The Community User in the Academic Art Library

Abstract

Academic art libraries are frequented by a variety of patrons other than their primary clientele. issues surrounding service to this secondary clientele have been addressed in only one article to date, Derek Toyne's 1987 The Community Role of Academic Art Libraries.1 Toyne's observations, and my own experiences at Fine Arts Library (FAL) at Michigan State University (MSU), serve as inspiration and a point of departure for this article. Although much has been said in general library litera ture about issues surrounding service to those who frequent art library in particular are due for exam ination. Toyne wrote from perspective of serving community users in British academic art libraries, but, cultural differences aside, many issues he raised may be applicable to academic art libraries today. Others, particularly those concerning technolog ical change, are new to art librarians and patrons alike. Among issues this article addresses are: definition of community users (also referred to as secondary or unaffili ated users, or simply the public; for purposes of consistency, term user will be used here); community user's needs; academic art librarian's responsibility to these individuals; service, access, and collections issues related to community users; and finally, ways of dealing with commu nity user's needs in a proactive and positive manner.