Library

Newsletter

Behind the scenes

What goes on in the Technical Services Department in the library? You may have heard of us, but even if you have, chances are you don't really know what we do up here on the 13th floor..

The library receives books and videos through gifts and purchases. We choose items to buy through your suggestions, coursework needs, and a long list of criteria that comprise our collection policy. Once materials arrive at our offices, they are assigned cataloging and call numbers, and are then processed for circulation. Cataloging, put simply, is the specific information about a book's title, author, publisher and year of publication, that you can match with what information you know about a book and locate it in the electronic catalog. Similarly, a call number is assigned to narrow it down to a particular location on a library shelf. Although this can be done quickly, for many titles it can be a long and complicated process.

We process materials for all of our collections: Reference, Circulation, Folios, Special Collections, Archives, Periodicals, and Videos, to name a few!

Like books, new serials arrive daily, and are added to our catalog. They are then processed and put out on our Current Periodicals shelf on the 13th floor. Older periodicals are kept on our back-issues shelves nearby. Some titles are bound in order to keep the periodicals neatly shelved and to minimize damage, and we are hoping to bind more serials shortly.

In addition, we repair books that are damaged by heavy use. You can help minimize damage by handling library materials properly. Feel

free to ask a librarian if you are unsure of how books are commonly mishandled. Professional repairs are a costly reality of circulating library materials. Another responsibility of the Technical Services Department is to keep up with the list of missing materials each semester. So please treat our books well and bring them back when you're done, and everyone will have more great Mass Art reading materials to choose from!

Donations to the library

During the last two MassArt Auctions, the Robert Pinsky Reading, and the Inferno in the Courtyard, donors contributed nearly $60,000 for library materials, many of which have been purchased already, cataloged, and put on the shelf. Additionally, we've seen a dramatic increase in donations of materials representing significant personal collections. Here are recent examples. Retired Communication Design faculty members Marilyn Gabarro and Al Gowan - hundreds of wonderful design books. Lettering Artist Ann Schucknect - an extensive collection about calligraphy. Nationally exhibited quilter Ethel Shulam - hundreds of books on fiber arts across cultures. Faculty member Noel Ignatiev - the complete works of Marx and Lenin. Andrea and Wayne Petito - archives of their father alumnus Albert Petito. The Lettering Arts Guild of Boston - its archives. Faculty member Debra San - art books and journals. Students and faculty today and for decades to come will benefit enormously from this thoughtful generosity.