Researching Artists Online in the Time of the Pandemic

collection Researching Artists Online in the Time of the Pandemic

BY MARIO NICK KLIMIADES | LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES DIRECTOR

The Heard Museum Billie Jane Baguley Library and Archives experienced a significant impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. Access to the Library and Archives resources, along with hours of operation, were reduced, and researchers were required to make appointments. The Library and Archives staff shrunk to one-fourth its previous size.

Even with this unprecedented challenge, the most important Library and Archives resource, the Native American Artists Resource Collection Online, was unaffected, and in fact it even flourished during this historic time. Accessing NAARCO, which identifies and documents the artistic achievements of thousands of American Indian artists, didn’t require gloves, social distancing or masks. Researchers could access this information from any computer or personal device anywhere in the world.

NAARCO, an outgrowth of the library’s physical Native American Artist Files, is nearly 40 years in the making and has as its mission to document the great artistic achievements of artists of American Indian heritage worldwide. The Heard’s original Native American Artist Files were created in the early 1980s by former Librarian Mary Graham. With funding from the Heard Museum Guild, the documentation was migrated online to the robust Argus database created by Lucidea for the 21st century. NAARCO debuted to the world in fall 2016, making available for the first time resources which previously were only accessible by physically consulting the artist files on-site. For the first time, the most oftenasked Library question, “Do you have information on XYZ artist?” could now be answered efficiently. NAARCO provides internet access to the world’s largest database of American Indian artists. It contains the names of nearly 28,000 artists along with selected biographical information. At present, the database serves as an index to all the artists found in the Native American Artists Resource Collection. Each entry provides the following basic information: the name of the artist, any alternative names, the gender and heritage of the artist, and the specialties and mediums for which the artist is known. The database does not provide all the content that can be found on an artist in his or her physical file, but it will provide basic biographical information online. For new artists added to the database during the past five years, NAARCO provides far more information online than can be found in the physical file. An added benefit to the online artist files is the capability to provide quick access to evaluated resources on the internet about an artist. Also, in cooperation with the artist, the database may include enhanced digital content including portraits, a curriculum vitae and artist statements.

Artists who are affiliated with the Heard Museum through exhibitions or programs have more substantial information online. A researcher may also find life dates; the artist’s place of birth; external remarks that reference data about the artist in other Heard Museum collections; a list of the exhibitions, Heard Museum markets, and other Indian fairs and markets in which the artist has participated; awards that the artist has earned; citations to publications about and by the artist; and digital resources that the artist may have provided.