ABSTRACT
Beth Houghton discussed the nature of art documentation and the role of the art library in Britain, then went on to describe the work of the Art Libraries Society and other organizations in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. Ruth Kamen argued that art libraries were different from libraries in other areas and Philip Pacey also emphasized their uniqueness. The Association for the Visual Arts in Ireland was established in 1992, in order to provide a forum for visual arts professionals throughout the island. The organization's aims were to provide a communications network for the provision and exchange of visual arts information, and to ensure the preservation and conservation of all Irish visual arts material. The Scottish Visual Arts Group was established in 1994. The group evolved from the Union Catalogue of Art Books in Libraries in Scotland, itself a development of the Union Catalogue of Art Books in Edinburgh Libraries.
