Types of Museum & Library Collaborations

The variety of museum and library partnerships is incalculable because new ones are constantly being formed. However, I would like to discuss eight different kinds that are the most common collaborations.

1. Museum Libraries
-This is where a library is housed within a museum and it supports the museum at all points and in all phases of that museum's mission.
-The library is intended to serve the informational needs of the administrators and staff through its resources or through the access to other resources.
-It might preserve graphic materials for exhibits or show curators where they can be obtained.
-It may also maintain the archives of the museum or provide the archivist with the necessary information about the institution and its history.
-Furthermore, it will enlarge the museum experience for the public by providing further information and resources about the collections.

Two examples of museum libraries can be found at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society and the Buffalo Museum of Science.

2. Museum & Library Sharing the Same Building (collections unrelated)

seperate ends of the building
-An example of this is the Winn Memorial Library that was designed by H.H.Richardson.
-One end of the building is the library and the other is a museum.
-The library and the museum both operate independently of the other.

upstairs/downstairs
-An example of this can be found in Las Vegas where a building was designed to house both The Sahara West Library and Fine Arts Museum of Las Vegas.
-The library is situated on the upper level and the museum is on the lower level.
-Here again, both institutions opperate independently from each other.

next to each other/walkway & underground tunnel
-Technically, the Denver Public Library and the Denver Art Museum are not located within the same structure, but they are both connected by an underground tunnel and an aboveground walkway.
-The underground concourse was bulit in 1996 and the external steel canopy was constructed in 1998.
-These man-made links to both of the buildings are symbolic representations of reaching out to the other and forming a partnership.

3. One facility and a Blending of the Institutions
-A wonderful example of this is the Newark Public Library that was begun by John Cotton Dana in 1902.
-His belief was that the museum and library should work together as one entity by placing books and related objects together.
-He stated, "Connect the work the museum may do, its objects...with all the resources of the public library. In doing this, many books and journals will be displayed near objects on view, references to books and journals will be made on labels and leaflets of all kinds."

4. Satellite Branches
-An example of a satellite branch is the Parent Resource Library that is located within the Children's Museum of Houston.
-At the Children's Museum of Houston, there is a seperate room that is staffed and funded by the Houston Public Library.
-Its purpose is to target the patrons of the Museum, which are children and their families, and provide them with up to date and relevant parenting resources.

5. Technology Based Relationships (a shared virtual environment)

links to each others websites
-The Buffalo Zoo and the Burchfield Penny Art Center at Buffalo State College both offer links to related sites, public art projects, and other cultural institutions.

digital museums & digital libraries
-Voices: Bringing Multimedia Museum Exhibits to the World Wide Web is a new online multimedia exhibit that is being formed through the collaboration of several cultual heritage institutions in Colorado.
-There aim is to demonstrate how partnerships among libraries, archives, historical societies, and museums can support an enhanced digital collection of primary resource material.

-The Virtual Library Museum Pages (VLMP) is an online directory of museums and libraries through out the world that have their own websites.

-The National Virtual Museum of the United Kingdom is also called the "24 Hour Museum".
-This website offers news, listings, and features from over 3000 museums, galleries and heritage sites

-The World Wide Web Virtual Library: History of Art is a collection of links relating to Art History and computer applications in Art History.

6. Traveling Exhibits
-Simply stated, this is when one institution hosts another one's exhibit.
-If you go to The Library of Congress website you can see a list and description of exhibits that they currently have on display, those that are on tour, upcoming exhibits, and you may also view virtual exhibits.

7. Lending of Books and Objects
-Inter-Library Loan (ILL) is a great way for an institution to meet the needs of its patrons and staff when their collections do not have the materials that are desired.

-By going to http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa/rusaprotools/referenceguide/interlibrary.htm you can learn more about ILL code for the United States.

-By going to http://www.loc.gov/rr/loan/illscanhome.html you can learn about the Library of Congress's Digital ILL project that was started in 2000.

-It is also very common for museums to loan objects to other museums for use in research and to be apart of an exhibit.
-For example, when you go to an art exhibit the label next to a work of art will say if it is on loan from another collection.

8. Collaboration on Programs and Projects
-This is when two or more institutions work together on a program or project.

-The Albright-Knox Art Gallery has a museum library that always has a display of books and other materials that are related to the current exhibits at the museum.
-For example, there is an exhibit right now that is entitiled "The Wall: Reshaping Contemporary Chinese Art" and the library has a display of books related to this topic; many of which are reflective of the individual artists who have their works of art on display.

"The Map That Changed the World" is an exhibit that is currently on display in the Rare Book Room at the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library.
-This show was put together with the help of the University at Buffalo, the Buffalo Museum of Science, the Buffalo Public Schools, the Niagara Gorge, and the Penn-Dixie Paleontological & Outdoor Educational Center.
-Along with being able to view the historic map, families are able to partake in a number of programs including lectures, walks, and hands-on activities.

-More information on this topic can be found by reading the following:

Alexander, Edward P. Museums In Motion: An Introduction
to the History and Functions of Museums. Walnut Creek,
CA: Alta Mira Press, 1996.

Bierbaum, Esther Green. Museum Librarianship.
Jefferson, NC: McFairland & Company, Inc., 2000.

Deas, J.A.C. "Interrelationship of Museums and Libraries."
The Library World 31 (1929): 275-278.