The changing direction of the Learned Society

Dianne Harris, president of the Society of Architectural Historians, has written a very thoughtful overview of the changing role and direction of the learned society in Learned Society 2.0, in HASTAC.  She uses her experience with SAH over the last five years, recounting how it has grown from an organization with little electronic interaction or initiatives, to one with an online journal, the JSAH, which has become the first of its kind with its interactive features, and SAHARA, an image-sharing resource  for its members that has broken new ground.  Both JSAH and SAHARA have served as models which have been adopted by other organizations.

New image downloading requirement for ARTstor users

As of August 22, all ARTstor users are required to log in before downloading images.  In the past, users in the IP address range of licensing institutions could download images without registering or logging in, but ARTstor has added this new restriction.  So, even if you’re at a campus computer, you will be faced with this small extra step when you try to download.

More high res images available for academic publishing

More and more museums and archives are making high resolution images of public domain works available online, and free, for academic publishing.  The first to do this was the Metropolitan Museum, which now has thousands of Images for Academic Publishing (IAP) available through ARTstor.  Other museums that have followed suit with selections from their collections are:

• The Victoria and Albert Museum
• The British Museum
• The LA County Museum of Art (LACMA)
• The Yale Center for British Art
• The Yale University Art Gallery

We will add links to others as they are announced. (Note – the image at right (Portrait of Jean-Pierre Delahaye, by Jacques-Louis David, 1815) came from LACMA, and downloaded at 10mb – big and beautiful!)

Most recent additions to ARTstor

These collections have been added to ARTstor’s Digital Library:

• Contemporary Architecture, Urban Design, and Public Art (ART on FILE Collection): 1,000 of contemporary architecture in Shanghai, including the Expo 2010 Shanghai (this last installment completes the total 13,033 images from ART on FILE)
• Smith College Museum of Art: 1,000 images of works from the museum’s permanent collection (33% of the 3,000 total that will be available)
• Dura Europos and Gerasa Archives (Yale University Art Gallery): 18,205 images of historical documentation of both expeditions as well as the artifacts and structures they uncovered
• Robert Winter Archive (Occidental College): 2,500 images of architecture and sites the architectural historian took throughout California for over 40 years
• Beverly Willis: 57 images of the work by the architect, artist, and author

Also, ARTstor is now collaborating with Rhizome to share approximately 3,000 images from the Rhizome ArtBase, an online archive of new media art.

Middle Eastern image resources on ARTstor

One of the ways ARTstor helps users find material relevant to their teaching or research is through their subject guides.  They have just published an excellent user guide on finding materials relevant to Middle East studies, covering the whole geographic/social/cultural region.  In addition to objects from museums and archives, the rich holdings include contemporary and historic photographs of archaeological sites, people, architecture, and events.

Assumptions about Fair Use

Inside Higher Ed has an interesting article today, called “Myths about Fair Use“.  It does a great job of breaking down the myths in an easy-to-understand way.