by Sarah Carter
The last twelve months have been very busy for students in the Society of Art Librarianship Students (SALS). This small but committed group of graduate students from the Department of Information and Library Science has logged over two-thousand miles driving across the Midwest in pursuit of professional development and networking opportunities. It all began in April of 2024 with the weeklong Annual Conference of the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) in Pittsburgh, PA. Four SALS students carpooled east with two IU librarians, Sarah Carter and Jackie Huddle, to attend this professional conference. Librarians enjoyed helping student acclimate to conference life, reminding them to wear comfortable shoes, stay hydrated, and hand out their business cards liberally to those they met. Two SALS members, Maggie McDonald and Taylor Zartman, represented IU at the conference when they gave lightning talks on the panel titled “Play/Work: Pop-Up Artist Talks with the Stimulating Creativity in Practice Special Interest Group.” Other conference activities included receptions at the August Wilson African American Cultural center and the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. IU Bloomington’s Art Librarianship alumni – including Emilee Mathews, Kennedy Jones, and Andrew Wang (one of SALS’ original co-founders) – gathered with current students to reminisce about their time in the program. SALS students capped their trip off with a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater before driving home.
October 2024 brought an opportunity for students to visit Ann Arbor and Detroit for the regional meeting of the ARLIS/NA Midstates Chapter. This two-day meeting was hosted by the University of Michigan (UM), and allowed students to make local connections they might have missed at the larger annual ARLIS/NA conference. The meeting agenda began with tours of the special collections and book arts studio at the Art, Architecture, and Engineering Library at UM. Both tours allowed student to gain more hands-on experience with collections while hearing about local challenges and opportunities at UM’s library. After the chapter’s business meeting, SALS member Maggie McDonald gave a lightning talk about her project evaluating paintings at the Eskenazi Museum of Art, drawing much interest from those in attendance. This trip brought two opportunities to visit museums, including UM’s Art Museum as well as the Detroit Institute of Art (DIA). The SALS students were thrilled to have a behind-the-scenes peek at the DIA courtesy of another IUB Art Librarianship alum, Aaron Steele.
More recently in February 2025, students have instigated additional daytrips to visit art libraries in neighboring Kentucky and Illinois. These trips allow for brief glimpses into the lives of practicing art librarians. The tours of library spaces also allow students to observe and ask questions about the challenges of facilities and collection management as well as staffing and budgeting concerns. Courtney Stine, Director of the Bridwell Art Library at the University of Louisville, welcomed SALS for a tour of her branch library and to review innovative programs and collections she has pioneered. Students enjoyed seeing the library’s collection of artists’ books and asked Courtney to share advice with them as new professionals entering the job market. Then, in March of this year, SALS students set out to visit the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). This trip provided the opportunity to see three unique collections in one day. Students first visited the Rare Book and Manuscript Library for a showing of various materials followed by a tour of the facility. Next, the group viewed a sample of materials from the ARLIS/NA Archives, which are housed at and managed by the UIUC Archives. Students were awed to see documents dating back to the founding of the society, over fifty years ago, and to read papers generated by pivotal figures within ARLIS/NA’s history, such as IUB Fine Arts Librarian Emerita BJ Irvine. Finally, the group toured the Ricker Architecture and Art Library with Emilee Mathews and viewed their special collection materials. The library’s queer zine collection and homegrown materials library were both of special interest to students.
IU’s historic Art Librarianship program is strengthened by these opportunities to broaden student exposure to art librarianship facilities across the Midwest while allowing them to further their professional networks. SALS Vice President Jacob Gentry shared that, “Visiting various institutions through SALS has given me a greater understanding of the art librarianship community. Through our travels, I have made friends across states and among many universities. It’s nice, being reminded how many helpful art library colleagues are out there.” During their car rides back to Bloomington, students frequently brainstorm the art libraries and locations they would like to visit next. Who knows – the Society of Art Librarianship Students may be visiting a library near you soon!