Compiled by Jeanette Clough, Getty Research Library, Los Angeles, CA, with contributions by Kristen Regina, Hillwood Museum, Washington, D.C.

Selected digitization projects at the Library of Congress
The Flickr Photo Pilot offers historical photograph collections through Flickr in a Web 2.0 community. The public is invited to tag and comment on the photos, and is also welcome to contribute identifying information. To view the photos on Flickr, go to: www.flickr.com/photos/Library_of_Congress. You do not need a Flickr account to view the images, but need to sign up for a free account to add comments or tags. With the launch of this project in January 2008, Flickr also began a broader initiative called The Commons wherein national and international cultural heritage institutions share with the public their photographic collections of images that have no known copyright restrictions. Presently five U.S. institutions participate, with international representation from the Bibliothèque de Toulouse. For more information on The Commons, see: www.flickr.com/commons/. Flickr is a photo/video management and sharing application and is not part of the Library of Congress.

The Collaborative Digital Libraries are bilingual multi-media digital libraries built by means of international partnerships, usually but not necessarily with a country's national library. Currently available through the LC Global Gateway are France (Bibliothèque Nationale de France), Netherlands (Koninklijke Bibliotheek and other Dutch libraries), Spain (Biblioteca Nacional de España), Brazil (Fundação Biblioteca Nacional do Brasil), and Siberia/Alaska (Russian State Library, National Library of Russia, with other collections located in cities in Siberia and the Russian Far East). international.loc.gov/intldl/find/digital_collaborations.html

For access to all available LC print, pictorial, and audio-visual collections and other digital services, go to www.loc.gov/index.html and click on Digital Collections.

ARLIS/NA
The International Relations Committee initiated a yearly study trip for ARLIS/NA members to increase understanding and exposure to world libraries and collections. The inaugural trip to the Netherlands is hosted by ARLIS/NL, October 26 to November 1, 2008. Highlights include the Amsterdam Public Library; Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven; University of Utrecht Library; Delft Technische Universiteit Library; Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, and a review of the project to digitize Van Gogh's letters; Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica manuscript collection; Special Collections of the University Library of Amsterdam; a hardhat tour of renovations to the Stedelijk Museum; and an evening canal cruise. Members of the study tour will also participate in an international discussion with their Dutch hosts about different library practices in North America and the Netherlands. Upcomong study trips inlcude Germany (2009) and Italy (2010). Each trip accommodates about twenty applicants who are responsible for their own travel expenses.

The IRC conducted a survey of ARLIS/NA members to get a better sense of how the IRC can best serve the Society. The committee will use this feedback to direct other projects.

The IRC is working to reestablish and develop contacts with other international ARLIS organizations. The IRC and ARLIS/UK & Ireland will collaborate on a panel for ARLIS/NA's 2010 conference in Boston. The IRC plans to present an international panel at the ARLIS/NA conferences at least every other year. Any libraries or organizations that would like to work with the ARLIS/NA IRC on future study trips, programming, or other collaborations are welcome to contact Kristen Regina, Chair.

The Publications Committee announced the launch of a new ARLIS/NA publication, Cataloging Exhibition Publications: Best Practices -- Title and Statement of Responsibility. The publication of best practices, created by the ARLIS/NA Cataloging Advisory Committee, provides practical guidance to catalogers working with art exhibition publications. The guidelines are intended to be used in conjunction with a library's standard cataloging documentation. The online publication is available free of charge on the ARLIS/NA Web site.

American Library Association
The Arts Section presented a dynamic discussion, Reading Pictures: The Language of Wordless Books, at the ALA Annual Conference. A panel of authors, artists, and instructors provided a visual and verbal introduction to the history of adult wordless books from the early twentieth century to contemporary graphic novels.

The Rare Books and Manuscripts Section, ACRL/ALA Task Force on Core Competencies for Special Collections Professionals, published Guidelines: Competencies for Special Collections Professionals available online at www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/comp4specollect.cfm.

Special Libraries Association
At the 2008 annual conference in Seattle, Washington, the Museums, Arts and Humanities Division sponsored sessions addressing controlled vocabularies for cultural information; critical visual literacy; and the role special library collections play in identifying and preserving food traditions and customs. Tours included a visit to the Seattle Art Museum's Dorothy Stimson Bullitt Library and new Painting Conservation Studio and a behind-the-scenes look at Seattle's historic 1928 Paramount Theater.

Conference News
Past Conferences:
May 1 - 5: ARLIS/NA Annual Conference, Denver, Colorado
June 24 - 27: RBMS Preconference, Rare and Special Bytes: Special Collections in the Digital Age, Los Angeles, CA
June 26 - July 2: ALA Annual Conference, Anaheim, California
July 7 - 13: Summer Educational Institute for Visual Resources and Image Management (SEI), co-sponsored by ARLIS/NA and the Visual Resources Association, James Madison University, Virginia
July 24 - 25: Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, Boston, Massachusetts, A Race Against Time: Preserving Our Audiovisual Media

Conference calendar:
October 23 - 26, 2008: Contemporary Artists' Books Conference sponsored by the ARLIS/New York chapter and in collaboration with Printed Matter's NY Art Book Fair
March 18 - 22, 2009: Visual Resources Association Annual Conference in Toronto, Ontario
April 16 - 21: ARLIS/NA Annual Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana
July 9 - 15: American Library Association Annual Conference, Denver, Colorado
July 14 - 17: Special Libraries Association Annual Conference, Washington, DC