NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY PROVIDES FREE IMAGE DOWNLOADS FOR ACADEMIC AND NON-COMMERCIAL USE

The National Portrait Gallery now provides free downloads of a large range of images from its Collection for academic and non-commercial projects through a new web-site facility. Over 53,000 low-resolution images will now be available free of charge to non-commercial users through a standard ‘Creative Commons’ licence and over 87,000 high-resolution images will also be available free of charge for academic use through the Gallery’s own licences.

Since 1997 over 100,000 portraits from the Gallery’s Collection, including paintings, photographs, drawings, prints and sculptures have been digitised. The Gallery was among the first UK institutions to publish images online in a searchable database, and licensing of these images has raised some £5.5 million which has been re-invested in the Gallery’s work. Digitisation of the Collection is part of realising the Gallery’s mission ‘to promote through the medium of portraits the appreciation and understanding of the men and women who have made and are making British history and culture, and ... to promote the appreciation and understanding of portraiture in all media’.

The new licensing process has been automated through the Gallery’s website but each transaction is individually agreed or denied by Gallery staff, to prevent potential abuse of the system and preserve the important revenue achieved from commercial image licensing. In order to help cover the cost and to highlight the value for beneficiaries of this new facility, users are invited to donate in support of the Gallery’s work. Not all of the portraits in the Collections have yet been scanned, and some are subject to copyright restrictions, so charges and restrictions will continue to apply to accessing some images, as well as to the commercial use of all images. Funds raised by image licensing activity will continue to contribute towards further digitisation.

National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Place, WC2H 0HE opening hours: Saturday-Wednesday: 10am – 6pm (Gallery closure commences at 5.50pm) Late Opening: Thursday, Fridays:10am - 9pm (Gallery closure commences at 8.50pm) Recorded information: 020 7312 2463 General information: 020 7306 0055 Website: www.npg.org.uk

Art Researchers’ Guide to Edinburgh

Art Researchers’ Guide to Edinburgh:

Edited by Kerry Eldon & Rose Roberto, ISBN 978-0-9562763-2-2

Published by Art Libraries Society UK & Ireland (ARLIS), June 2012

For the past year a group of ELISA members have been contributing to the Art Researchers’ Guide to Edinburgh which will be published this month by the Art Libraries Society UK & Ireland (ARLIS). It is the second in a series after the Art Researchers’ Guide to Leeds was published last summer. The handbook describes the major libraries and repositories in Edinburgh with art and design resources. It allows readers to more fully explore the city, and direct them to the most appropriate libraries and archives to suit their research needs.

Special features include:

•a city-wide map

•at-a-glance navigation icons

•a time-saving subject index to collections

•a peek into each place with full-colour images

The guide will be launched at the ARLIS Annual Conference in the University of London on 28th June 2012 but it is now available to pre-order at a special pre-conference price of £5 (regular price £6.50) from http://www.arlis.org.uk/resources.php?link=1 or by emailing l.blackman@vam.ac.uk

Edinburgh City Libraries: Fine Art Library – Self-service installation

Edinburgh City Libraries: Fine Art Library – Self-service installation:

Central Library’s Fine Art section is soon to prepare for its newest acquisition!

On Monday May 14^th, Tuesday May 15^th until lunchtime on May 16^th, the Art Library will be closed to welcome a new installation. 

There will be a self-service machine for the public to use and, later in May, a newer, sleeker counter from which the staff can offer help and advice.

Over the period of the installation, customers may return borrowed items to any other service point in Central Library.  Although there will be no public access to the room for a few days, staff will be on hand to assist with enquiries and fetch essential material, when possible.  Study space and access to the public PC network will be available as usual elsewhere in the building.

We look forward to welcoming our regular customers and all newer visitors to our refurbished service.  Come and be part of the updated approach!

Introduction to Art and Design Reference Resources

An Introduction to Art and Design Reference Resources: The Art Library, Leeds Central Library, Leeds Tuesday 1st May 2012.

A workshop from ARLIS and the Leeds Art Libraries in Cooporation (LALIC) for those new to the world of art librarianship and scholarship, or those wishing to update their skills in art and design enquiry work and research. The day features presentations from leading art librarians, who will provide up-to-date information on the key print and electronic resources and strategies for effective research.

There is a significant practical element to the day, allowing delegates to put into practice the skills and knowledge acquired in the computer training suite. There is also a behind-the-scenes tour of the Art Library at Leeds Central Library.

Details can be found here: http://www.arlis.org.uk/documents/events/adrr_leeds_booking_form_v2.pdf or by contacting Jennie-Claire Perry at j.c.perry@arts.ac.uk by Friday 27 April 2012.

Award-Winning InfosmART Portfolio Released by Glasgow School of Art Library

Glasgow, April 2012

The Glasgow School of Art Library’s award-winning InfosmART portfolio is now freely available to the UK’s art and design communities, following Innovation and Development funding from the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC)

InfosmART is the Glasgow School of Art Library’s portfolio of online interactive modules in information and research skills, specifically designed for creative practitioners. It has been produced for the learning, teaching and research communities in art, design and architecture, and helps artists and designers to develop and improve their research capabilities and information handling, at either undergraduate, postgraduate or research levels. It does this through an easy-to-follow 5-step programme: Define, Find, Evaluate, Cite and Use.

In 2010, InfosmART was recognised at the Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Awards, where its development team was named Outstanding Library Team of the Year. In 2011, its lead developer was named Information Literacy Practitioner of the Year for his work on the resource.

InfosmART was developed in-house by the Library of Glasgow School of Art, which is internationally recognised as one of Europe's foremost higher education institutions for creative education and research in fine art, design and architecture. It is one of only three Small Specialist Institutions within Scotland, with undergraduate, taught postgraduate, and research programmes delivered across architecture, fine art, design, and digital design. The Library forms part of Learning Resources, which also includes e-learning, archives, and collections.

InfosmART has now been released for free non-commercial use and adaptation under Creative Commons licensing at http://www2.gsa.ac.uk/library/infosmart

For further information, please contact:
Duncan Chappell, Academic Liaison Librarian
Glasgow School of Art, 167 Renfrew Street, Glasgow G3 6RQ UK
E: d.chappell@gsa.ac.uk T: (0)141 3534708