The Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. has a current opening for a librarian to work on outreach and training at the Smithsonian Institution Libraries (SIL).  The position will involve working with the librarians in all six of the libraries of the History and Culture Department.  Applications will be accepted until May 24th.  More information is available on USAJobs or on LibGigs.
Apply to Work at the Smithsonian
May 11th, 2011 by panopticonGSLIS After Dark Recap
May 10th, 2011 by panopticon
This is the poster that was presented at GSLIS After Dark.
On April 28th, officers of Panopticon attended GSLIS After Dark, the school’s annual alumni event.  At this event, we presented a poster presentation on the creation of Panopticon’s new website and the usability testing that we did to refine the final version currently available.  The poster (seen to the left) highlighted some of the key features of the website and showed our findings from our two-participant usability test.  It also showed the changes we made based on these results.  The poster was well received, with several alumni expressing interest in the usability test and the website.
The rest of GSLIS After Dark was also great.  Before dinner, attendees had an opportunity to speak with alumni and students in attendance and to see the other posters being presented.  Then, after dinner, Maura Marx, the evening’s award recipient, gave a very interesting presentation about her career and answered questions.
Apply to Spend your Summer in Alaska!
May 7th, 2011 by panopticonIf you are looking for a museum internship this summer, you should definitely check out this paid internship in Anchorage, Alaska.  The Atwood Resource Center at the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center is offering  the annual William E. Davis internship, a 9 week, paid internship in library and archival work which will include processing and describing photograph collections and creating finding aids.  Application are due by June 17th and more information can be found on the Museum’s website.  On a personal note, I lived in Alaska for a year and, while I lived in a different part of the state, I would highly recommend taking the opportunity to spend the summer there!
Want to check out Graffiti Art?
May 6th, 2011 by panopticonThe MoMA website has two video clips with graffiti artist Lee Quinones in connection with their show of his work entitled Looking at Music 3.0.  It is definitely work taking a look for a chance to peak inside his studio.  The second clip is even a short tutorial on graffiti art techniques!  And, if you will be in New York before the end of the month, check out the exhibit which will be on view until May 30th.
Preservation Symposium
May 5th, 2011 by panopticonThe Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts is offering a one day symposium on Friday, June 17th on preservation of paper ephemera.  Entitled Out of the Ordinary: Preserving Paper-Based Ephemera, the symposium in Baltimore, Maryland will offer perspectives from a number of conservators with experience in preparing paper.  It is intended for professionals in a number of fields including archivists, curators and librarians.  ArLiSNAP has more details on their blog or you can go to the Conservation Center website.
International Museum Day
May 4th, 2011 by panopticonMay 18th is International Museum Day and in celebration several local museums are offering free admission, including the Harvard Art Museums and, in the evening, the MFA. Â Smithsonian Magazine offers a list of other museums in the area that are participating. Â For more information about the entire event (which libraries can participate in as well), check out the International Museum Day 2011 website.
Art Book Reviews
May 3rd, 2011 by panopticonARLIS/NA just posted their May/June 2011 book reviews. Â The books reviewed cover a host of topics, including Nazi art theft, manuscripts, African art, design, architecture, and tapestries to name just a few. Â Check out full text on their website. Â Older reviews are also available online.
PatriotsÂ’ Day in Providence
April 30th, 2011 by panopticon
Fleet Library, Providence, RI. .Photo courtesy of Emily Glinert
Guest post from Panopticon Co-Chair, Emily Glinert about Panopticon’s day trip to Providence:
On April 18, six members of Panopticon met in Providence, Rhode Island to spend the day touring the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and Providence Athenaeum.
Our tour began in Fleet Library where Ellen Petraits, Reference Librarian, greeted us. Ellen took us throughout the library showing us how a former bank was converted to be a state of the art library. Because the building is a historical landmark, the space had to be used creatively without changing any of the original structure. It is truly a sight to behold! Ellen also took us to see Technical Services and the Visual Resources Center, where we got to learn more about the different aspects of the collections.
Following our time with Ellen, we met Laurie Whitehill Chong for a tour of the RISD Special Collections. Not only did we have the opportunity to see the unique objects in the archives, but Laurie also took out some of the unique works from the Artists’ Books for us to see. One of the highlights from this collection was a book by Angela Lorenz that had been written on six sheets of linen and then each individual piece of linen was contained within a bar of soap! You can view the work here.
Next, we walked to the Providence Athenaeum, where we met Kate Wodehouse, Collections Librarian. Kate took us on a comprehensive tour of the library and explained some of the history to us as well, including where Edgar Allen Poe is rumored to have met his girlfriend at the time, Sarah Helen Whitman. We also spent time viewing some of the unique pieces of the collection – including some of the sources Melville used to write Moby Dick!
After our meeting with Kate, it was time to go home. Despite some tired feet, we all enjoyed the tours greatly and learned a lot about the many aspects of art librarianship.
Many thanks to RISD, the Providence Athenaeum, Ellen Petraits, Laurie Whitehill Chong, Kate Wodhouse and Abby Saunders for all of your help to make our trip to Providence a success.
Â
More on Books as Art
April 30th, 2011 by panopticonThe blog LIS News has an interesting post about Lisa Occipinti, an artist who uses books to create unique objects that are also functional items (and are available for sale on Etsy).  She has a new book out showing her items, which is profiled in the New York Times.  If you are interested in the intersection of books and art, you should definitely check it out!
Film Preservation at the Coolidge Corner Theatre
April 28th, 2011 by panopticonCoolidge Corner Theatre will be having their 8th Annual Coolidge Award on May 10th and 11th and this year they are celebrating film preservation. The two day event will involve a screening of These Amazing Shadows, a documentary about The National Film Registry, as well as a panel discussion on Film Restoration and Access in the Digital Age. Â For more information, or to buy tickets, check out the Coolidge Corner Theatre website.