Art librarians share a passion for art and a determination to solve the practical problems of art librarianship. They may be brought together initially by the desire to overcome their isolation, but once together they achieve corporate strength. Art librarians have formed associations since 1924, but with gathering momentum since the late 1960s, culminating in the creation of an international association within IFLA. ‘Internationalism’ in the arts should mean a celebration of, and interaction between, distinctive national and regional cultural traditions. Five suggestions are put forward for consideration by any national art libraries association.

• 1) The inclusion within the association of every type of art librarian and art library.

• 2) An examination of the provision of art documentation in the country as a whole, paying particular attention to documentation of the country’s own art (including design, crafts, folk art and popular culture).

• 3) A consideration of the country’s art library collections and services as a whole, and of their potential as an integrated network.

• 4) Participation in international co-operation and in the activities of the IFLA Section of Art Libraries.

• 5) The development of members’ awareness of the ideals and objectives of art librarianship.

(The text of a paper presented to a meeting of ARLIS Norge at Oslo on January 25th 1984).

This article challenges the history and interpretation of the visual arts of Africa promulgated by much of the documentation on African art found in British art libraries — both that based on the colonial archaeological, ethnographic and anthropological approach, and that stemming from the influence of African arts on early twentieth century European art. Drawing parallels between the false picture of African history produced by colonial historians, and the perception of African art history by non-African art historians, the author draws attention to the need for Africans to document their own art, and to the lack of documentation on the contribution of Black artists to British cultural life.

The author is a South African artist and writer living in Britain, who will be exhibiting with the Midlands Art Group, Nottingham, January – February 1984. The article is a revised version of a paper delivered at the ARLIS/UK course ‘Visual art documentation for a multi-cultural society’, held on 11 November 1983 at the Commonwealth Institute, London.

The Courtauld Institute of Art, London, has a slide collection dating back to 1932. Begun with lantern slides, it converted to 35mm. format in the 1950s and became an independent department in 1964. This article traces its history and growth, covering aspects such as acquisition, indexing, accommodation, staffing and use.