Getty Library Blog

The Getty Research Institute Library will be closed to all readers on Tuesday, July 4, in observance of Independence Day.

Reference librarians at the Research Library wear many hats. For me, one of the most enjoyable duties of the past year has been working in tandem with Maristella Casciato, the Getty Research Institute’s senior curator for architectural collections, to identify gaps in the library’s architectural holdings.

The library’s collections were originally formed through the acquisition of personal libraries of important scholars such as Ulrich Middeldorf, Erwin Panofsky, and Nikolaus Pevsner, among others. While this has provided a solid foundation upon which to build, there will always be areas that need to be filled in either because we didn’t have the opportunity to acquire them earlier or because their historical importance was not immediately clear.

Recently, one of the areas we are strengthening is 20th century Italian architectural periodical holdings. While this is an ongoing process, we have made significant progress through both piecemeal purchasing and the acquisition of collections. We hope our recently expanded holdings of the following titles will allow for a more comprehensive research experience.

L’Architettura (Milano)

Le Arti (Milano)

Casabella (Milano)

Casabella continuità (Milano)

Comunità (Milano)

Controspazio (Bari)

Domus (Milano)

Inpiù (Milano)

Marcatrè (Genova/Milano)

Quaderni di architettura (Roma)

-Aimee Lind, Reference Librarian

Recently added titles to JSTOR, the digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources, include the following that are available on-site only.

Film Criticism
A peer-reviewed, online publication focusing on the field of cinema and media studies.
Vol. 30, No. 1 (Fall, 2005) – Vol. 39, No. 3 (Spring, 2015)
Publisher: Allegheny College

Mosaic: A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature
A quarterly journal presenting the theoretical, practical, and cultural dimensions of literary works.
Vol. 1, No. 1 (October, 1967) – Vol. 28, No. 4 (December, 1995)
Publisher: University of Manitoba

The Classical Outlook
A journal for teachers of Latin, Greek, and classical humanities in K-12, colleges, and universities.
Vol. 1, No. 1 (November, 1923) – Vol. 13, No. 8 (May, 1936) (previous title, Latin Notes);
Vol. 14, No. 1 (October, 1936) – Vol. 90, No. 1 (Fall, 2013)
Publisher: American Classical League

Thresholds
The annual peer-reviewed journal of the Department of Architecture at MIT.
Coverage: Nos. 1-40 (1992-2012) (Summer/Autumn, 2012)
Publisher: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Wiener Studien
A journal of classical philology, patristics, and Latin tradition.
Coverage: Vol. 92 (1979) – Vol. 127 (2014)
Publisher: Austrian Academy of Sciences Press

To search for more titles in JSTOR, visit https://www.jstor.org.

–Susan Flanagan, Collection Development Librarian for Electronic Resources

A recent purchase of early 20th century Japanese photography publications from a dedicated collector, Tom Jacobson, offers extremely rare material for researchers to consult first hand and deepens the Research Library’s coverage of the topic.

Jacobson notes that “most of these kinds of books were destroyed during the war, as the fires in major cities decimated libraries and photographers’ archives” therefore making these types of titles rare in library collections worldwide. Indeed, several of the titles acquired are only held by our library.

The library now has a collection of 82 titles covering the period of 1920-1960. Half of the volumes predate the end of World War II. The majority of the items are annuals, monographs, and bound journals published during the period. The remaining items are retrospective in nature, exhibition catalogues, and reference materials.

The publications form a coherent study collection for scholars interested in the history of photography and modernism in Japan while making the library one of the very few in this country to hold materials published in Japan during the early 20th century.

The full list of titles is available in Primo Search.

-James Cheney, Collection Development Librarian

The Getty Research Institute Library will be closed to all readers on Monday, May 29, in observance of Memorial Day.

In response to some moth sightings, an organic moth treatment has been scheduled for the entire Getty Research Institute building starting Saturday, May 27, at 11:00 p.m. All carpeted areas, including reader carrels, will be treated.

The building will re-open on Sunday, May 28 (note that there will be intermittent noise associated with a follow-up vacuuming taking place throughout the building that day).

In preparation, please remove any items from the floor in your work area and place them on your desk, counter spaces, or shelves. These include boxes, paper, or any other materials that might obstruct access to the carpet. You do not need to worry about chairs, chair mats, or trash cans. Please also be certain you have removed any collection materials that might be on or near the floor.

If you have food items stored in your workspace, you should remove them prior to the treatment. If you are unable to do this, you may consider discarding these items when you return.

In the spirit of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, a Getty-led initiative exploring Latin America and Latino Art dialogues with Los Angeles that will take place September 2017 – January 2018, we’d like to highlight two databases that relate to Latin America.

HLAS Online Handbook of Latin American Studies

Edited by the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress and in continuous publication since 1936, this resource is a bibliography of Latin American works selected and annotated by scholars. Each year, more than 130 international academics choose over 5,000 works for inclusion. It is multidisciplinary, alternating annually between the social sciences and the humanities.

HAPI Hispanic American Periodicals Index

A project of University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Latin American Institute, this index provides complete bibliographic citations to articles, book reviews, documents, original literary works, and other materials published since 1970 about Latin America and the Caribbean. Coverage is from the arts and humanities to political, economic, and social issues. This index is available to on-site only.

For a quick tour of HAPI, check out this video:

–Susan Flanagan, Collection Development Librarian for Electronic Resources

A selection of books is now available in the Research Library’s Plaza Reading Room to complement the Getty Research Institute’s current exhibition Concrete Poetry: Words and Sounds in Graphic Space. These books will be on reserve in this location through July 31, 2017.

The full list of titles is available in Primo Search.

–Aimee Calfin, Senior Research Services Assistant

On Sunday, April 9th, the Getty Center will perform its annual Emergency Power and Lighting Test, as required by Los Angeles City and Fire Department.

All Extended Readers will need to leave the site by 6:30 p.m.