The Library has just been selected as a recipient of the IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf and has received a set of 17 books related to museum collections care and management. These books are situated on the Library Programs Resource Shelf and are available for browsing on site.

The Dubois Library has hired a Library Assistant while our Head Librarian is on maternity leave. Ingrid Martis has been volunteering with MoPA during the past year and has become an integral part of the Library’s daily operations. We are thrilled to have her take over until January.

Her schedule will be Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9am-3:30pm. Please feel free to contact her for appointments or questions at library@mopa.org.

Come join us for another great class in the Dubois Library, September 20, 2007 from 6-8:30pm. We will be transforming old books into small boxes, perfect for storing photos, jewelry and other items. All materials will be provided, and the cost is only $30. Please note that the class is limited to 10 participants, so hurry to reserve your spot! The first Crafts in the Stacks was a great success, and I’m sure that this one will be even better!

The following announcement (drum roll, please!) was created by our fabulous intern Ingrid, who is also responsible for the creation and arrangement of the slide collection that is described…thank you Ingrid, your hard work and enthusiasm is greatly appreciated!

If you have ever wondered what gems are hidden in the Museum of Photographic Arts’ vault, the Dubois Library can henceforth help you.

The donation of a slide cabinet by the San Diego Museum of Art Library as well as countless hours of valuable work given by volunteers and interns made possible the gathering of 8614 slides from 364 different individual photographers.

Easy to use, the new slide collection offers not only a small tour of MoPA’s Permanent Collection, but also enables the visualization of bodies of work by photographers such as Harry Callahan, Ansel Adams, Duane Michals and Sally Mann.

Access to the Dubois Library and its slide collection is open for MoPA members, students, teachers and researchers in the fine arts. Feel free to contact the Dubois Library for more information and to set an appointment.

The Dubois Library’s first Crafts in the Stacks class was held on June 7th from 6-8:30pm. The class was full with ten brave students eager to learn the wonders of bookmaking from our illustrious instructor, Kara West of Broken Press Studio (she’s the one in the green sweater on the right). Ms. West taught us how to create a Concertina, or Accordion Book, and the results were fantastic!

Each book was unique and artfully created, and judging from the feedback on the class evaluations, everyone had a wonderful time (especially the student who loved the taste of the paste!). Students followed along with Ms. West’s tutorial, while also using a handy handout containing great illustrations. All supplies were provided and students were able to pick which decorative paper and ribbon were used for their book. All of this for the low, low price of $30!

This was the Dubois Library’s first fundraising effort (so glad it was a success!), and we will definitely be planning more in the near future. We are considering a Slide-Lampshade Class, Calligraphy, Build-Your-Own-Camera, and more. If you have any ideas for Crafts in the Stacks classes you’d like to see, let me know…

Thank you again to Ms. West for teaching and leading such a fun class, and to all who participated. The Dubois Library appreciates your support!

The Edmund L. and Nancy K. Dubois Library celebrated the 2nd anniversary of its official opening on May 23rd at a small staff party in the Museum’s boardroom. MoPA’s Communications Manager, Candice, showed off her amazing Betty Crocker talents and baked the delicious German Chocolate Cake featured in the photo (thank you Candice!). There were songs, laughter, the blowing out of candles, and applause at how far the Library has come. There is much work to be done still, but we are grateful for the support of the staff and enjoyed being able to celebrate this milestone with all of them.

The Dubois Library’s first Crafts in the Stacks class will be held on June 7, 2007, from 6-8:30pm. The class will teach bookmaking basics, and participants will complete a finished book project for showing off photos, drawings, recipes and more. The cost of the class is $30, and all materials will be provided. The class is limited to 10 students, so register soon to guarantee a seat. To register, or for more information, contact the Dubois Library at library@mopa.org or 619-238-7559 x216.

So it’s official…the Library is on display! Our new Library Exhibit Case was installed at the end of February with great fanfare and excitement (well, not so much on the fanfare, but we were all very excited!). The Case is located in the Atrium of the Museum, right underneath the Donor Panels. One of the trio of fabulous interns, Caroline, worked very hard to create a lovely exhibit that highlights each one of the Library’s main collections: Rare books, Serials, General Collection, and Auction Catalogs. She also created Exhibition Guidelines that outline how to display library items, what types of materials to use, ideas for future exhibits, etc. We intend on rotating exhibitions throughout the year, relating to the exhibitions on view in the galleries, as well as focusing on the Library’s collections and services. Thanks must go to our fabulous Director of Exhibitions and Design, Scott, for seeking out the case, painting and getting it ready to go, as well as attaching the holder for the Library’s promotional cards. Already, we’ve had to fill the card holder, so it seems that we are striking the fancy of many of the museum’s visitors. Come and see us on display!

In a past post, I mentioned the near completion of the serials inventory, and I would now like to announce…drumroll, please…it’s done! Thank you to the many volunteers who have worked so hard on organizing and sorting and boxing and cleaning and inventorying and sorting again and moving all of the journals, magazines and periodicals in the collection. Although we are a long way off from actually cataloging these items, we now have some intellectual control over these holdings, and are able to offer access to these amazing resources on photography. Unfortunately, a list of the holdings is not available through our online catalog yet, but please contact us if you have any questions about what we have…did I mention that our inventory is complete? Yay!

With more than 300 individual titles, and who knows how many actual issues (I need to consult the inventory and do a count…), the serials collection is vast and comprehensive, consisting of an entire run of Aperture, a near complete set of Album, issues of The Camera from the 1920’s, and many, many other titles, including Exposure, European Photography, Modern Photography, International Phototechnick, American Photography, Contact Sheet, and more. Also, thanks to a very generous donation, we’ve just added to our collection a large run of the Journal of the Photographic Society of America (thank you again!). In addition, the Library subscribes to many major photography publications, including Blind Spot, Contact Sheet, the Daguerreian Society Newsletter, and others, so our collection will continue to grow and grow.

In short, we have serials, serials and more serials. Oh, and did I mention that our inventory is complete?!