Revealing Invisible Collections: Implementing the ARLIS/NA Artists’ Books Thesaurus to Provide Online Access

Abstract

The University of Louisville’s Margaret M. Bridwell Art Library is one of the first institutions to employ the Art Libraries Society of North America’s Artists’ Books Thesaurus (ARLIS/ NA ABT) vocabulary to describe images of artists’ books within a CONTENTdm collection. Over the course of three months, the art librarian and a graduate intern worked with multiple stakeholders to build a digital collection designed to reveal unique structures for patron browsing and searching. This article describes the implementation of the project, detailing the process of creating an online artists’ books index from inception to the initial upload of final records. Suggestions are offered for future engagement with the ARLIS/NA Artists’ Books Thesaurus for digital access to artists’ books.