity, and perseverance. In 2008, a staffing reorganization at Dalhousie University’s Sexton Design & Technology Library, prompted the creation of a Digitization Team. Though most Team members had no related experience, their transferable skills included attention to detail, and expertise in the procedures of providing access to print and electronic library material.

Coincident with the reorganization was a request from the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada (SSAC), to digitize the Society’s Journal from 1975 to the present, and to provide access through a freely accessible website. The Journal is bilingual and refereed, covering Canadian architecture from all historical periods and from diverse cultural traditions. The reorganization and this well-timed request from the Society propelled the Team forward into the world of digitization.

But where to start? A digitization infrastructure was needed. The Dalhousie University Archives donated a large flatbed scanner and computer, including the Creative Suite software; the Dalhousie Libraries provided secure file storage space. Through reading and workshop attendance Team members learned the technical aspects of digitization, scanning procedures and specifications, PDF creation, Optical Character Recognition (OCR), and website construction. Trial and error played big roles too, with steps forward and backward.

The Team of six started scanning but soon decided that the resulting scans, though legible, were not all that pretty. A decision was made to ‘clean-up’ each scan. The Team straightened and resized pages, adjusted colours, and removed marks and stamps – a tremendous amount of work that ran from mid-2009 to early 2011. The results were definitely worth the effort and elevated the quality of the entire project. Next, the Team created issue-level PDFs, ran them through OCR software to allow keyword searching, and loaded them on the project website (http://sextondigital.library.dal.ca/jssac/).______________ Launched in 2012, the digitized Journal garnered gratifying feedback from the Society, which boosted Team confidence. This confidence would be necessary as a second, even larger project, soon came along.

Later in 2012, we agreed to digitize the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s (RAIC) Journal from 1924 to 1974. The publication offered an important documentary history of the development of architecture and of architectural practices in Canada. What was fundamental in bringing about the collaboration with the RAIC, was the quality of work that the Team had produced on the SSAC’s digital archive.

The vast RAIC project was not one that the Team could undertake on its own – extra staff and funding were needed. With backing from RAIC, a Canada Council for the Arts grant, and support from the University Librarian at Dalhousie, the project could commence.

The Team hired two keen and dedicated School of Information Management students who improved and updated procedures relating to scanned image clean-up in Photoshop. Even so, the project crept along – the volume of work was enormous – not just the scope of the Journal archive, but the length of some issues. Procedures were streamlined and then streamlined even further in an effort to complete the project in a realistic time frame. The Team leader even took a six-month sabbatical in 2016 to devote as much time as possible to the project. After some staff retirements and new work assignments for remaining Team members, clean-up was eventually dropped all together. Project work was finally completed in the summer of 2018. Most PDF issues are on the open access website (http://sextondigital.library.dal.ca/RAIC/index.html), and final issues continue to be added.

We never thought we’d see the end of the RAIC project. Persistence, patience, and adaptability characterized our ten years of experience in the digitization field. With support from the SSAC, the RAIC, the Canada Council, the Dalhousie Libraries, and from colleagues, we succeeded in providing online, open access to two journals significant to the study of architecture in Canada.

Archaeology and Architecture in the Holy Land: Experience, Pilgrimage, and Documentation in Jerusalem and Israel

September 14, 2018/in AASL AASL /by Matrix Admin

Lucy Campbell and Barbara Opar, column editors
Column by Michelle Amirkhanian, freelance writer

As a child in Bible school I used to dream about swimming in the Dead Sea. Fortunately, that dream came true for me this summer. In June of 2018, I travelled on a pilgrimage with my Armenian church to visit a number of biblical sites and document their architectural history and culture.

In Jerusalem routines revolve around three religions sharing space on a daily basis. Minaret music plays calling Muslims to daily prayers, while Jewish residents are in black robes, women wear headscarves, and kids go to Temple to pray and read the Torah. This is what makes this place holy. The world knows there is a lot of politics in the Holy Land. I can only say that with every positive purpose about Jerusalem the dynamics of contemporary politics make it a paradox. For instance, currently, Christians cannot visit Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, due to politics over who has rights to the territory.

Cities in Israel near Tel Aviv like Haifa and Jaffa port on the Mediterranean are metropolitan and modern architecture is prominent. There exists a sharp contrast between old and new, or biblical and contemporary.

Restoration and/or historic conservation is being completed on many churches and holy sites throughout Jerusalem and Armenia. Archaeology is also applied to rescue tile floors, paintings and mosaics discovered behind deteriorating walls. Documentation of the art and architecture is shared here.

The Nativity Church

The Restoration of the Nativity Church is taking place in Israel. The process and plans were posted alongside the archaeological work, where tile was found underneath the excavated ground floor.

The Nativity Church exemplifies how to protect painting on columns and wall mosaics, and how to approach preservation needs.

Although there is an ongoing restoration project at The Nativity Church, the doors are open to the public. However scaffolds and walls are torn down, and visitors must envision the final outcome of the restoration project while avoiding closed off areas and floors in poor condition.

Another example of sites being restored. New findings are being discovered under the buildings of these holy sites.

The Classical Orders

Buildings feature the three Greek Orders of Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns. Some have paintings that require restoration and cleaning. These pictures are some of the columns I documented during my trip.

Photos of Corinthian column found in Jerusalem’s many holy edifices are provided below.

Dome of the Rock

Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem was restored by Byzantine architect Antonio Barluzzi (1884-1960). Over 25 structures Barluzzi completed have since been restored and rebuilt in the Holy Land. The Custodia Terrea Sanctae Franciscan missionaries’ site lists his completed projects. These sites would not be in existence had it not been for Barluzzi’s talents in Byzantine Architecture and restoration.

Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem restoration

Church of St. Mary Magdalene

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The Holy Sepulchre was quite moving. There is a keyholder that is there to open the gate in the morning and close the gate. The key is like a key during Biblical times and so are the doors. The courtyard of the Holy Sepulchre displays the platform where Jesus stood and was sentenced to crucifixion by Pontius Pilate and inside is the “Golgotha” or where the empty tomb of Jesus is established. The Greek Orthodox, Catholics and Armenian orthodox have points and designated quarter within the Holy Sepulchre. Also, the Coptic, Ethiopian Orthodox, and Syriacs have much smaller quarters in the Church. Also, there is a Jewish site within the Holy Sepulchre. Finally, the awesome Edicule was restored last year and is in a sense the central piece of the Holy Sepulchre.

The Edicule within the Holy Sepulchre

Fine Mastery of Byzantine Architecture

In the Holy Land pilgrims often notice opulence such as intricate mosaics, gold-plated paintings, Tiffany glass, and the creative awesome ceilings that are unapologetic of their existence. In visiting the Holy Land, I felt a strong connection to my religious beliefs which made the entire experience even more fulfilling.

A New Playing Field: Collaboration in Digital Scholarship

August 8, 2018/in AASL AASL /by Matrix Admin

Lucy Campbell and Barbara Opar, column editors
Column by Maya Gervits, PhD, Director, Barbara & Leonard Littman Library, NJIT

In the rapidly changing information environment, the nature of the academic library and the role of librarians are both undergoing a fundamental shift away from merely curating scholarly materials toward the co-creation of these materials in active engagement and collaboration with researchers and other members of the academic community.This shift provides new opportunities for libraries to have increased visibility amongst scholars.

At the Littman Library at NJIT collaboration with the College of Architecture and Design (CoAD) faculty and students manifests itself in numerous ways. We strive to provide responsive services and to accommodate various learning opportunities. We act as guest lecturers for a variety of classes, conduct workshops, and compile citation analysis for the Promotion and Tenure Committee. Our “Music in the Library” program is incorporated into the college curriculum. The Library curates various exhibitions that present materials from its collection to support and encourage student and faculty creative work. The regular evening concert series provides a complementary mode to consider visual art and design works in historical cultural contexts. We provide guidance on copyright and host regular lunchtime Author Book Talks.

But we are always looking for additional ways to engage with our patrons. An important new role is Digital Scholarship. Contemporary research in many areas has expanded beyond what is considered traditional. Over the last decade, many academic libraries have established Digital Scholarship Labs or Centers. Equipped with advanced technological tools, these new facilities enable students and faculty to explore new methodologies, analyze complex data, and share the results of research in ways never before possible.

Nevertheless, despite all the advancements, digital scholarship in art and design disciplines has yet to define the parameters of this field. How can digital methods and tools benefit research? How can a small branch library facilitate collaboration? At NJIT all colleges are engaged in digital initiatives and related activities. The College of Architecture and Design is well known as a pioneer and innovator in the application of digital and information technology to augment and benefit the design process. These students have access to different labs where they can work on digital prototyping, fabrication, animation, robotics, augmented, and virtual reality.

Over the years, the Littman Library – the only branch library on campus, located in the heart of the College of Architecture and Design main facility- has been involved in activities which have ranged from the digitization of its collections to more complex undertakings. Because of the growing interest by faculty and students and the increased number of projects they were producing, the Littman Library decided to dedicate a special space to digital scholarship. We repurposed the slide room and equipped it with two computers, flat-bed, slide, and book scanners, printer, and an Oculus Rift virtual reality set. We secured server space and downloaded software for data visualization, online publishing, textual and spatial analysis. We recently had the good fortune to receive a significant external endowment to further develop the Lab. But the initial phase has been completed with modest funding and limited staff time.

Recognizing the need to educate not only students but also ourselves we introduced the ”Skills Exchange” program which is a series of workshops focused on mastering various software. We compiled research guides “Software at the College of Architecture and Design” and “Resources in Digital Scholarship” and added a subscription to the commercially distributed library of online tutorials Pluralsight to allow for self-paced learning with high quality educational support materials.

Virtual Reality technology revolutionizes both how architecture is being designed and how it can be perceived. Using the Lab, students and faculty simulate realistic experiences of the built environment, explore their designs in Virtual Reality, reconstruct historical monuments, and work on projects that employ digital tools and methods.

Our Image Database supports technical building systems, history, and studio classes. Digitized maps formed the core of the Digital Archive of Newark Architecture (http://dana.njit.edu)- a project conceived to document the built environment of Newark that has grown into a gateway of information related to the physical life of Newark, its architecture, infrastructure, public art, and city planning.

______ Recent implementation of ArcGIS allows for data to be analyzed and visualized in a different way. An additional crowdsourcing function enables the public to submit materials over the web, and a mobile application with location awareness provides for a more engaging user experience. Other projects designed in collaboration with CoAD faculty and students are focused on the application of Virtual Reality to digital architectural history, and employ various publishing platforms, tools for visualization, and space analysis. The photogrammetry technique is being implemented to create a searchable version of the virtual collection of electrical measuring Instruments (housed in Van Houten Library). And the recent “History of the College of Architecture and Design” initiative aims to preserve the College’s past by digitizing old photographs, video and audio recordings, documents, and born digital materials.

To increase collaboration at NJIT, both faculty and staff from various university divisions have formed a special interest group concerned with digital scholarship. NJIT also joined the New Jersey Digital Humanities Consortium – a group of enthusiasts and professionals from various New Jersey institutions. This helps us coordinate our activities and share pertinent information. The members of this group strongly believe that we can utilize our intellectual and creative potentials more effectively by working collaboratively across disciplines; that the library not only supports various digital initiatives pursued and promoted by the CoAD faculty and administration, but can also act as an active partner.

Thinking Tools for Architecture and Design Libraries

July 9, 2018/in AASL AASL /by Matrix Admin

Lucy Campbell and Barbara Opar, column editors

Column by Rebecca Barham, Art, Dance & Theatre Reference Librarian, University of North Texas Libraries and Dr. Susan Smith, Director of Library Services, Trinity River Campus, Tarrant County College Design

Do you use design thinking methodologies in class? If so, then you are aware of the potential for innovative problem solving that design thinking offers. For those who have not heard of design thinking, a short introduction is in order. Design thinking is a series of overlapping processes involving inspiration, ideation and implementation that has been used to create successful businesses and desirable products. During the inspiration process, the design challenge or problem is identified. In the ideation phase, design thinking tools are used to generate ideas to solve the problem. Then during the implementation process, the generated ideas are made into a series of rapid prototypes and feedback gathered on each prototype.

These same processes of design thinking can be utilized in the strategy and management of academic libraries to provide solutions to some of the challenges we face. Some common challenges include: how to engage with patrons in new ways, how to get students involved in the design of the library space, patron-centered collection development, and doing more with limited budgets. In this column, we will highlight design thinking tools that can be applied to help solve these challenges.

Engaging patrons in new ways.

Empower patrons to be co-creators of the library by forming library advisory boards. Consider forming boards focused around specific patron or stakeholder groups, such as graduate or undergraduate students, or faculty. Advisory board members provide valuable input on library services, products, spaces, and marketing to their peers. They also serve to represent the library to peers.

Getting students involved in the design of the library space.

Ask students to share images and descriptions of their ideal study or library spaces via an image/text survey. Survey respondents can upload images to any survey tool that has an option for questions that include file uploads and text entry. Another way that patrons can be involved in the design of library space is to create models, renderings or videos of spaces and furniture that they can participate in or vote on. Cardboard models of furniture, counters, and wall dividers can be created and moved around to better visualize the space. Design contests with valuable prizes are also useful incentives.

Design thinking tools for collection development.

Patron Driven Acquisitions (PDA) are a great way to get patrons involved in collection development. In PDA, records of books that are not owned by the library are loaded in the catalog and patrons unknowingly initialize the purchase of a book when a set use criteria is met. Patrons can also participate in collection development by requesting or voting for a book, journal or database via a recommendation box, library website link, or a list of newly published books. Librarians can obtain lists of new books in specific call number ranges from email alerts set in web-based book acquisition systems.

Design thinking tools and limited budgets.

Since design thinking is centered on the needs of the patron, it can help to insure that money is used to buy resources that are needed and will be used. In addition, iterative rapid prototypes and feedback on the prototypes during the implementation process helps to reveal usefulness and costly problems before money is spent.

More on design thinking: https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1164556/m1/12/

#rarebookfriday: Systematizing an Approach to Social Media to Reach a Targeted Audience

June 21, 2018/in AASL AASL /by Matrix Admin

Lucy Campbell and Barbara Opar, column editors

Column by Viveca Pattison Robichaud, Special Collections Librarian, Architecture Library, University of Notre Dame

Architecture libraries and their librarians provide a wealth of services and expertise, but have you ever wondered what some of their strategies are to disseminate this information? Since no one library or librarian is the same, outreach approaches are similarly diverse. One strategy, employed in the Architecture Library at the University of Notre Dame, is to promote collections and services through the use of social media. Many architecture libraries have a Facebook page, Instagram and/or Twitter accounts, with many more blogging, creating online exhibits, and interacting online with patrons in a myriad of ways. Starting in the 2011-2012 academic year, under my direction, the Architecture Library sought to develop a coherent social media strategy. The first step in this process was to determine who exactly our audience would be. Once I understood who I wanted to reach, I could start developing a systematic approach to effectively promote the library and its collections.

New Book Acquisition, October 3, 2014.

At some point, before I joined the Architecture Library, a Facebook account was created, however, it was no longer being used and did not have many connections. My first step was to create a fresh new Architecture Library page and start posting. While our page started to slowly gain followers, the numbers were not where I wanted them to be. What was helpful, though, was seeing that most of our followers were not our regular faculty and student patrons, but instead consisted of alums and people interested in the School of Architecture who were not on campus regularly. It was important for me to realize that our students and faculty were already engaging with our collection physically, so they did not need to spend time engaging with us virtually.

Post tied in with Alumni weekend, celebrating the School of Architecture’s first graduate, October 10, 2014.

In the summer of 2014, after a few years of Facebook activity, the Architecture Library joined Instagram and Twitter. Based on the literature related to successful social media strategies and according to the School of Architecture’s Director of Communications, it was clear to me that regularly posting helps grow a following. That being said, posting too frequently could also have a negative impact and overwhelm users, causing them to ignore or unfollow accounts. Since our library collection and staff is relatively small, with all of the social media posting falling into my workload, I decided to set myself a moderate task of posting once a week. Since I spend Fridays at our circulation desk, I have worked a social media post into my Friday routine.

Oldest book in the collection post, November 7, 2014.

Architecture is a very visual discipline, so Instagram is my primary mode of social media interaction, which I then disseminate to Facebook and Twitter, in order to engage with the most followers. After posting a few different kinds of posts, I decided focus on highlighting and promoting what is truly unique about our library: our rare book collection. Our Ryan Rare Book Room, which contains a significant number of rare and unique texts from 1485 through the 20^th century, is open to students, faculty, and the general public. That being said, any patron, regardless of affiliation, would need to make an appointment and request specific titles, so the collection is not browseable like the rest of the library’s holdings. Highlighting these books, therefore, appeals to both our campus patrons and our off-campus admirers. Those on site who are interested in engaging with us on social media are not getting redundant information, but rather, are being introduced to titles housed in the library that they would not find on their own. Alums, colleagues, and other followers are also treated to snippets of our collection, which, should they find themselves on campus, would be outside of their normal access.

Barbaro Vitruvius, January 9, 2015.

Under the #rarebookfriday I post weekly pictures of titles from our collection. The first few posts wrote themselves, showcasing our most beloved books. In subsequent weeks and over the years, I have tried to tie in posts about what is happening on campus, like reunions, perspective students visiting campus, classes using the collection, other moments in the academic year, and, of course, football rivalries. This platform is also a great way to publicize new titles added to the collection. Increasingly, social media is also a venue for our library to interact publicly with the School of Architecture’s profiles, as we both can share, like, tag, and retweet each other’s posts. I try to have fun with these posts and it certainly seems to be gaining traction, especially on Instagram, with each post accumulating more likes than the last.