Introduction
Odilon Redon, The Tree, lithograph, 1892, owned by
Bowdoin College
Museum of Art
Contact:
Anne Haas , Art Librarian
x3690 ( 725 - 3690)
e-mail: ahaas@bowdoin.edu
The Pierce Art Library opened in 1975 when the new Visual Arts Center was completed, and collections of books and an extensive picture file that had previously been housed in the Art Museum, formed the core of the early collection. Since then, with the development of a much larger Art History and Studio Art curriculum, the collection in the VAC library has grown to approximately 18,000 volumes. Those items that are directly related to the curriculum, which are highly illustrated and in English are generally housed in the Art Library, while those which are not so directly related to course material, or which are mostly text, or in a foreign language, are purchased for Hawthorne-Longfellow Library. There is also a selection of art-related journals, the current issues of which are housed here; bound volumes of back issues are in the main library. Museum bulletins, exhibition catalogs, CD Roms, periodical indexes, as well as monographs, form the bulk of this collection
The Art Library serves the students and faculty of the Art History and Studio Art Departments, though anyone in the Bowdoin community is welcome to use the collection, which is non-circulating; faculty can arrange to use materials in their classes or for their research, on a title-by-title basis at the discretion of the art librarian.