A View From the Stacks - Kersti's Journal Week Three

Our Library Interns have headed off for the summer.  They are missed and certainly not forgotten.  They've left us with some great journal entries written during the course of the summer.  I hope you'll enjoy reading about their adventures and efforts over the next few weeks.  - L. C.

                                                                              

Intern Journal- Week Three

Week three at the JOC Library was incredibly busy. This week’s theme was cataloging, and so I spent the first part of the week learning about the library’s catalogue system from behind the scenes. This was really interesting to me- I use libraries all the time, but never really thought about what goes into the process of creating a functional catalog.

Laura showed me the library’s cataloging program, which, like most programs in use by the OCLC consortium, uses MARC (MAchine-Readable Cataloging), a type of cataloging language. In MARC, categories are described by a series of numbers  (go here for a full description of the MARC process- it’s a little complex! : http://www.loc.gov/marc/umb/um11to12.html#part11) which ensures that data can be translated into catalogs across the globe. MARC’s useful because it provides a standardized system for libraries to use- before it was developed by the Library of Congress in the 1960s, this process was done by sharing “union catalogs”, copies of card catalogs that were both difficult to change and expensive to create.  I spent some time updating our catalog, but then turned to the project that dominated the week.

VERTICAL FILES

The Library’s Vertical Files contain information about artists, whether they’re represented in the Museum’s collection or not, and their works. My fellow intern, Jamie, is working on organizing the information the library has on hand about the Chryslers, so to help out we both tackled the seemingly endless files to determine whether or not a file would be helpful to a researcher looking for relevant material on the Chryslers.  The files are made up of various clippings and letters, so digging through to find any reference to the Chryslers took some time.
This project took up the rest of the week- although we didn’t finish the process (to be honest, we were only able to get through about the first 6 letters of the alphabet even though we spent all week on it) Jamie was able to get enough information to begin creating a database of those files deemed useful.

Just one of the many files we dealt with

The vertical files are incredibly useful because they’re the first stop for anyone looking for information on an artist or a work exhibited in the Museum. Although Jamie is still working on putting the database together, I moved on the next week to the wild world of… COLLECTIONS DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT!

These files are just on Picasso alone!

-Kersti Francis, Summer 2011 Library Services Intern

Postscript: Jamie and Kersti very diligently finished this project before the end of the summer. The database will help researchers looking for information about Walter P. Chrysler Jr.'s collection and will also help focus future cataloging of the Vertical file collection.  More Intern adventures next week!

  - L.C.

Update - What's New at the Library



Garden Bulbs In Color SB425 .M25 1938

 Spring has sprung at the Chrysler! Lovely tulips have blossomed in both the Memorial Garden and Mary’s Garden. The galleries are also blooming with color – whether it’s the amazing watercolors of James Tissot: The Life of Christ or the brilliant flowers of Tiffany Lamps:Articles of Utility, Objects of Art. In the Library, too, all sorts of new things are springing up. It’s been awhile since we’ve had a Library update, so here are a few of the many things that are new:

New look –
You may have noticed - the blog looks a little different. After a brief hiatus we’re back with an updated look and some new features. You may enjoy checking out a changing selection of recently researched items, or linking our posts to your Facebook or Twitter page. You can also sign up to receive an email whenever the blog is updated.    We hope you like the changes – please tell us what you think.


New faces –
On April 6 we welcomed Special Project Librarian Chelsea DeAngio to the Library Staff. Chelsea is already hard at work making new materials available to Library patrons and helping with reference requests. She’s great! If you haven’t already, stop by and say hello.

The Museum also welcomed a new curator, Amy Brandt, in March. Amy is the new McKinnon Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, and has been hard a work researching the collection. She’s already helped us build the Library’s collection of books about contemporary art with some much needed additions. You can read more about Amy here. We’re glad to be working with her.

New information -
Everywhere you look in the galleries, there something new and different to look at - new exhibitions, new collections, and new works of art. We’ve been keeping pace in the Library. You’ll find information about all of the current exhibitions on hand in the reading room, along with a number of newly acquired books.

Old and interesting –
If you’ve already visited the James Tissot: The Life of Christ exhibition you may be interested in taking a look at our 1903 New York edition of the completed illustrated Bible for which the watercolors were produced. The three volume set is on view in the reading room.

We’re also featuring new items from the Library’s “hidden” collections in the reading room display case. Along with The Civil War: Visual Perspectives, Then and Now exhibition on view in the Waitzer Community Gallery – a challenging look at the meaning and impact of the War on American history and culture from a variety of perspectives - you can see some intriguing archival materials relating to the Civil War in Hampton Roads from the Library’s collection and start a conversation with voices from the past.

I hope to see you in the Library again soon!

 - L.C.

In the Library This Saturday! Reading with a 19th Century Family!

 Calling all history lovers, bibliophiles, and   Victoriana Enthusiasts! 

This Saturday, October 23 we have a program just for you!  Join us at 2 pm  in the Library Reading Room for “Reading with a 19th Century Family - The Myers Library”

We all know that the 19th century was a great age of American literature (think Poe, Twain, Hawthorne...), but what were Americans actually reading? With rare volumes of both fiction and non-fiction from the Myers Family Library as a guide, join us to explore the reading habits of a Norfolk family from 1800 – 1900.

This program is free, and open to everyone!

   For more information; contact Laura Christiansen at (757) 965-2035 or  at lchristiansen@chrysler.org.

Top Shelf Books from the Age of Queen Victoria

The World’s Columbian Exhibition, 1893

As an ode to the beauty of Victorian book and their ornate bindings, we’ve filled the top shelves of the reading room with volumes most fitting of attention. One such is The World’s Columbian Exhibition, 1893. The pale blue, gold and black volume is lavishly decorated with scenes of innovation and antiquity. The inside is even more impressive than the binding. The book is filled with photographs and sketches of the exhibits and participants, architecture and inventions. The account of artwork and technology in each building was painstakingly compiled by Trumbull White, World’ Fair Correspondent and William Igleheart, World’s Fair Editor of “Chicago Record.” Others contributed introductions and commentary. Such a large exposition could not possibly be reported by just two journalists. With a full list of illustrations, a department by department introduction, and further commentary by luminaries of the time, this book would have been a must-have for anyone attending the exposition as well as those too far away to enjoy its wonders. Please stop by the Jean Outland Chrysler Library and have a look at this marvel of decorative binding and all of the other books on display.

-SCM

Going Green circa 19th Century

We are often surprised by the things we find in books. While walking through our stacks, I noticed what appeared to be a leaf of paper protruding from the cracked spine of an 1864 volume entitled The Shakespeare Gallery: A Reproduction Commemorative of the Tercentenary Anniversary. On more careful examination, the inside of the loose hard binding looked to be lined with a bill or ledger page, probably from the early part of the century of publication. These additions to bindings exist all over the library; inside periodicals, volumes from the Myers library, art reference materials, etc.

This common practice of lining the inside of book bindings is the 19th century version of using post-consumer materials. Often letters, ledger pages, advertisements, etc. were used as binding materials as new paper was expensive and often difficult to come by. Adding “recycled” paper to the bindings reduced the initial cost of publication and helped to lower repair costs to existing books. Occasionally, when volumes begin to age and become worn, these times capsules of lost information are revealed. Though we many never know whether or not the remains of the documents that were used in the binding stood the test of time, the many small clippings contained in the bindings of quite a large number of books here in the Jean Outland Chrysler Library live on.

One of our favorites includes the 1841 publication Memoirs, Letters, and Comic Miscellanies in Prose and Verse of the Late James Smith Esq., which includes an advertisement for “the Queen’s own” clockmaker. Please stop by if you’d like to see some of the volumes in our collection that contain these hidden examples of going green and thinking economically.

- SCM

Intern Collections

During the summer, we asked Interns Chelsea and Casey to create a virtual collection by collecting digital images of some aspect of the library collection to be decided by them. For example, they could collect images of bookplates in the collection, of details on binding, books with funny titles, or books on a particular subject – the possibilities were endless. In July, at the Library Open House, each collection was presented.  You can see both collections scrolling below, or click on them to take a closer look. Thanks to our Summer interns for all of their hard work!


Casey’s Collection



Chelsea’s Collection

A View from the Stacks: Intern's Journal Week 5

Our wonderful interns Casey and Chelsea have completed their internships and are headed back to school, but they left us with a vivid journal recounting their summer adventures in the Library. Stay tuned for future editions of "A View from the

Stacks" which will continue to appear on the blog during the next few weeks.

Week Five - Archives and Vertical Files

After a week’s vacation spent relaxing beach-side, week six of my library internship was spent easing back into my work and my winter wardrobe. After spending a day in a stylish loaner sweater, I’m comfortable saying the process of sorting archives was the easier transition.

We began our study of archiving by reintegrating the vertical files from the Women of the Chrysler Show with the rest of the Library’s massive collection of manila folders containing academic articles, exhibition flyers, news clippings and other information on artists and works relevant to art research. After dealing with a few finicky filing drawers and some alphabetizing doubts, Casey and I moved on to a couple large office boxes of newspaper clippings. For the rest of the week we learned about the nature of archival work as we sorted through years of art-world news comprising the hard work of long-time library volunteer, Gizella Pongracz.
We sorted the boxes first by subject and artist, and then by the relevance of their content to academic research in Yes,” “No,” and “Maybe,” piles. Though my education in academically useful material began on day one of my internship when I returned dust jackets to books (in case any included an important image), my doubts about archiving led to a massive “Maybe” pile. Almost every article had an important fact or unique picture, but without knowing what else was in an artist file or if anyone would be interested in reading fifteen articles on the same modern Chinese art exhibition, definite answers eluded me. At the end of the week I had made a rather large dent in the box, and read some really great articles. I have also learned a little about the purpose and importance of archival sorting.


- Chelsea Reinhardt 2010 Summer Library Intern

11 Classic Children's Art Books

This summer, the Jean Outland Chrysler Library staff was excited to add a new collection for young visitors to the Museum. Our brand-new children’s book collection focuses on books about art and artists, but also features some familiar titles – such as Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are. Last week online art journal ARTINFO.com writer Emma Allen listed the top 11 Classic Children’s Art Books [ here ] and I was excited to see that our fledgling collection already contains more than half of the books listed! Among the books from our collection that are included in the list are:

•From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by  
   E.L. Konigsburg

• Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh

• Linnea in Monet’s Garden by Cristina Bjork

• The Uncle Andy Books by James Warhola

• Action Jackson by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan

See an old favorite or a title you’d like to read – stop by, this collection’s for young minds of all ages!

- LEC

The JOCL Celebrates the 2010 Winter Games

Here at the Jean Outland Chrysler Library, we’ve recently discovered that we have many books on Olympics and sporting, just in time for the 2010 games. One by Kennedy Graphics shows Olympic posters of 1976 by the likes of Romare Bearden, Gene Davis, Lee Krasner and Alex Katz. Another gives the history of the Olympic Games and artistic representations of Olympic events both historic and modern. If you are in the sporting spirit in these last few days of the 2010 Games, please stop by the JOCL and check out our resources. They’re worthy of a gold medal!

My Fall Internship at the Jean Outland Chrysler Library

This Fall we were very pleased to welcome Sarah Fowler, a senior at Old Dominion University , as a Library Intern.  Sarah assisted with a number of projects in the Library. We'll certainly miss her, but you can look forward to reading some of her observations about the Library on this blog in the coming weeks. Here's what she had to say about some of the projects she completed:

"I have been working on a wide variety of projects while interning at the library. I began by working with the books that were in need of conserving. I had to go through a large stack of books and piece together those that had fallen apart. From there I had to try to identify the books. This was challenging because many of the books were in other languages like German or French. My next step was to wrap them in acid free paper and then to search for them in the library’s catalogue. I enjoyed this project because I am interested in conservation.

My favorite project involved a box of old photographs. For this project, I had to go through a box of photographs and try to determine the date on which they were taken and who was in the photograph. The box I was working on contained a collection of photographs from the 1950’s of a meeting of NATO in Norfolk. There were also hundreds of photographs from the collection of W.L. Parker who was a former director of the Board of Trustees for the Chrysler Museum. The subject of these photographs was often historical places and landmarks. For example, he took many photos of Colonial Williamsburg and the campus of the University of Virginia. This was my favorite project because after opening an ordinary box I got to discover a lot of interesting photographs and learn a little about who took them and why."

 - Sarah Fowler, Fall 2009 Jean Outland Chrysler Library Intern

Coming Soon... Library Workshop January 23, 2010

All that glitters...

          This is one of my favorite times of the year. As the December nights grow colder and longer Norfolk is truly illuminated with glittering lights and decorations. Inspired by this, I’ve collected some of what glitters in the Library’s collection - twenty-four gilt decorations from books on our shelves to share with you. In most cases hand-tooled onto leather, these tiny decorations – often not more than one or two inches in size – are often amazingly intricate. The detail images above are just a sample of the thousands of designs you can find on bindings in the Library -  ranging from 18th century volumes in the Myers collection to 1915 edition of A Christmas Carol illustrated by Arthur Rackham that is currently on display in the reading room. Glistening on the spines and covers and books throughout the Library collection these small details truly make our collection shine.

 - Laura Christiansen Dickson Librarian

We know what you're reading...

There are many daily duties in the life of a library that keeps things running smoothly. One of the weekly tasks is managing interlibrary loans. As a member of OCLC (Online Computer Library Center), we can search the collections of libraries all over the world in order to borrow their books for staff and patrons. In return, they may ask to borrow ours. Participating in this system allows us to share resources with scholars all around the globe. Think of it as lending a your favorite book – the one you bought on Amazon just before it went out of print – to a friend that lives all the way across the country. When an institution requests a loan, we find the book on the shelf, check it out to “interlibrary loan,” package the item safely, and ship it off. Items are returned in about a month so that books may be shared fairly.

Over the last year, we’ve noticed that some books are lent out on a regular basis. The four that seem to go out the most are Traditional Korean Wrapping Cloths, Codex Seraphinianus, Memento Mori: Death in Nineteenth Century Photography and Let Us March On! Selected Civil Rights Photographs of Ernest C. Withers, 1955 – 1968. Of those four, The Codex Seraphinianus has been lent the most: 4 times this year! That might not sound like a lot, but in a collection of 111,000 items, that makes “The Codex” our M.V.P.

You too can see what others are reading! Please drop by the Jean Outland Chrysler Library and have a look at some of our most popular and well traveled holdings.

Library Assistant Sara Mason (a.k.a. The Interlibrary Loan Lady)

Wondering where our Interlibrary loans go? The map above features just a few of the locations items from our collections have visited in the United States in 2009.

Item of the Week: Egypt Delineated

         In 1798 Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt in an ambitious attempt to upset the balance of power in central Asia. While Napoleon’s soldiers went about the business of conquering and occupying Egypt, another small army of artists and scientists – called the Commission of the Sciences and Arts documented its antiquities, history and culture. Among them was Vivant Denon, a talented painter and engraver and an enthusiastic antiquarian. Sometimes called the first Egyptologist, Denon not only explored, sketched and described Egypt’s ancient monuments but also documented Egyptian life and culture at the end of the 18th century. Denon’s engaging work became part of the Description de l’Egypt, one product of the Commission of the Science and Arts, but he also published two volumes relating his personal experiences.

One of these, Egypt Delineated enjoyed great success and was reprinted in numerous languages. The Library is lucky to have an English edition of Egypt Delineated published in London in 1819. This large folio edition describes itself as “The celebrated work detailing the expedition of the French” and contains engravings “exhibiting the scenery, antiquities, architecture, hieroglyphics, costume, inhabitants, animals, etc” of Egypt. Denon’s engravings provided a wealth of information for the first generation of French and British Egyptologists, helped to inspire the use of Egyptian motifs in art, literature, architecture, fashion, and décor and also guaranteed a place in 19th century popular culture for a romanticized image of Ancient Egypt.

If a visit To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum has you dreaming of elaborate temples and tombs encircled by wind-swept desert landscapes, stop by the Library and ask to take a look at this monumental volume that helped to reintroduce Egypt to the European imagination.

In the Galleries....

Wow! The museum has been so busy lately! Of course, there are a number of exciting new exhibitions to take in. Here in the Jean Outland Chrysler Library, we have a few areas in our reading room dedicated to keeping up with current exhibitions - like the galleries these are constantly changing and are always available for browsing. I thought we’d let you know what is currently on display. Of course, the hot topic of interest in the Museum this fall is Egypt. Come by and take a look at the exhibition catalog To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum to get the inside scoop about the objects in the show, or take a look at some of our other Egyptian resources. Also featured in the reading room right now are books about Dutch Golden Age paintings to compliment a group of works on display in the Kaufman Furniture Gallery. We have a number of books on view about art inspired by war in honor of “At the Front,” which is currently showing in the Frank Photography Gallery. There is a section devoted to the photographic works of Eliot Porter, as well a selection of our many books on African art in celebration of the newly-reinstalled African gallery. Our newest display features Action painting; specifically books about the artists currently hung in the small changing gallery. (Outside of the café.) “Action painting” is a dynamic form of creation and free expression that involves the spontaneous splattering, dripping, scraping, etc. of paint onto canvas and occasionally mixing in other elements such as sand or strips of tape. This show is a great conversation starter, and will have a lot of visitors wanting more. We have several great books that are worth taking a peek at. One such book is The Gesture: Movement in Painting and Sculpture, which analyzes the ways in which the advent of Action painting affected the art world in the long-term. If you have a moment, please stop by the Library and learn a little bit more about your favorite exhibition.


- Library Assistant Sara Mason

Celebrating American Archives Month: Hampton Roads Stories from Our Collections

October is American Archives Month. To celebrate, we thought we would share some of the stories told by items in the archival collections of the Jean Outland Chrysler Library. Each week in October we'll be featuring a story from our archives that reveals part of Hampton Roads history. This week's item, a diary, is a little mysterious...

Can you solve a mystery? – Diary-keeping has always been a popular form of reflection for both men and women. A diary might hold lists of daily activities, family life, travels, or – of course – secrets. The author of this diary is unknown. Writing between 1893 and 1895, the author was a servant on a working farm or estate in New Hampshire. We know what work the author did each day, what food they ate, what books they read (strangely enough, this diarist loved mystery novels), and even what time they got up each morning. We don’t know the name of the person who created this diary, their gender, why the author wrote or how this detailed account of daily life ended up here in Norfolk. Who knows, maybe you can solve the mystery.

Item of the Week: Gabrielle's Favorite

Moscow in a Different Light

Although wedged between a picture book on Spain and an illustrated anthology about Saudi Arabia, William Klein’s Moscow beckoned me to open its pages. It is not the fanciest volume, the most insightful work, or even the strangest piece in the collection, but its bright red title encouraged me to take a look. Klein explains the complexity of this age-old city in his forward which is represented in the series of photographs. The author chose pictures of everyday people engaging in common activities such as shopping, dancing, doing gymnastics, and cleaning chicken. Nevertheless, there is also an austerity to all the photographs, which author believes to stem from the harsh Soviet government. Behind state symbols, famous portraits, and institutionalized settings, the viewer is still able to catch a glimpse at the people of Moscow’s inner being whether it be a shot of women laughing over their coffee or a father balancing his son on his arm. My favorite photograph captures a crowd looking at St. Basil’s Cathedral at night. The crowd is blurred into the sky as fluorescent light illuminates the church and the Kremlin.

 - Gabrielle Barr, Library Intern Summer 2009

Intern Projects - Moving the Myers Library

This summer, we asked the Library interns to write a short paragraph about their favorite assignment this summer. Imagine our suprise when three of four chose to write about the dirtiest, most difficult task they were given - moving the Myers Library. Here is what Gabrielle Barr, Emma Tisdale and Jessica Dame had to say about this unique assignment.

Gabrielle Barr :Tying Up Loose Ends


"Green with Gold. Swirling purple and blue paper. Diamond embossed leather. With the many damaged books in the Myers’ Collection, it was the interns’ task to mend and help preserve these deteriorating volumes. I enjoyed matching covers to works which involved analysis of the book’s size, the color of its remaining cover, and identification of designs on the spine and inside the piece. If both covers were missing, it was necessary to observe the way the pages had laid on the leather. Then I tied linen tape around the volumes to keep them intact until they can be enclosed. The most rewarding aspect of this project was when I was able to unite missing pages with the books such as with Moliere’s plays. These pages often bestowed useful and interesting information about the book as well, giving the name of the author, date, title, and publisher. While I loved the detective and detail oriented nature of the assignment, I relished the opportunity to handle these old works. A drawing of a horse, algebra problems scribbled in pencil and little notes demonstrate the personal quality of books that allow viewers to gain an understanding of the individuals. The Myers’ library encompasses such a range of eras, genres, and authors that reveals a part of each member of the family. "

Emma Tisdale: My Favorite Project

"Before my summer at the Chrysler Museum, I truly had no comprehension of the amount of work a librarian has to face each day. From the numerous long term projects to the preservation of the collection, the tasks that the librarians at the museum have to address are much more than I ever thought existed. I had the chance as an intern to tackle a small part of many of these difficult tasks. My favorite project, however, left me scrubbing smudges off my fingers and sneezing book-rot for days. It involved moving the ever-aging Myers Library from the back corner of the library to the front of the stacks. It took patience and focus, as the books were very delicate to handle and extremely disorganized on their shelves. My fellow interns and I took a new inventory of the collection of books and moved them in chronological order. The project took over a week to finish, but it left me with a sense that I had actually done something to help the library and that Laura could now check one of the many projects off her to-do list. "


Jessica Dame - Favorite Project

"Over the summer, I got the chance to intern for the library and obtain school credits and gain great hands on experience. Of all the projects in the library this summer, my favorite was getting to work with the Moses Meyer book collection. It was fun to look at books from the 1700s through the 1950s and see what a wealthy local family was reading in that time period. I came across books and authors I have heard of or read and got to see science books that had very bad information in them that have long since been changed in today’s books. I had to wear gloves and handle the books with care because I was literally handling history. Somehow when you have to put on gloves for a project, it feels more important and reminded me of professions that require gloves, like doctors, scientists and historians in general.
It also felt like I helped accomplish something big and I got to see an end result. The books were relocated and put in order by year. What began as a bit of a mess came together and now looks neat and organized. "

You are invited to a Library Open House!

If you've been reading this blog this summer, you'll know that Cataloging Fellow Rachel Juris and Interns Gabrielle, Emma, Jessica and Brendan have been hard at work helping the Library accomplish some big projects. Before our interns return to their respective schools for the year, we invite you to stop by the Library Reading Room on Friday, July 31 between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to meet them and see some of the amazing work they've completed. This is also a wonderful opportunity to meet Rachel and hear about her excellent work cataloging the Library's backlog.

We look forward to seeing you on Friday!

Recent Inquiries

One of the great things about working in the Library is helping visitors to the museum learn more about items in the Chrysler Museum's collections. When answering questions about items in the galleries for students, scholars, and other curious museum patrons, Library staff members have the unique opportunty of viewing the Museum's collections from new and unique perspectives. Here are just three of the many Chrysler Collection items for which information has been requested this week:

Peach Blow Pitcher in Tankard Shape with Rich Decoration,
ca. 1886-90
Blown glass Enamel
Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Location: Glass, Gallery 131.R6.C64
With poem: "On waste and woodland, rock and plain,/Its' humble buds unheed rise;/The Rose has but a summer reign;/The daisy never dies!/James Montgomery".

Use of Rouen
French Book of Hours, ca. 1480
Vellum Tempera Gilt Ink
Loan from the Irene Leache Memorial Collection
Location: The Dalis Foundation Galleries of European Art







Larkin Goldsmith Mead American (1835-1910)
The Battle Story (The Returned Soldier)

modeled ca. 1863-65, carved 1865-66

Marble

Gift of James H. Ricau and Museum Purchase

Location: Ricau Gallery

For more information about these items, or about any other items in the Museum collection take a look at the Chrysler Museum's Collection Online, or, stop by the Library - we're here to help.