The Victoria & Albert National Art Museum
Our first class for the British Studies Library Science Program was at the Victoria and Albert National Art Library. This library is a public library and also serves the National Art Museum. This library’s collection deals with all types of art from fashion, paintings, textiles, architecture sculptures etc. The collection also has some rare materials that may not fit the collection criteria but who can say no to an original Shakespeare portfolio?
I was most interested in the difficulties that come along when your library is in a Victorian era building from 1887. The 2 major problems are space and modernization.
Space: Like most, if not all libraries, the V&A Library has to deal with a growing collection within a limited space. Currently, the V&A Library only has room for 1 year’s worth of new materials. As a result a lot of materials are stored offsite at Blythe House. The museum is also expanding and creeping in on the V&A Librrary’s space. One of their rooms that was originally built and used for library materials is being used for a modern furniture display.
In order to address the space issue the materials are not shelved by subject but rather size. Materials are measures and shelved with other like-sized material, called ‘press-marking.’ While this does create a more time-consuming gathering of materials process, the library has saved space for over 25 thousand materials this way.
The modern furniture display in what was part of the library.
Modernization: The V&A Library also has to deal with the building being ill-equipped for modernization. Most archives of older and more frail material like to have temperature-controlled rooms. It was explained that the temperature does not matter so much it is the dramatic change in temperature of 5% or more that can have negatives effects on the books. Due to how the building is set up the heating is actually controlled by the Natrual history Museum across the street and does not get turned on until Mid-late November or turned off until the end of May. This makes for some very cold and hot times in the library.
There is not much the Library can do about this as it is a building issue. They do have devices that monitor the change in temperature and try to regulate it with fans.
The subject of space in the library world is an important one. It affects the function and use of a library but as we can see from the examples above, it also affects the storing and preservation of a collection.
One way the public can help the Victoria & Albert National Art Library is to visit it. Low use allowed the Museum to take over a library room for their modern furniture display. Decision makers also like to focus on material use when creating budgets rather than a collections worth. The library also relies heavily on bequests, as their acquisitions budget is low, donations and grants to help run the library. The library recently received a grant to update their database from 1995 to a more modern one that will, hopefully, allow images of materials to be catalogued.
One can either take heart or be discouraged by the fact that even old, specialized libraries with priceless collections, have to deal with the same issues of budget cuts and space issues that all libraries face.
A book that a charity girl’s school at Westminster used to teach knitting and sewing. The book came with examples and went in to detail about what type of needle, yarn/fabric and tension to use. The first of it’s kind.
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