Library purchases reference series
Campus Times
March 21, 1997
Once again gaining instant access to an extraordinary range of knowledge,
the University of La Verne Wilson Library, under the guidance of Dr. Marlin
Heckman, head librarian, purchased what is being called "the publication
of the century," "The Dictionary of Art," in late October.
It is a reference book that contains 34 volumes, 41,000 articles, 300,000
citations and 720,000 entries.
It was purchased with money from the Wilson Library Associates Fund,
where alumni and others make donations to the thriving library.
"We were lucky, we were able to pay cash for the books, and saved
$1,300 by doing so," said Dr. Heckman.
"The Dictionary of Art" has taken an entirely different approach
from that of existing art reference works.
Taken from a written statement by the editor, Jane Turner, "The
objective [of the "Dictionary"] was clear enough: to produce,
in 25 million words, an illustrated reference work that provided comprehensive
coverage of the history of all the visual arts worldwide from prehistory
to the present."
"It was decided therefore that the Dictionary should offer as many
types of articles as possible in order to accommodate the wide range of
topics of interest to modern students and historians of art. These articles
vary in length from a few lines to hundreds of pages. Combined with extensive
cross-references and alternative head words, this diversity of approach
is designed to enable readers to find information quickly and easily, from
numerous points of access,"said Turner.
Included in the series are 17,300 biographical articles alone, written
on artists of all kinds, including painters, sculptors, architects, illuminators,
draughtsmen, silversmiths, cabinetmakers, potters and industrial designers.
Every aspect of an artist's career is touched on, including, where the
person's character is relevant, as well as his or her personality. It also
included related activities such as designs for prints and the decorative
arts, and art theory, collecting and dealing. There are also some 3,500
biographies devoted to patrons, collectors, dealers, theorists, writers,
etc.
"It [the Dictionary] is already being used by students on the archaeological
dig. They have found ink bottles with porcelain marks on the pottery, that
they have been able to look up in the "Dictionary" and find out
how and what the marks meant," said Dr. Heckman on the many uses of
the books.
With more than 45,000 entries, written by 6,700 people over a period
of 12 years, "The Dictionary of Art" is a collaboration of the
work of many art historians with widely differing perspectives.
"Nothing like this has ever existed before," said Dr. Heckman.