Library Exhibitions Review is published annually by the ARLIS/NA Exhibitions Special Interest Group. Our inaugural issue was published in Spring 2023. We are in the process of putting together our second issue!
Recognizing that exhibitions and displays are integral to library services, and building on the publication of its ARLIS/NA Best Practices for Library Exhibitions in 2021, ARLIS/NA launched the Library Exhibitions Review (LER) to promote these best practices and enhance the visibility of library exhibitions.
We have collected a list of exhibitions available for review! Please express your interest in reviewing an exhibition for us by filling out our form or by contacting us at arlisnaler@gmail.com by December 1, 2023. You do not need to be a member of ARLIS to contribute!
Please encourage people to visit physical exhibitions or people who already visited the physical exhibition to write a review.
Timeline
- Call for reviewers closes December 1, 2023
- Reviewers will be notified in mid-late December 2023
- Initial drafts will be due February 2, 2024
- Publication date March 15, 2024
Available exhibitions are listed below.
Online/Physical Exhibitions
Teaching with Art: The History of the Visual Resources Collection at Yale. Online exhibition in link, physical exhibition at Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library, Yale University, 180 York Street New Haven, CT 06511
Let None Be Excluded: The Origins of Equal School Rights in Salem. Online exhibition in title link, physical exhibition at Peabody Essex Museum, 161 Essex Street, Salem, MA 01970
Reverberating Feminisms: Chronologies of Feminist Art Movements at CalArts. Online exhibition in link, physical exhibition at California Institute of the Arts, CalArts Library, 24700 McBean Pkwy, Valencia, CA
Physical Exhibitions only
Unseen Labor: Social Justice in Cataloging. Exhibition catalog in link. Traveling exhibition hosted at The Special Collections Research Center, Fresno State University, from August 28, 2023 to May 17, 2024. Fresno State Library 5200 N. Barton Ave., M/S UL34 Fresno, CA 93740
The Undead Archive: 100 Years of Photographing Ghosts. Description in link, co-presented by The University of Winnipeg’s Gallery 1C03, University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections, and the School of Art Gallery, University of Manitoba.
Words Matter! The Inclusive Cataloging Movement Takes Flight. Description in link. Physical exhibition at The Special Collections Research Center, Fresno State University, Fresno State Library 5200 N. Barton Ave., M/S UL34 Fresno, CA 93740
Abject Object: Feminism, Art & The Academy. Description in link. Physical exhibition at The Ohio State University, Thompson Library Gallery, Columbus, OH
On Various Subjects: 250 Years of Phillis Wheatley. Description in link. Physical exhibition at Special Collections Library, Memorial Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Madison, WI
Domesticated Pulp: Archie Publications and the Comics Code. Description in link. Olin Library, Washington University in St. Louis., MO
Responding to Climate Change Through Art and Design. Exhibition catalog in link. Physical exhibition at Emily Carr University of Art and Design Library, Vancouver BC. Please note this exhibition has already closed.
At the Limits of the Book. Description in link. Physical exhibition at Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
In Their Own Voices: Black Women’s Lives from the Archives. Description in link. Physical exhibition at Lia and William Poorvu Gallery, Schlesinger Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
Storied Leaves. Description in link. Physical exhibition at the Cargill Gallery, located on the second floor of Minneapolis Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN.
Exhibition Suggestions
We are looking for more recommendations of library or archive exhibitions! Exhibitions can be physical or virtual format, but must be open to the public. If the exhibition is a physical one, we may ask for additional documentation (photographs, drawings, etc.) to increase our reviewers’ access to the exhibition.
Suggestions can be sent to us at arlisnaler@gmail.com for consideration in the 2025 issue of Library Exhibitions Review.
Co-Editors:
Freyja Catton, Wordeater Consulting
Emily Eckstrand, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Ashley Huot, University of Manitoba
Alex Regan, University of California Santa Barbara
Meg Wang, Mississippi State University