‘In close co-operation’: eight years of ARLIS/Flanders in Belgium

Abstract

After several previous attempts to co-operate in post-war Belgium, art librarians in the Dutch-speaking part of the country have since 2000 grouped together under the name Overleg Kunstbibliotheken Vlaanderen (OKBV). The international acronym ARLIS/Flanders symbolises the close connection that is felt to the other art library organisations around the world. A year after its establishment, OKBV became the first official ‘intersectoral’ committee of the Flemish Library Association (Vlaamse Vereniging voor Bibliotheek, Archief en Documentatiewezen – VVBAD). The activities that have been organised since then are many and diverse. Meetings and projects about automation, cataloguing, collection development, promotion, professional development and the preservation of art publications have received the attention and support of many, the main goal always being to stimulate co-operation among art librarians in Flanders and – even better – in Belgium and beyond.