Both sides of the fence, librarian and curator: forming a Latin American library collection

Abstract

The Department of Latin American Art at the Phoenix Art Museum was established on 1st January 1992, and the Librarian of the Museum accepted the additional role of Curator of the Department. Although the Museum has always collected Mexican art, the new Department is concerned with all of Latin America and especially with the 20th century. Similarly, the Library, which has long-established interests in Mexican art, is now expanding its coverage to reflect the scope of the new Department. Grant support has been forthcoming, and Library purchasing has been enhanced by the generosity of a private donor and by a strategy of using a proportion of each exhibition budget for Library acquisitions. Specialist suppliers have been identified, but it has also been necessary to travel. Better networking is needed between professionals in Latin America and the USA; exchange programs have the potential to be mutually beneficial. (The text of a paper presented to the IFLA Section of Art Libraries at the IFLA General Conference at Havana, August 1994).