Special Collections/Archival Internship, Fleet Library at the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence RI
Posted June 19, 2013
Fleet Library at RISD
Special Collections/Archival Internship
Book Artist Archives Project
July and August or Fall Semester 2013
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COLLECTION OVERVIEW:
Ruth Laxson Artist Book Process Archive
This collection is comprised of unpublished process materials for the artists’ books produced by Ruth Laxson from 1980 to present and unpublished notes for various lectures. These materials show the development of ideas and text, through handwritten and typed research notes, clippings from newspapers, and sketches in pen or pencil on paper. Camera-ready pages show original artwork, color separations and distinct layers of text and image. These include drawings on paper; collages; and ink drawings on acetate, some with colored paper, clipped photographs, or film negatives attached. Test prints include text printed by hand on the letterpress, etchings, some with chine collé, and text/images printed in offset lithography, rubber stamp, or silkscreen. Extra printed pages include some that were not included in the final books. Book mock-ups and binding models show the development of ideas for structure and materials.
Additional materials include 35 mm slides of artwork, biographical scrapbooks, personal and business correspondence, mail art correspondence, articles in published journals, and personal diaries.
INTERNSHIP DESCRIPTION:
We are looking for a Library School student (or recent graduate), with experience at the basic level in archival processing, organization, and description, who also has a focus in Art Librarianship and Archives, to work on the processing and organization of the personal archives of Atlanta-based artist Ruth Laxson. The bulk of this archive consists of bookmaking process ephemera and has already been organized and described with its own adapted metadata spreadsheets. However, the more traditional biographical materials in this collection (scrapbooks, correspondence, articles, diaries) are still only minimally processed and in need of more standard organization practices.
DATES:
This unpaid internship could ideally run from July 8 through August 16, 2013 with days/times TBD. If not filled this summer, we could offer one day a week from September 23 through December 6, 2013 with days/times TBD.
HOW TO APPLY:
Please send a cover letter, resume, and contact information for 3 references to:
Laurie Whitehill Chong
Special Collections Librarian/ Curator of Artists’ Books
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 401-709-5927