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Jennifer Wiley
MUS 500
Final Paper
                                           LIS Degrees in Museums
           When choosing a graduate program, many men and women with interests in a variety of
subjects find themselves drawn to the idea of getting their degree either in museum studies or
library science. However, it is not unusual for students to find themselves torn between the two
potential fields of interest. They spend hours doing research, pouring over their options by
program, school, specialization, and even then are not entirely sure they have made the right
decision by the time their first semester starts. What many of these students do not realize is that
the reason they have such a hard time making a decision has much to do with how much libraries
and museums actually overlap in the real world. Though the programs in school are separate and
the subjects may seem drastically different, many museums today use libraries or people with
library backgrounds to supplement their staff and collections. Depending on the style of the
museum, the role of some one with a library science degree may vary drastically, but many will
be able to find that there is a style out there that will allow them to meld their particular interests
of museums and libraries together into one harmonious career. From institutions as small and
intimate as the Brooklyn Historical Society to those as large scale at the Metropolitan Museum
of Art and those as specialized as Ellis Island to those as diverse as the Museum of the City of
New York, people with degrees in library science are finding an environment that not only works
for them, but also needs them to function at full capacity.
           Many museums today have a dedicated library within the institution, primarily used by
the staff but sometimes also available to the public. Very often, “[t]he activities of a museum
require the support of a library, no matter how small the institution.”1 A library becomes
necessary when the collection of the museum develops a significant amount of items appropriate
for a library. Although the nature of the library within a museum is dependent on that of the
institution it is a part of, much is the same between museum libraries and any other kind of
library. For this reason, it is important the library is its own department within the institution and
that it has the support of the administrative staff. A museum library cannot be effective without
recognition and support by the administration.2 Though policies should reflect those of the
_____________________
1
    Larson, John C. 1985 Museum Librarianship. Hamden, CT: Library Professional Publications, p. xii
2
    Larson, p.xii-5
museum, they should be specific to the library and the basic library duties of research and
reference, interlibrary loans, records management, circulation, statistical work, checking wait
and want lists, and photocopying. It should also be kept in mind that research activity by
patrons, be it the staff of the museum or the general public, is the “fundamental process for
which the library exists.”3 Curators, research scholars, and students all have the same basic
needs from the library, regardless of how professional those needs may seem. Through the
library, all levels of researchers gain an understanding of search methodology, the importance of
documentation, and the variety of resources available to them to best fit their specific needs.4
        However, of course there also must be some differences between traditional librarianship
and librarianship in museums. While catering to the public is an essential part of any library,
working in a museum library also brings a responsibility of balancing that attention between the
public and the curator, who can often feel that the librarian caters too much to the public instead
of the museum.5 The skills that a librarian brings specifically to the museum supplement the
existing collection, bridge gaps between departments, and complete the “information
environment.” The library is responsible for supporting research for objects and their context as
well as the methods of conservation, display and exhibition. Together, this combination of
focused research materials allows for a context in which the objects can be researched,
documented, and interpreted. This niche of related material provided through the library
enhances and enriches both the collection and the mission of the museum. Additionally, while
the staff may find themselves restricted in the amount of examples of objects they are able to
collect at one time, the library can collect a variety of books illustrating further examples and
provide in depth documentation of the objects in house. Unlike other libraries, a book in
museum libraries is more than a device to carry information, but “an object in its own right.”6
While some museums may give the management of books as objects to other departments within
the library, there are those who believe that this does not serve the books for the best and thus
lets down the collection as a whole.7
        The library further succeeds at enriching the museum it serves by developing elaborate
___________________
3
  Larson, p. 69
4
  Larson, p. 68-70
5
  van der Wateren, Jan 1999 The Importance of Museum Libraries INSPEL 33(4):190-198, p. 196-197
6
  van der Wateren, p. 192
7
  van der Wateren, p. 191-194
networks, both with other museums and between other departments within the same museum.
Through building an in depth catalogue of its own museum’s collection and then collecting the
catalogues of other museums, the library is able to do extensive cross referencing and find
documents that may normally slip through the cracks. While public and academic libraries may
also do something similar to this, in general the extent to which museum libraries collect other
catalogues surpasses that norm, describing them individually and in detail. Altogether this
allows for the most in depth research for the museums individual collection. Within its own
museum, the library is not bound by departmental borders and thus is able to make materials
available across all departments within the museum. Many of these materials may be of use to
the research of more than one department, though that may not always be obvious.8
           Similarly, the librarian’s training to breakdown barriers between subjects coupled with an
understanding of a variety of sources and the ability to manipulate information systems helps the
librarian to aid the staff, who may be trained in one subject-field, to get the most out of
interdisciplinary materials. Additional library training that become of great use to museums
include the knowledge of copyright and the training to collect and circulate information in a
standardized format. Copyright is a subject that many are unsure of, but librarians deal with it on
a daily basis. The librarian’s ability to advise or alert the museum staff to potential issues could
be invaluable to a museum. Equally valuable is the long tradition of standardized description in
libraries due to centuries of dealing with materials of mass-production. While museums have not
always been as keen to use standardization as a way of preserving their collections uniqueness,
the rise of mass communication through technologies has made it a necessity to reach the public
who may be using the Internet to search for specific collections or objects. The way a library
uses standardization to catalogue a collection thus becomes the best way to make collections
accessible beyond the physical museum.9
           Not all the useful training of librarians has been so traditional. Since the 1990’s, the
relationship between libraries and information technology and multimedia departments within
museums has grown in importance as the need for a web presence has grown. The library’s
catalogue, special collections, and archives, which often hold documentation of the institution’s
history, became of great interest for web content. The materials in these collections had great
___________________
8
    van der Wateren, p. 194
9
    van der Wateren, p. 195-196
potential to peak public interest with their uniqueness and supplement the collections the public
was already generally aware of with additional information. This change required several
considerations by the institution. Should collections now be organized under technology or was
technology to be perceived as a tool to serve the needs of the collection? If technology did
overcome the collections, was it the IT staff or the library staff that should become in charge of
collection development, cataloging, and other traditional librarian tasks? This is a prime
example of how the evolution of the museum can change the organizational structure of the
library, realigning the staff with new departments and thus redefining the mission and purpose of
the library.10 Especially when a library staff is small, it is extremely important that the staff is
flexible to meet the ever changing needs of their museum, which are inevitable. Changes should
not necessarily be feared because there may be, as there was with the growth in technology, the
potential for a rise in the visibility of the library, which is a huge advantage for both the library
and the museum.11
            Although these are the general roles of librarians in museums, the wide variety of
museum types results in a large spectrum of different jobs available for people with a masters
degree in library science. From the most traditional library positions to jobs in labs instead of
libraries, different museums have different needs but most require some amount of staff with a
librarian background. Some museums are historical centers, some are focused on art, and still
others are part of national parks, but all have a goal to develop their collections as much as
possible and to serve the public, the same goals that drive libraries of all varieties as well.
            The Brooklyn Historical Society is not the type of institution many think of when they
first consider what a museum is. The intimate museum serves its direct community by both
preserving the history of Brooklyn and showcasing art from the community today. The Othmer
Library and Archives, the museums onsite library, is itself a reflection of these dual roles. It is a
historical landmark in and of itself (one of three interior historical landmarks in Brooklyn) as
well as a research library housing special collections, manuscripts, archives, images, and oral
history collections. While it serves to preserve local and national history, the collections extend
into documentation of the present day community. Altogether, the library as a whole “serves the
___________________
10
     Benedetti, Joan M. ed. 2007 Art Museum Libraries and Librarianship Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc., p. 4-6
11
     Benedetti, p. 9
mission of the Brooklyn Historical Society by supporting research into the history of Brooklyn
and Long Island and by collecting, preserving, and promoting access to our library and archival
materials.”12 The librarians here develop their collections with the thought toward supporting
and enriching the exhibits, programs, and education activities at the historical society. They
have also built an in depth online catalog in order to both make their collection accessible to a
large public and to help patrons prepare themselves before venturing to the library in person for
research. This will save valuable time for both the staff and the patron and will be just as
valuable to the average person at home starting a personal project as it will be to the museum
staff organizing a large scale exhibit.13
        This type of institution lends toward research librarianship. Like in the previous
discussion, this is a library within which it is extremely important for the library staff to have an
intimate knowledge of the collection and to add to the research about the objects. The historical
society keeps a running blog that documents the projects at hand, including those happening in
the library and archives. This is written by the members of the staff associated with each project
and not only gives insight into the inner workings of the society, but also promotes the current
projects and encourages the public to come see what is happening now. Additionally, there are
posts that examine items in the collection, though they may not be a part of any current project,
as a way of showcasing what kinds of things are available through the historical society, peaking
interest, and lending to the education goals of the society. The library staff have researched these
items including photographs, maps, and more not only to write these blog posts, but to achieve
the goal of better understanding their collection.14
        It is important for research librarians to not only know what is physically in the
collection, but also to have an understanding of those items in order to best serve both the public
and their museum. Through this understanding, they are able to find items to help with a
research project or to add to an exhibit that may not seem relevant without understanding the
background of the item. It is also important when dealing with collections like photographs and
manuscripts because these collections can be comprised of many small pieces and it may be very
easy for an item of great value to slip between the cracks. In these cases, the librarian plays a
___________________
12
   Brooklyn Historical Society 2010 About the Othmer Library http://www.brooklynhistory.org/library/about.html
accessed June 8, 2011
13
   ibid
14
   The Brooklyn Historical Society Blog 2011 brooklynhistory.org/blog accessed June 8, 2011
crucial role in making sure that whatever project is being worked on, big or small, professional
or personal, is as complete as possible.
        The blog entries kept by the librarians at the Brooklyn Historical Society also
demonstrate the relationship between the librarians and the museum staff. One such entry
written by the “Project Map Cataloger” begins with an explanation of how she discovered the
subject of the current entry.
        “Recently, I was speaking with Julie Golia, our public historian, who wanted to know if
        we had early maps that showed different spellings of the name Brooklyn. As I was
        looking through the collection to identify the most interesting spellings, I was surprised
        by the variations in nomenclature for our area.”15

Not only does this introduction show how a member of the library staff might ask a member of
the library staff for help and what kind of information the library staff has access to, but it also
shows how helping the museum staff actually helps the library staff do their jobs better as well.
Because understanding the collection is so crucial to librarianship in these institutions, being
asked to look into something the librarian is not already familiar with also serves help their
understanding of the subject in a way they might not have even realized they were missing.
        On the opposite end of the size spectrum are the libraries associated with the
Metropolitan Museum of Art. Not only is subject matter different here, but the size is drastically
different. The Met is a world-renowned museum and a major tourist destination for people from
all around the world coming to New York City with a collection of over two million works of
art. Interestingly, the role of the library within the institution was recognized as a vital
component all the way back to the very beginning of the museum’s life by its founders. Right
along with the name of the actual museum, the Thomas J. Watson Library of the Met shares “the
distinction of being among the world’s greatest treasuries for the study of the arts of many
cultures.”16 Additionally, due to the enormous size of the institution, there are several
specialized libraries dedicated to one curatorial department each. Together, these libraries
maintain exhibition, collection, and auction sale catalogues, books, periodicals, electronic
resources, and a number of rare titles notable for their historical and scholarly value.17
___________________
15
   Hansen, Carolyn May 20, 2011 Brooklyn by an other name…
         http://brooklynhistory.org/blog/2011/05/20/brooklyn-by-any-other-name/ accessed June 8, 2011
16
   Thomas J. Watson Library N.d. Library History http://libmma.org/portal/library-history/ accessed June 8, 2011
17
   Ibid
The services provided by the library staff at the Met are more along the lines of a
traditional library. Patrons can acquire a library card, check out books, request for interlibrary
loans, and more. Because of this, the library staff, at least of the main Thomas J. Watson
Library, perform the more common library tasks for the public such as circulation, reference,
photocopying, and program development.18 The amount of people who use the museum and the
library as compared to an institution like the Brooklyn Historical Society is dramatically
different and the general rules of supply and demand come into play. The historical society will
most likely never get the kind of traffic that the Met sees and thus does not have a need to offer
such services. If the Met, on the other hand, tried to take their patrons needs on an individual
case by case basis like the historical society, they would never be able to accommodate every
one who requests their services.
        Examining a job posting for a public services librarian at the Met further confirms that,
although there is an expectation to “encourage engagement with the library and the Museum,”19
the major role of the librarian would be like that of a librarian in a more traditional library. Such
responsibilities and duties listed include
        “provide high-quality reference service and instruction/develop programming initiatives
        to enhance and expand Nolen’s reach/select and manage materials for the library
        collection/work collaboratively with Education staff to coordinate Storytime and other
        joint initatives”20

If these are the responsibilities and duties outlined in the job description, it can be assumed that
they are the major roles that will be fulfilled by the librarian. Although there will most likely
also be some collaboration with the museum staff, it is clear that that is not the focus of position.
Although this is only one job within the library, in a smaller institution like the Brooklyn
Historical Society, almost every member of the library staff will work with the museum staff on
a regular basis.
        The Met did at one point maintain a blog to showcase its exhibits, but the blog has not
been updated since early 2008. This could be a casualty of a larger, less collaborative staff or
could be an example of how much less the Met needs to stir up interest. However, many
___________________
18
   Thomas J. Watson Library N.d. Services http://libmma.org/portal/services/ accessed June 8, 2011
19
   January 11, 2011 Job Posting: Public Services Librarian, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
          http://arlisnap.org/2011/01/11/job-posting-public-services-librarian-metropolitan-museum-of-art-new-york/
          accessed June 8, 2011
20
   Ibid
traditional libraries do not maintain a blog and this could also just be more evidence of the more
traditional library role of the libraries at the Met. With less focus on research and more focus on
public access, there are few projects to update the public on and the focus instead is on informing
the public of the services available to them through the library. Since these services rarely
change, this is role fulfilled by the static library website.
            Ellis Island is yet another drastically different example, though at the same time has
aspects of both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Historical Society. Like the
Met, Ellis Island is a major tourist destination for people visiting New York City from all over
the world. However, like the Brooklyn Historical Society, it is a small, specialized institution
with a finite focus. Unlike either, though, Ellis Island Immigration Museum is a part of the
National Park Service. The National Park Service believes that each of the 400 national parks in
America are parts of history and so many national parks today have museums onsite with a focus
on the specific park it is associated with as well as files related to the National Park Service.
Because the size of these parks and so also their museums is drastically different on a case by
case basis, the roles of librarians in the National Park Service range from the traditional to the
nontraditional like the range of any classification of museums. In general however, those
associated with the history projects within the National Park Service work to “preserve, protect,
and share the history of this land and its people.”21
            The Bob Hope Memorial Library located within the Ellis Island Immigration Museum
maintains files, books, manuscripts, oral histories, periodicals, photographs, and video related to
both Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, as well as immigration history (though no original
immigration files) and of course materials related to the National Park Service.22 According to
George D. Tselos, the supervisory archivist on staff at the library, his job primarily consists of
performing oral history interviews and fielding reference questions from researchers. Because
the focus of the museum and the library is on historic preservation, it is not surprising that many
of his tasks are directly related to that goal. Because of the museums dedication to immigration,
many researchers interested in genealogy contact the library and archives for information about
their family history on the island. Though all records of immigration have been moved from the
___________________
21
     National Park Service N.d. Discover History http://www.nps.gov/history/ accessed June 13, 2011
22
     National Park Service 2010 Bob Hope Memorial Library
            http://www.nps.gov/elis/historyculture/bob-hope-memorial-library.htm accessed June 13, 2011
island to the National Archives, there is still a great deal of record of general immigration history
and information from the oral history interviews as well as other personal materials such as
photographs and manuscripts that could be of great use to researchers. Additionally, the library
maintains the most diverse collection of images of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in the
world as well as many records of both that are valuable to researchers interested in either subject.
        Like Tselos, much of the library staff on Ellis Island is dedicated to research
librarianship. Like in the Brooklyn Historical Society, they often receive requests for research
from both the public and the museum staff. Although no appointment is necessary to visit the
library, a fact that is not true in all museums, research requests are expected to be made prior to a
patron visiting the library in order to save valuable time for all.23 At this point in time the oral
history project appears to be the largest regular project to occupy the staff’s attention. According
to Tselos, part of the problem is that the project has been going on so long that some of the older
media is out of date and needs to be reformatted. This requires that the librarians on staff are
also knowledgeable of both old and new technologies or are able to do the additional research
necessary to bridge the gap. Librarians in many cases must be problem solvers, especially in
untraditional library environments.
        However, not all museums have are able to provide library services. The Museum of the
City of New York employs men and women with degrees in library science, but due to “current
staffing and budgetary contraints”24 has had to close its research room to the public. Instead, the
staff directs patrons to the New York Historical Society, the New York Public Library, the
Library of Congress and the Municipal Archives with their questions and requests that involve
further research. While they do plan on eventually being able to restore this service, the fact that
the statement of closing says that the research room is closed to the public, not just closed in
general,25 it can be assumed that some small amount of library staff has been maintained.
However, there are other departments within the museum that also employ those with library
degrees. The prints and photographs department among others utilizes the skills of librarians
outside of a library environment to aid in preservation and digitization of the collection. This
___________________
23
   Ibid
24
   Department of Collections Access N.d.
         http://www.mcny.org/sidebars/research-at-the-museum-of-the-city-of-new-york.html accessed June 16,
         2011
25
   Ibid
takes the options of careers with a library degree to a completely new level of “nontraditional.”
While many librarians with interests in museums can easily find an environment that allows
them to be a part of both worlds, it is also possible to work entirely in the spectrum of museums.
        No matter what avenue a librarian chooses to take to use their degree within the museum
world, there is support both on a legal and peer level. A federal grant-making agency called the
Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) was created in 1996 through the Federal
Museums and Library Services Act. It supports non-federal, not-for-profit museums, libraries,
and archives across the country and has consolidated programs for libraries and museums. The
IMLS aims to “resolve the blurred boundaries between libraries and museums in the digital
world”26 and has been a driving force for promoting library-museum collaboration through
policy and National Leadership Grants. In 2003, the Museum and Library Services Act was
passed, reauthorizing the IMLS through 2009 and declaring that activities should stimulate even
greater collaboration between institutions so that resources may be shared and communities
strengthened. These types of actions recognize that libraries and museums both provide
educational and recreational services to the local community and play important roles in cultural
preservation.27
        The Special Libraries Association (SLA) is a nationwide organization for librarians in
institutions that do not fall under the basic categories of public, academic, or school libraries.
The Museums, Arts, and Humanities Division (MAHD) within the SLA specifically represents
librarians working in museums and similar institutions. Like in most special library fields,
librarians in MAHD are a small and specialized population. According to a survey performed in
1987, most students do not go into library school with the idea of entering the field of museum
librarianship.28 There is a great deal of encouragement for those who do know they want to go
into museums to pursue “joint degrees or programs that include the study of preservation,
archives, NFP organizations, and nonbibliographic information systems and control.”29 Because
the population is such a small one compared to the more traditional library fields, it has been a
slight struggle to get library science programs to offer the kind of services that would best
___________________
26
   Gibson, Hannah 2007 Links between Libraries and Museums: Investigating Museum-Library Collaboration in
          England and the USA Libri 57:53-64, p. 54
27
   Gibson, p. 54-56
28
   Bierbaum, Esther Green. 1988 Museum, Arts, and Humanities Librarians: Careers, Professional Development,
          and Continuing Education Journal of Education for Library and Information Science 29(2):127-134, p. 128
29
   Bierbaum, p.133
prepare a student for entry into the world of museum librarianship. However, the SLA has made
education a priority within its list commitments and has been willing to work with library science
programs to help alleviate the issue. Finally, the promotion of Continuing Education has also
been a priority within MAHD in order to lead to the highest degree of professional development
in museum librarianship.30
           Museums and libraries do no exist in entirely separate worlds and there are many routes
possible to bridge the gap for those who are interested. Today many library science programs
make that bridge even more easily accessible through the offerings and promotion of joint
degrees and certificates of advanced study. Often upon entering library school, students have
very little idea of what kinds of library jobs are really available to them. Their perceptions are
often limited to the traditional roles of public, academic, or school librarian. However, if
someone pursuing a masters degree in library science has even a slight interest in museum
studies, it is becoming easier and easier for them to explore that interest. In a tough economy
like the one facing America today, the wider the possibilities within the job market, the less
stressful graduation can become. Even more importantly, however, the opportunity to combine a
degree in library science with a position in museums can lead to a much more enriching career
for those interested. While the actual role of the librarian can be drastically different from
institution to institution, the possibilities for students with degrees in library science are as
diverse as the students who fill the programs.




___________________
30
     Bierbaum, p.133-134
References
Benedetti, Joan M. ed. 2007 Art Museum Libraries and Librarianship Lanham, MD: Scarecrow
      Press, Inc

Bierbaum, Esther Green. 1988 Museum, Arts, and Humanities Librarians: Careers, Professional
       Development, and Continuing Education Journal of Education for Library and
       Information Science 29(2):127-134

Brooklyn Historical Society 2010 About the Othmer Library
      http://www.brooklynhistory.org/library/about.html accessed June 8, 2011

The Brooklyn Historical Society Blog 2011 brooklynhistory.org/blog accessed June 8, 2011

Department of Collections Access N.d.
      http://www.mcny.org/sidebars/research-at-the-museum-of-the-city-of-new-york.html
      accessed June 16, 2011

Hansen, Carolyn May 20, 2011 Brooklyn by an other name…
      http://brooklynhistory.org/blog/2011/05/20/brooklyn-by-any-other-name/ accessed June
      8, 2011

January 11, 2011 Job Posting: Public Services Librarian, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New
       York http://arlisnap.org/2011/01/11/job-posting-public-services-librarian-metropolitan-
       museum-of-art-new-york/ accessed June 8, 2011

Larson, John C. 1985 Museum Librarianship. Hamden, CT: Library Professional Publications

National Park Service N.d. Discover History http://www.nps.gov/history/ accessed June 13, 2011

National Park Service 2010 Bob Hope Memorial Library
       http://www.nps.gov/elis/historyculture/bob-hope-memorial-library.htm accessed June 13,
       2011

Thomas J. Watson Library N.d. Library History http://libmma.org/portal/library-history/
     accessed June 8, 2011

Thomas J. Watson Library N.d. Services http://libmma.org/portal/services/ accessed June 8,
     2011

van der Wateren, Jan 1999 The Importance of Museum Libraries INSPEL 33(4):190-198

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LIS Degrees in Museums

  • 1. Jennifer Wiley MUS 500 Final Paper LIS Degrees in Museums When choosing a graduate program, many men and women with interests in a variety of subjects find themselves drawn to the idea of getting their degree either in museum studies or library science. However, it is not unusual for students to find themselves torn between the two potential fields of interest. They spend hours doing research, pouring over their options by program, school, specialization, and even then are not entirely sure they have made the right decision by the time their first semester starts. What many of these students do not realize is that the reason they have such a hard time making a decision has much to do with how much libraries and museums actually overlap in the real world. Though the programs in school are separate and the subjects may seem drastically different, many museums today use libraries or people with library backgrounds to supplement their staff and collections. Depending on the style of the museum, the role of some one with a library science degree may vary drastically, but many will be able to find that there is a style out there that will allow them to meld their particular interests of museums and libraries together into one harmonious career. From institutions as small and intimate as the Brooklyn Historical Society to those as large scale at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and those as specialized as Ellis Island to those as diverse as the Museum of the City of New York, people with degrees in library science are finding an environment that not only works for them, but also needs them to function at full capacity. Many museums today have a dedicated library within the institution, primarily used by the staff but sometimes also available to the public. Very often, “[t]he activities of a museum require the support of a library, no matter how small the institution.”1 A library becomes necessary when the collection of the museum develops a significant amount of items appropriate for a library. Although the nature of the library within a museum is dependent on that of the institution it is a part of, much is the same between museum libraries and any other kind of library. For this reason, it is important the library is its own department within the institution and that it has the support of the administrative staff. A museum library cannot be effective without recognition and support by the administration.2 Though policies should reflect those of the _____________________ 1 Larson, John C. 1985 Museum Librarianship. Hamden, CT: Library Professional Publications, p. xii 2 Larson, p.xii-5
  • 2. museum, they should be specific to the library and the basic library duties of research and reference, interlibrary loans, records management, circulation, statistical work, checking wait and want lists, and photocopying. It should also be kept in mind that research activity by patrons, be it the staff of the museum or the general public, is the “fundamental process for which the library exists.”3 Curators, research scholars, and students all have the same basic needs from the library, regardless of how professional those needs may seem. Through the library, all levels of researchers gain an understanding of search methodology, the importance of documentation, and the variety of resources available to them to best fit their specific needs.4 However, of course there also must be some differences between traditional librarianship and librarianship in museums. While catering to the public is an essential part of any library, working in a museum library also brings a responsibility of balancing that attention between the public and the curator, who can often feel that the librarian caters too much to the public instead of the museum.5 The skills that a librarian brings specifically to the museum supplement the existing collection, bridge gaps between departments, and complete the “information environment.” The library is responsible for supporting research for objects and their context as well as the methods of conservation, display and exhibition. Together, this combination of focused research materials allows for a context in which the objects can be researched, documented, and interpreted. This niche of related material provided through the library enhances and enriches both the collection and the mission of the museum. Additionally, while the staff may find themselves restricted in the amount of examples of objects they are able to collect at one time, the library can collect a variety of books illustrating further examples and provide in depth documentation of the objects in house. Unlike other libraries, a book in museum libraries is more than a device to carry information, but “an object in its own right.”6 While some museums may give the management of books as objects to other departments within the library, there are those who believe that this does not serve the books for the best and thus lets down the collection as a whole.7 The library further succeeds at enriching the museum it serves by developing elaborate ___________________ 3 Larson, p. 69 4 Larson, p. 68-70 5 van der Wateren, Jan 1999 The Importance of Museum Libraries INSPEL 33(4):190-198, p. 196-197 6 van der Wateren, p. 192 7 van der Wateren, p. 191-194
  • 3. networks, both with other museums and between other departments within the same museum. Through building an in depth catalogue of its own museum’s collection and then collecting the catalogues of other museums, the library is able to do extensive cross referencing and find documents that may normally slip through the cracks. While public and academic libraries may also do something similar to this, in general the extent to which museum libraries collect other catalogues surpasses that norm, describing them individually and in detail. Altogether this allows for the most in depth research for the museums individual collection. Within its own museum, the library is not bound by departmental borders and thus is able to make materials available across all departments within the museum. Many of these materials may be of use to the research of more than one department, though that may not always be obvious.8 Similarly, the librarian’s training to breakdown barriers between subjects coupled with an understanding of a variety of sources and the ability to manipulate information systems helps the librarian to aid the staff, who may be trained in one subject-field, to get the most out of interdisciplinary materials. Additional library training that become of great use to museums include the knowledge of copyright and the training to collect and circulate information in a standardized format. Copyright is a subject that many are unsure of, but librarians deal with it on a daily basis. The librarian’s ability to advise or alert the museum staff to potential issues could be invaluable to a museum. Equally valuable is the long tradition of standardized description in libraries due to centuries of dealing with materials of mass-production. While museums have not always been as keen to use standardization as a way of preserving their collections uniqueness, the rise of mass communication through technologies has made it a necessity to reach the public who may be using the Internet to search for specific collections or objects. The way a library uses standardization to catalogue a collection thus becomes the best way to make collections accessible beyond the physical museum.9 Not all the useful training of librarians has been so traditional. Since the 1990’s, the relationship between libraries and information technology and multimedia departments within museums has grown in importance as the need for a web presence has grown. The library’s catalogue, special collections, and archives, which often hold documentation of the institution’s history, became of great interest for web content. The materials in these collections had great ___________________ 8 van der Wateren, p. 194 9 van der Wateren, p. 195-196
  • 4. potential to peak public interest with their uniqueness and supplement the collections the public was already generally aware of with additional information. This change required several considerations by the institution. Should collections now be organized under technology or was technology to be perceived as a tool to serve the needs of the collection? If technology did overcome the collections, was it the IT staff or the library staff that should become in charge of collection development, cataloging, and other traditional librarian tasks? This is a prime example of how the evolution of the museum can change the organizational structure of the library, realigning the staff with new departments and thus redefining the mission and purpose of the library.10 Especially when a library staff is small, it is extremely important that the staff is flexible to meet the ever changing needs of their museum, which are inevitable. Changes should not necessarily be feared because there may be, as there was with the growth in technology, the potential for a rise in the visibility of the library, which is a huge advantage for both the library and the museum.11 Although these are the general roles of librarians in museums, the wide variety of museum types results in a large spectrum of different jobs available for people with a masters degree in library science. From the most traditional library positions to jobs in labs instead of libraries, different museums have different needs but most require some amount of staff with a librarian background. Some museums are historical centers, some are focused on art, and still others are part of national parks, but all have a goal to develop their collections as much as possible and to serve the public, the same goals that drive libraries of all varieties as well. The Brooklyn Historical Society is not the type of institution many think of when they first consider what a museum is. The intimate museum serves its direct community by both preserving the history of Brooklyn and showcasing art from the community today. The Othmer Library and Archives, the museums onsite library, is itself a reflection of these dual roles. It is a historical landmark in and of itself (one of three interior historical landmarks in Brooklyn) as well as a research library housing special collections, manuscripts, archives, images, and oral history collections. While it serves to preserve local and national history, the collections extend into documentation of the present day community. Altogether, the library as a whole “serves the ___________________ 10 Benedetti, Joan M. ed. 2007 Art Museum Libraries and Librarianship Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc., p. 4-6 11 Benedetti, p. 9
  • 5. mission of the Brooklyn Historical Society by supporting research into the history of Brooklyn and Long Island and by collecting, preserving, and promoting access to our library and archival materials.”12 The librarians here develop their collections with the thought toward supporting and enriching the exhibits, programs, and education activities at the historical society. They have also built an in depth online catalog in order to both make their collection accessible to a large public and to help patrons prepare themselves before venturing to the library in person for research. This will save valuable time for both the staff and the patron and will be just as valuable to the average person at home starting a personal project as it will be to the museum staff organizing a large scale exhibit.13 This type of institution lends toward research librarianship. Like in the previous discussion, this is a library within which it is extremely important for the library staff to have an intimate knowledge of the collection and to add to the research about the objects. The historical society keeps a running blog that documents the projects at hand, including those happening in the library and archives. This is written by the members of the staff associated with each project and not only gives insight into the inner workings of the society, but also promotes the current projects and encourages the public to come see what is happening now. Additionally, there are posts that examine items in the collection, though they may not be a part of any current project, as a way of showcasing what kinds of things are available through the historical society, peaking interest, and lending to the education goals of the society. The library staff have researched these items including photographs, maps, and more not only to write these blog posts, but to achieve the goal of better understanding their collection.14 It is important for research librarians to not only know what is physically in the collection, but also to have an understanding of those items in order to best serve both the public and their museum. Through this understanding, they are able to find items to help with a research project or to add to an exhibit that may not seem relevant without understanding the background of the item. It is also important when dealing with collections like photographs and manuscripts because these collections can be comprised of many small pieces and it may be very easy for an item of great value to slip between the cracks. In these cases, the librarian plays a ___________________ 12 Brooklyn Historical Society 2010 About the Othmer Library http://www.brooklynhistory.org/library/about.html accessed June 8, 2011 13 ibid 14 The Brooklyn Historical Society Blog 2011 brooklynhistory.org/blog accessed June 8, 2011
  • 6. crucial role in making sure that whatever project is being worked on, big or small, professional or personal, is as complete as possible. The blog entries kept by the librarians at the Brooklyn Historical Society also demonstrate the relationship between the librarians and the museum staff. One such entry written by the “Project Map Cataloger” begins with an explanation of how she discovered the subject of the current entry. “Recently, I was speaking with Julie Golia, our public historian, who wanted to know if we had early maps that showed different spellings of the name Brooklyn. As I was looking through the collection to identify the most interesting spellings, I was surprised by the variations in nomenclature for our area.”15 Not only does this introduction show how a member of the library staff might ask a member of the library staff for help and what kind of information the library staff has access to, but it also shows how helping the museum staff actually helps the library staff do their jobs better as well. Because understanding the collection is so crucial to librarianship in these institutions, being asked to look into something the librarian is not already familiar with also serves help their understanding of the subject in a way they might not have even realized they were missing. On the opposite end of the size spectrum are the libraries associated with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Not only is subject matter different here, but the size is drastically different. The Met is a world-renowned museum and a major tourist destination for people from all around the world coming to New York City with a collection of over two million works of art. Interestingly, the role of the library within the institution was recognized as a vital component all the way back to the very beginning of the museum’s life by its founders. Right along with the name of the actual museum, the Thomas J. Watson Library of the Met shares “the distinction of being among the world’s greatest treasuries for the study of the arts of many cultures.”16 Additionally, due to the enormous size of the institution, there are several specialized libraries dedicated to one curatorial department each. Together, these libraries maintain exhibition, collection, and auction sale catalogues, books, periodicals, electronic resources, and a number of rare titles notable for their historical and scholarly value.17 ___________________ 15 Hansen, Carolyn May 20, 2011 Brooklyn by an other name… http://brooklynhistory.org/blog/2011/05/20/brooklyn-by-any-other-name/ accessed June 8, 2011 16 Thomas J. Watson Library N.d. Library History http://libmma.org/portal/library-history/ accessed June 8, 2011 17 Ibid
  • 7. The services provided by the library staff at the Met are more along the lines of a traditional library. Patrons can acquire a library card, check out books, request for interlibrary loans, and more. Because of this, the library staff, at least of the main Thomas J. Watson Library, perform the more common library tasks for the public such as circulation, reference, photocopying, and program development.18 The amount of people who use the museum and the library as compared to an institution like the Brooklyn Historical Society is dramatically different and the general rules of supply and demand come into play. The historical society will most likely never get the kind of traffic that the Met sees and thus does not have a need to offer such services. If the Met, on the other hand, tried to take their patrons needs on an individual case by case basis like the historical society, they would never be able to accommodate every one who requests their services. Examining a job posting for a public services librarian at the Met further confirms that, although there is an expectation to “encourage engagement with the library and the Museum,”19 the major role of the librarian would be like that of a librarian in a more traditional library. Such responsibilities and duties listed include “provide high-quality reference service and instruction/develop programming initiatives to enhance and expand Nolen’s reach/select and manage materials for the library collection/work collaboratively with Education staff to coordinate Storytime and other joint initatives”20 If these are the responsibilities and duties outlined in the job description, it can be assumed that they are the major roles that will be fulfilled by the librarian. Although there will most likely also be some collaboration with the museum staff, it is clear that that is not the focus of position. Although this is only one job within the library, in a smaller institution like the Brooklyn Historical Society, almost every member of the library staff will work with the museum staff on a regular basis. The Met did at one point maintain a blog to showcase its exhibits, but the blog has not been updated since early 2008. This could be a casualty of a larger, less collaborative staff or could be an example of how much less the Met needs to stir up interest. However, many ___________________ 18 Thomas J. Watson Library N.d. Services http://libmma.org/portal/services/ accessed June 8, 2011 19 January 11, 2011 Job Posting: Public Services Librarian, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York http://arlisnap.org/2011/01/11/job-posting-public-services-librarian-metropolitan-museum-of-art-new-york/ accessed June 8, 2011 20 Ibid
  • 8. traditional libraries do not maintain a blog and this could also just be more evidence of the more traditional library role of the libraries at the Met. With less focus on research and more focus on public access, there are few projects to update the public on and the focus instead is on informing the public of the services available to them through the library. Since these services rarely change, this is role fulfilled by the static library website. Ellis Island is yet another drastically different example, though at the same time has aspects of both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Historical Society. Like the Met, Ellis Island is a major tourist destination for people visiting New York City from all over the world. However, like the Brooklyn Historical Society, it is a small, specialized institution with a finite focus. Unlike either, though, Ellis Island Immigration Museum is a part of the National Park Service. The National Park Service believes that each of the 400 national parks in America are parts of history and so many national parks today have museums onsite with a focus on the specific park it is associated with as well as files related to the National Park Service. Because the size of these parks and so also their museums is drastically different on a case by case basis, the roles of librarians in the National Park Service range from the traditional to the nontraditional like the range of any classification of museums. In general however, those associated with the history projects within the National Park Service work to “preserve, protect, and share the history of this land and its people.”21 The Bob Hope Memorial Library located within the Ellis Island Immigration Museum maintains files, books, manuscripts, oral histories, periodicals, photographs, and video related to both Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, as well as immigration history (though no original immigration files) and of course materials related to the National Park Service.22 According to George D. Tselos, the supervisory archivist on staff at the library, his job primarily consists of performing oral history interviews and fielding reference questions from researchers. Because the focus of the museum and the library is on historic preservation, it is not surprising that many of his tasks are directly related to that goal. Because of the museums dedication to immigration, many researchers interested in genealogy contact the library and archives for information about their family history on the island. Though all records of immigration have been moved from the ___________________ 21 National Park Service N.d. Discover History http://www.nps.gov/history/ accessed June 13, 2011 22 National Park Service 2010 Bob Hope Memorial Library http://www.nps.gov/elis/historyculture/bob-hope-memorial-library.htm accessed June 13, 2011
  • 9. island to the National Archives, there is still a great deal of record of general immigration history and information from the oral history interviews as well as other personal materials such as photographs and manuscripts that could be of great use to researchers. Additionally, the library maintains the most diverse collection of images of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in the world as well as many records of both that are valuable to researchers interested in either subject. Like Tselos, much of the library staff on Ellis Island is dedicated to research librarianship. Like in the Brooklyn Historical Society, they often receive requests for research from both the public and the museum staff. Although no appointment is necessary to visit the library, a fact that is not true in all museums, research requests are expected to be made prior to a patron visiting the library in order to save valuable time for all.23 At this point in time the oral history project appears to be the largest regular project to occupy the staff’s attention. According to Tselos, part of the problem is that the project has been going on so long that some of the older media is out of date and needs to be reformatted. This requires that the librarians on staff are also knowledgeable of both old and new technologies or are able to do the additional research necessary to bridge the gap. Librarians in many cases must be problem solvers, especially in untraditional library environments. However, not all museums have are able to provide library services. The Museum of the City of New York employs men and women with degrees in library science, but due to “current staffing and budgetary contraints”24 has had to close its research room to the public. Instead, the staff directs patrons to the New York Historical Society, the New York Public Library, the Library of Congress and the Municipal Archives with their questions and requests that involve further research. While they do plan on eventually being able to restore this service, the fact that the statement of closing says that the research room is closed to the public, not just closed in general,25 it can be assumed that some small amount of library staff has been maintained. However, there are other departments within the museum that also employ those with library degrees. The prints and photographs department among others utilizes the skills of librarians outside of a library environment to aid in preservation and digitization of the collection. This ___________________ 23 Ibid 24 Department of Collections Access N.d. http://www.mcny.org/sidebars/research-at-the-museum-of-the-city-of-new-york.html accessed June 16, 2011 25 Ibid
  • 10. takes the options of careers with a library degree to a completely new level of “nontraditional.” While many librarians with interests in museums can easily find an environment that allows them to be a part of both worlds, it is also possible to work entirely in the spectrum of museums. No matter what avenue a librarian chooses to take to use their degree within the museum world, there is support both on a legal and peer level. A federal grant-making agency called the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) was created in 1996 through the Federal Museums and Library Services Act. It supports non-federal, not-for-profit museums, libraries, and archives across the country and has consolidated programs for libraries and museums. The IMLS aims to “resolve the blurred boundaries between libraries and museums in the digital world”26 and has been a driving force for promoting library-museum collaboration through policy and National Leadership Grants. In 2003, the Museum and Library Services Act was passed, reauthorizing the IMLS through 2009 and declaring that activities should stimulate even greater collaboration between institutions so that resources may be shared and communities strengthened. These types of actions recognize that libraries and museums both provide educational and recreational services to the local community and play important roles in cultural preservation.27 The Special Libraries Association (SLA) is a nationwide organization for librarians in institutions that do not fall under the basic categories of public, academic, or school libraries. The Museums, Arts, and Humanities Division (MAHD) within the SLA specifically represents librarians working in museums and similar institutions. Like in most special library fields, librarians in MAHD are a small and specialized population. According to a survey performed in 1987, most students do not go into library school with the idea of entering the field of museum librarianship.28 There is a great deal of encouragement for those who do know they want to go into museums to pursue “joint degrees or programs that include the study of preservation, archives, NFP organizations, and nonbibliographic information systems and control.”29 Because the population is such a small one compared to the more traditional library fields, it has been a slight struggle to get library science programs to offer the kind of services that would best ___________________ 26 Gibson, Hannah 2007 Links between Libraries and Museums: Investigating Museum-Library Collaboration in England and the USA Libri 57:53-64, p. 54 27 Gibson, p. 54-56 28 Bierbaum, Esther Green. 1988 Museum, Arts, and Humanities Librarians: Careers, Professional Development, and Continuing Education Journal of Education for Library and Information Science 29(2):127-134, p. 128 29 Bierbaum, p.133
  • 11. prepare a student for entry into the world of museum librarianship. However, the SLA has made education a priority within its list commitments and has been willing to work with library science programs to help alleviate the issue. Finally, the promotion of Continuing Education has also been a priority within MAHD in order to lead to the highest degree of professional development in museum librarianship.30 Museums and libraries do no exist in entirely separate worlds and there are many routes possible to bridge the gap for those who are interested. Today many library science programs make that bridge even more easily accessible through the offerings and promotion of joint degrees and certificates of advanced study. Often upon entering library school, students have very little idea of what kinds of library jobs are really available to them. Their perceptions are often limited to the traditional roles of public, academic, or school librarian. However, if someone pursuing a masters degree in library science has even a slight interest in museum studies, it is becoming easier and easier for them to explore that interest. In a tough economy like the one facing America today, the wider the possibilities within the job market, the less stressful graduation can become. Even more importantly, however, the opportunity to combine a degree in library science with a position in museums can lead to a much more enriching career for those interested. While the actual role of the librarian can be drastically different from institution to institution, the possibilities for students with degrees in library science are as diverse as the students who fill the programs. ___________________ 30 Bierbaum, p.133-134
  • 12. References Benedetti, Joan M. ed. 2007 Art Museum Libraries and Librarianship Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, Inc Bierbaum, Esther Green. 1988 Museum, Arts, and Humanities Librarians: Careers, Professional Development, and Continuing Education Journal of Education for Library and Information Science 29(2):127-134 Brooklyn Historical Society 2010 About the Othmer Library http://www.brooklynhistory.org/library/about.html accessed June 8, 2011 The Brooklyn Historical Society Blog 2011 brooklynhistory.org/blog accessed June 8, 2011 Department of Collections Access N.d. http://www.mcny.org/sidebars/research-at-the-museum-of-the-city-of-new-york.html accessed June 16, 2011 Hansen, Carolyn May 20, 2011 Brooklyn by an other name… http://brooklynhistory.org/blog/2011/05/20/brooklyn-by-any-other-name/ accessed June 8, 2011 January 11, 2011 Job Posting: Public Services Librarian, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York http://arlisnap.org/2011/01/11/job-posting-public-services-librarian-metropolitan- museum-of-art-new-york/ accessed June 8, 2011 Larson, John C. 1985 Museum Librarianship. Hamden, CT: Library Professional Publications National Park Service N.d. Discover History http://www.nps.gov/history/ accessed June 13, 2011 National Park Service 2010 Bob Hope Memorial Library http://www.nps.gov/elis/historyculture/bob-hope-memorial-library.htm accessed June 13, 2011 Thomas J. Watson Library N.d. Library History http://libmma.org/portal/library-history/ accessed June 8, 2011 Thomas J. Watson Library N.d. Services http://libmma.org/portal/services/ accessed June 8, 2011 van der Wateren, Jan 1999 The Importance of Museum Libraries INSPEL 33(4):190-198