Modern Architecture Extravaganza: Trip to Columbus, Indiana

Over the weekend, a few of us took a day trip to the 6^th most architecturally significant city in America: Columbus, Indiana. Since beginning grad school at IU, I have been pleasantly surprised by all of the goodness and culture that Indiana has to offer; a booming farmer’s market, amazing restaurants, yoga sessions in the IU art museum, and more festivals, concerts, and film screenings than you could ever ask for. But Columbus, Indiana took my new found love of the Hoosier state to a whole 'nother level.  

Back in the 40s, J. Irwin Miller (a Columbus native and CEO of Cummins Engine Company) was able to persuade some of the biggest names in architecture to begin designing churches, office buildings, schools, homes, and even a library in this small farming community.  Some of the famous architects and artists whose famous work can be seen around town are Eliel Saarinen, Eero Saarinen, I.M. Pei, Henry Moore, Harry Weese, and Dan Kiley.

Lucky for us, Columbus offers tours of the town, including interior tours of such buildings as Eliel Saarinen’s First Christian Church, and the Cleo Rogers Memorial Library, which was designed by I.M. Pei. 

The library is a large, open space with high ceilings and plenty of natural light. There is even an interior garden on the second floor loft. 

   Exterior shot of the Library with Henry Moore Bronze sculpture

Airy and bright -- this is the back half of the library

Art librarians posing in front of the library

After our city tour, I took a tour of the J. Irwin Miller home, which was designed by Eero Saarinen. The tour of the Miller home was especially interesting to me because of a trip SALS took to the IMA back in May. It was then that we learned that the museum had recently acquired the Miller Home and Garden Archives, and were just beginning to sort through the correspondence, cards, and architectural plans. What a wonderful job that archivist has!

No photography was allowed at the Miller residence, but I can tell you that it was absolutely stunning.

Overall, we had a great day exploring Columbus and learning all about its interesting design history. I can't wait to go back!

If you want to read more about Columbus's history, check out these links:

Smithsonian Magazine
Chicago Tribune

Summer Readings: Reading 1

At the suggestion of some of our members, we will be posting some readings of interest on our blog this summer. When we regroup in the fall, we will set up a time to discuss these articles, as well as other summer news. After you read through an article please post questions or thoughts in the comments section. At the end of the summer, I will gather up these thoughts and place them in another post for your consideration before discussion.

I hope you are all having a fabulous summer!

Reading 1:

• E-Reservations by Steve Kolowich (May 15, 2012)

Other articles of interest:

• Long-Awaited Ruling in Copyright Case Mostly Favors Georgia State U. by Jennifer Howard (May 13, 2012)
• Publishers and Georgia State See Broad Implications in Copyright Ruling by Jennifer Howard (May 14, 2012)
• The GSU decision - not an easy road for anyone by Kevin Smith (May 12, 2012)
• Inside the Georgia State Opinion by James Grimmelmann (May 13, 2012)

Visit to the Stout Reference Library at the IMA

In May several members of the Society of Art Librarianship Students took a short trip to Indianapolis, Indiana to visit the Stout Reference Library at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The head librarian, Alba Fernandez-Keys, was nice enough to come in on one of her days off to show us around and answer any questions we had.

We were able to see the reading room areas and desks used by retired curators, as well as the closed stacks (which had lovely compact shelving). Alba talked with us about the roots of the IMA and the library, and the way it has changed over the years. We were also able to discuss price of materials and budget allocation, which is really useful for a librarian aspiring to art librarianship within a museum setting. Overall, our tour and the discussion gave us a good survey of multiple facets of the library: facilities, materials, budget, human resources, and an evolving patron base.

It was a great experience to get to see the library in its entirety, and hear about the sort of use it gets and the challenges and opportunities it faces. Alba also discussed internships and job opportunities at the IMA and beyond, and it was wonderful to get some career advice from a working art librarian! The group hopes to visit the IMA again in the future to see the library in action (as we were there when it was closed) and to take a more leisurely look through the collections.

Kinsey Institute Tour

Back in March members of the Society of Art Librarianship Students went on a tour of the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction's library and art gallery. The Kinsey Institute is located in Indiana University's Morrison Hall and draws scholars from across the globe. When we visited, Catherine Johnson-Roehr, the KI's Curator of Art, Artifacts, and Photographs, led us on a tour around the institute.

As we were students interested in art librarianship, Catherine showed us the KI's reading room and library stacks. There we discussed the library's collection policy in regard to fine art publications and Catherine's role as a curator under the umbrella of the institute's library and archive services. We were also able to see the Kinsey Institute Gallery where the show Love and War was on display. The exhibition featured wartime-related art and artifacts from the KI's permanent collection.

When we visited it was wonderful to see the range of resources on sex, gender, and reproduction collected by the Kinsey Institute right here at Indiana University. Catherine Johnson-Roehr also mentioned that several School of Library and Information Science students have completed internships and have volunteered at the Kinsey Institute. So if you are a library student looking for a very interesting place for an internship, you should consider doing it at the Kinsey!