Europeana

Europeana is a single access point to millions of books, paintings, films, museum objects and archival records that have been digitised throughout Europe. It is an authoritative source of information coming from European cultural and scientific institutions. On September 12, 2012 Europeana opened "up data about all 20 million of the items it holds under the CC0 rights waiver. This means that anyone can reuse the data for any purpose - whether using it to build applications to bring cultural content to new audiences in new ways, or analysing it to improve our understanding of Europe's cultural and intellectual history." For more info see: The Guardian article.

Color Blind

An interesting post on color blindness and Van Gogh on Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish.

Library Online Catalog Down for Updates on Wednesday

Update: upgrades down last night when the library was closed. Online catalog is working.

The Library online catalog will be down for updates tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb 15 from 8:30 am to 10:30 am.

About Free JSTOR Early Content - video

Watch this video to learn the details of JSTOR Early Content

Made in the UK Research Guide

To accompany the new exhibition at the RISD Museum, see the Made in the UK Research Guide for links to local copies of the exhibition catalogue and additional sources on the artists included in the exhibition.

Central Falls' Adams Memorial Library

Central Falls' Adams Memorial Library needs your help and is throwing one helluva party to prove it!

The library is a crucial institution that saw its city funding eliminated in the face of Central Falls' municipal fiscal meltdown at the beginning of summer.

Reopened by volunteers in August, the library is currently open to the public for 3 days a week. Volunteers not only provide library services, even purchasing books if they're not in stock, but also do things like vacuum the floors and scrub the sinks. It's not glamorous, but it's necessary.

Now the volunteers are looking to take things to the next level.

We're throwing a fundraiser on September 30, hoping to raise enough money to hire a library director and expand library hours.

The Adams Memorial Library Autumn Gala will feature live entertainment, open bar, heavy hors d'oeuvres and fantastic silent auctions.

Bob Drouin & Friends are providing live music that will infuse the library with Traditional flavor. Crooner Steve Lombardi will fill the outside tents with his Rat Pack showmanship. Big Nazo and TEN31 Productions will bring their special brands of magic to the night. Tom's Market will provide heavy hors d'oeuvres while Bartending by Dennis will provide an open bar. Yep: open bar.

Add to that silent auctions that will feature the best of local merchants as well as special access to area artists and we're looking at one helluva night. The fun starts at 6:30PM.

So come share in an unforgettable night and help support Central Falls' library. Tickets can be purchased online at cflibrary.org/gala.

Brown Validation Reader Cards

Earlier this year, a card-activated turnstile system was installed in Brown's Rockefeller Library. Only Brown ID card holders may enter through the turnstile without staff assistance. All RISD patrons (and other non-Brown ID holders) must register and then be buzzed in by library staff to enter the building.

To streamline this process, the Rockefeller Library is issueing validation reader cards to RISD users. These cards will enable RISD ID holders to swipe to get into the building without waiting. The cards will be issued at the Rockefeller Library only; however, they can be used at either the Rock or Sciences Library. In order to register for a card, a RISD patron would need to come to the Rock and receive a card. The cards will remain active for one year. They can't be used to check out books and do not have any identifying information.

You need to have an up-to-date RISD library record before getting this card. You can check the status of your RISD library record by logging into my record in the online catalog and checking your exp date. For directions see here. You can update your record at the Circulation desk or calling 709-5901.

Early Journal Content on JSTOR, Free to Anyone in World

On September 6, 2011, JSTOR announced that they are making journal content in JSTOR published prior to 1923 in the United States and prior to 1870 elsewhere freely available to anyone, anywhere in the world. This “Early Journal Content” includes discourse and scholarship in the arts and humanities, economics and politics, and in mathematics and other sciences. It includes nearly 500,000 articles from more than 200 journals. This represents 6% of the content on JSTOR.

More info.

Tutorial on accessing the free content.

JSTOR Service Alert

On Friday, September 9 and Saturday, September 10, JSTOR will be performing site maintenance that requires a “read-only” period for these two days. During this scheduled maintenance, users will be able to search, browse, and access and download PDF files for content in JSTOR. They will not be able to save citations, reset passwords, create or update MyJSTOR accounts, or purchase articles.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and appreciate your patience as we work to improve JSTOR.

Please feel free to contact support@jstor.org with any questions.

ARTstor Digital Library Updates

Recently added features
Filter search results by Time Period, Classification, and Geography
Choose the number of thumbnails displayed
Mouse-over to view larger images
Compatibility with Firefox 5
ARTstor Mobile for iPad, iPod touch, iPhone
Batch download to PowerPoint

Beginning August 22, users will be prompted to register to download images.

ARTstor’s Technology team is working to make the Digital Library compatible with the just-released Firefox 6. The Digital Library is still compatible with Firefox 3, 4 and 5, as well as Safari (3+) and Internet Explorer (7+). When the Digital Library is compatible with Firefox 6 we will send a follow up email and post the news on Facebook (http://facebook.com/ARTstor) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/ARTstor).

ARTstor hopes that these changes make sense and that the ongoing enhancement of the ARTstor Digital Library workspace continues to serve you and your colleagues well. If you have questions, suggestions, or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact them at userservices@artstor.org or (212) 500-2400.

10 Things Humanities Researchers Want

The Research Information Network recently released a report on how humanities researchers do their work.

Reinventing Research? Information Practices In The Humanities (pdf)


1. Make It Easy To Use

2. Make It Easy To Cite

3. Put It In Their Workflow

4. Provide Clarity on Objects and Processes

5. Build A Community

6. Provide Research Support

7. Make The Information Easily Reusable

8. Offer Ways To Visualize Collections

9. Think About Linked Data

10. Provide A Critical Mass of Content

RISD/ATH Catalog Unavailable Friday morning June 24, 2011

The RISD/ATH Library Catalog will be unavailable the morning of Friday June 24, 2011. The catalog should be available by the afternoon. Please call the Reference desk, 709-5902 for assistance.

RISD/ATH Catalog - Unavailable on Monday June 6, 2011

The RISD Library Catalog will be unavailable ALL DAY on Monday June 6, 2011. The reason for the interruption in access is to install a new library server. Please call the Reference desk, 709-5902 for assistance.

Cool database feature - country comparisons

A tropical rainforest in Puerto Rico.
Credit:Carlos Navajas—Stone/Getty Images

Use Encyclopedia Britannica Online to compare statistics, maps, flags, and multimedia about any two countries in the world.

500 BOOKS: a measure of absence

500 BOOKS: a measure of absence

an installation representing the yearly loss to the RISD Library collection due to book budget cuts

RISD Library Reading Room

15 Westminster
April 10 – 16, 2011

in conjunction with National Library Week

Celebrate National Library Week April 10-16, 2011

national library week videos

quotes about libraries



image: Fundació Antoni Tàpies Library (Barcelona)

Desert of Forbidden Love film screening

Synopsis
How does art survive in a time of oppression? During the Soviet rule artists who stay true to their vision are executed, sent to mental hospitals or Gulags.

Their plight inspires young Igor Savitsky. He pretends to buy state-approved art but instead daringly rescues 40,000 forbidden fellow artist's works and creates a museum in the desert of Uzbekistan, far from the watchful eyes of the KGB. Though a penniless artist himself, he cajoles the cash to pay for the art from the same authorities who are banning it. Savitsky amasses an eclectic mix of Russian Avant-Garde art. But his greatest discovery is an unknown school of artists who settle in Uzbekistan after the Russian revolution of 1917, encountering a unique Islamic culture, as exotic to them as Tahiti was for Gauguin. They develop a startlingly original style, fusing European modernism with centuries-old Eastern traditions.

Desert of Forbidden Love
Screening at the MFA, Boston on October 8, 2010

Featured Online Reference Source - An African Biographical Dictionary

An African Biographical Dictionary provides a wealth of vital information for students of African culture and is an indispensable reference guide for anyone interested in African affairs.

This source is brought to you through an electronic database subscription via RISD Library.

ThoughtLab > Semantic Search Lab prototype

ThoughtLab > Semantic Search Lab

A research prototype of a semantic search engine for Europeana. As this is work in progress, multilingual support is still limited. The prototype's interface is currently only available in English, French and Dutch. The search engine contains data of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, the Musée du Louvre in Paris, and the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (Netherlands Institute for Art History). in The Hague. These data are for demonstration purposes only; some data might be outdated and there is no claim of completeness..

see the prototype

Bibliography of the History of Art (Research at the Getty)

Bibliography of the History of Art (Research at the Getty) Free & Online