A Journey into Art Librarianship

I have always liked art, but I never considered a career relating to it. The same can be said for the other interests I have. This is why I chose to become a librarian. From working at a video game library to designing projects for history museums, I have explored unique disciplines and pursued related opportunities, like this one at the CMA. My position as the postgraduate fellow in reference librarianship is a chance to try something new and reinforce what I know about guiding students and visitors through research.

The Ingalls Library reference desk, positioned at the entrance of the library, is the hub for answering questions about anything. Whether the answer is straightforward or complex, I treat each interaction as a mystery requiring my best detective work. The first time I took on a complex series of questions, to provide information for the Womens Council book club, I finished with a newfound understanding and appreciation for Chinese porcelain. Studying the fictional text the group had selected compared to facts about the historical events on which the book was based made for a unique and captivating experience.

Education is part of the daily flow of the Ingalls Library because of the connection to CWRU’s joint program in art history and museum studies. Each year, as the joint program’s main research library, the CMA library welcomes a new cohort of master’s and doctorate students. This past August, I crafted their orientation while pulling from experiences from my first month at the museum. Since then, the connections I have made with the new and returning students while they venture through their academic career have been a daily highlight.

Among my proudest achievements is the research guide I created showcasing influential women throughout the history of the CMA. Initially, this project challenged me; I was a new museum employee, so the history of the institution was new to me as well. However, it quickly became another topic I was excited to explore. This guide, born from the need to emphasize the impact of women on the CMA, is a starting point for staff, researchers, and visitors to learn about their efforts while providing context to the relationship between women and museums. Though only in its first iteration, the guide has become especially meaningful to me. Not only does it serve as a physical product of my efforts, but the process allowed me to highlight the complexities of history and diversity.

With every new project and experience, I learn new skills. But I would be remiss not to mention a completely new experience from my first year at the museum. Among the benefits connected to my position is membership in the Art Libraries Society of North America and the opportunity to attend their annual conference. This gathering, held in Pittsburgh, included many firsts for me. Not only was it my first time attending a professional conference, but it was also my first time sharing my work with my peers, at the poster session. My presentation, titled “Rewind and Reconsider: A Case Study in VHS Tape Management,” highlighted my research and recommendations related to the library’s VHS tape collection. Networking with librarians from around the country and the world led to amazing conversations and helped me to see myself in the profession.
Though focusing on art research has come with a learning curve, my time at the CMA has been rewarding. I am given opportunities to learn about librarianship and find a new, unexpected interest every day, like when a visitor and I recently learned the term for the quilted jackets (aketons) worn under chainmail. Here in the library, there is always a balance between practicing what I do know and encountering what I do not know, and then digging deeper.