The decision to select library materials is the responsibility of the Liaison Librarian, Michele Laing, in consultation with the Faculty Library Representative, Jane Buyers.
The Fine Arts Department offers General and Honours undergraduate degree programmes with options for Art History or Studio specializations. A Masters degree programme in Studio is also offered with a limited enrolment of four students per year. Art history courses focus on the development of art from the Medieval period to the present day, with particular emphasis given to art in the 20th century. Students may study Greek and Roman art through courses offered by the Classical Studies Department. Courses offered through the Studio option concentrate on drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, and electronic imaging. There is a strong interest in developing courses that combine computer science with traditional art techniques. The Fine Arts Department also hosts a course on exhibition curatorship, taught by the UW Curator.
Materials collected to serve the teaching and research needs of faculty and students include art historical surveys with an emphasis on contemporary artists, art trends, and art theory, works on individual artists, titles that describe, analyze, and support studio offerings, and a limited number of resources dealing with museology and curatorship. Titles of interest to Fine Arts may sometimes be purchased by funds for Architecture, Classical Studies, and Anthropology.
Languages
Core materials in English and French are preferred. Foreign language materials are collected mainly in German and Italian but works in any European language are collected if appropriate. Items that consist largely of illustrations are not subject to language restrictions.
Geographic Areas
The academic curriculum in Fine Arts covers world art, with particular emphasis on Europe and North America. Library acquisitions are not restricted by geographical limitations.
Chronological Periods
Coverage of Fine Arts is from the prehistoric period to the present. There are no chronological limitations.
Places of Publication
Priority is given to materials published in North America and Europe.
Dates of Publication
Retrospective as well as currently published materials are collected.
In general, the Library does not acquire any type of materials in a format for which access cannot be provided in the library.
Included
The following types of materials are generally included: Books, periodicals, reference works, catalogues of permanent art collections, and exhibition catalogues, in print of electronic format as appropriate.
Collected Selectively
The following types of materials are collected selectively: Artists’ books, conference proceedings, theses, symposia reports, textbooks, and government publications.
Excluded
The following types of materials are excluded: Films, slides, and videos. Original works of art and individual disbound reproductions are also generally excluded.
| Art – Exhibitions | 3 |
| Art – History | 3 |
| Art – Philosophy | 3 |
| Art and Religion | 3 |
| Art criticism | 3 |
| Art museum curatorship | 3 |
| Art museums | 2 |
| Artists | 3 |
| Artists’ books | 2 |
| Artists’ materials | 3 |
| Ceramic sculpture | 3 |
| Christian art and symbolism | 3 |
| Computer art | 3 |
| Decorative arts | 2 |
| Design | 2 |
| Drawing | 3 |
| Engraving | 3 |
| Etching | 3 |
| Glass art | 1 |
| Graphic arts | 2 |
| Idols and images | 3 |
| Illumination of books and manuscripts | 2 |
| Illustration of books | 1 |
| Intaglio printing | 3 |
| Lithography | 3 |
| Painting | 3 |
| Photography | 3 |
| Pottery | 2 |
| Printing | 2 |
| Prints | 3 |
| Prints – Technique | 3 |
| Relief printing | 3 |
| Sculpture | 3 |
| Serigraphy | 3 |
| Symbolism in Art | 3 |
| Women artists | 3 |
Levels of Collecting
0. Out of Scope
The library does not collect in this subject.
1. Minimal Information Level
The collection supports minimal inquiries about this subject with a limited selection of monographs and reference works.
2. Basic Information Level
The collection serves to introduce and define the subject. Only the most important reference works, general surveys, the most significant works of major authors, and a limited selection of representative general periodicals are collected.
3. Instructional Support Level
The collection supports all courses of undergraduate study and master’s degree programmes. Materials collected include a wide range of reference works, fundamental bibliographic tools, and an extensive collection of monographs and periodicals. Access to owned or remotely-accessed electronic resources, including texts, journals, data sets, etc. is provided.
4. Research Level
The collection includes major published source materials required for doctoral study and independent research in the subject. All formats, including appropriate foreign-language titles, are acquired. Historically important monographs, archival materials, and back-runs of serials are acquired as necessary.
5. Comprehensive Level
The collection is exhaustive in its depth and scope. All relevant materials, in all formats and applicable languages, are retained and preserved. The collection may be recognised as a national resource.
All collections should be systematically reviewed for currency of information and to ensure that essential and important resources are retained. Superseded editions and titles containing outdated information should be withdrawn as necessary. Classic retrospective materials should be retained and preserved to serve the needs of historical research.
Adapted from RLG guidelines.
| E 59.A7 | Indians – Art |
| E 98.A7 | Indians of North America – Art |
| F 1219.3.A7 | Indians of Mexico – Art |
| N | Fine Arts |
| NB | Sculpture |
| NC | Graphic Arts |
| ND | Painting |
| NE | Engraving |
| NK | Art, Decorative |
| NX | Arts |
| TR | Photography |
The Library continues to explore various initiatives from a TriUniversity Group and Ontario Council of University Libraries perspective.
Both Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Guelph offer programmes in Fine Arts. The University of Guelph has a particularly strong collection of Fine Arts resources.
The most significant and useful resources relevant to Fine Arts are collected on the Fine Arts discipline page at: http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/discipline/fine/index.html
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