ARLIS/NA 45th Annual Conference

Sponsored by Duke University Libraries

Shira Loev Eller, Art & Design Librarian and Rachel Pollack, Instructor of Writing (The George Washington University): Navigating Museum, Library, and Scholarly Discourse: A Librarian/Professor Instruction Partnership

Eva Sclippa, Art Librarian and Coordinator of Instruction and Dr. Kate Dimitrova, Professor of Art History (Alfred University): Artists in the Classroom: Creative Processes in Art History Information Literacy Classes

Lyndsay Bratton, Digital Scholarship and Visual Resources Librarian (Connecticut College): Digital Humanities Assignments for Undergraduates: A Case Study in Architectural Studies

In teaching information literacy, collaborations between librarians and professors allow for more intentional learning and more successful approaches to pedagogical challenges. This session explores three collaborative endeavors: introducing undergraduate students to digital humanities research methods; integrating art historical research and artistic practice for studio art students; and helping students navigate the conceptual spaces where art historical research converges—the museum, the library, and scholarly discourse. Professor Rachel Pollack and Librarian Shira Loev Eller discuss their partnership in teaching University Writing, a required critical writing course for first year students. In Pollack’s course, the professor guides the class through analyzing Dutch paintings at the National Gallery of Art, while the librarian instructs them in information literacy. The presenters will describe their process of collaboration in guiding undergraduates through museum and library “spaces” so that students can successfully engage with the scholarly conversation around an artwork. Teaching art history information literacy to studio art students presents unique challenges—how can librarians and professors clearly demonstrate the connection between the skills needed to research their subjects and the physical act of artistic creation? This collaboration between librarian Eva Sclippa and art history professor Kate Dimitrova brings new tools to the challenge. Attendees will learn about ways in which students in our classes expand their research skills through assignments and projects that also engage their creative faculties. Collaboration is essential to digital humanities (DH) work, from the individual project to sustaining a center or program. Librarian Lyndsay Bratton partnered with Professor Emily Morash to pilot a DH assignment in which student teams scanned volumes of an unindexed journal and developed digital projects that make the resource more accessible for undergraduate research. This case study considers challenges in introducing undergraduates to DH research, and offers recommendations for how best to implement digital humanities assignments in the classroom.