When studying drawing I find the library useful in two ways. First, as a resource for inspiration in visual material. I assign a specific drawing or designing exercise, and students seek information to fulfill requirements. For instance, when studying explosive systems of visual design or radial balance, students utilize magazines and books to discover naturally occurring examples of explosive systems. In the science section of the library some of the things they have discovered to met this requirement are spider webs, snow flakes, and crystal structures. This serves as a means to increase their observation skills, a skill stressed in science, as well as art.
The library is also a place to discover other art forms and styles. Once when searching for designing books, I discovered the book Creative Playing Drawing. Discovering this book changed my approach to teaching drawing, but its greater impact was on my own drawing. It encourages the playfulness in the use of line. Like my own discovery, students experience these revelations to the self expression while in the searching for something else. By allowing them the opportunity of the library, they begin to make these connections between learning experiences and the spontaneity of discovery occurs.
A part of my art curriculum presents a cultural view of art. Art, and specifically ceramics, has a commonality and uniqueness throughout cultures. With the limitations on budgets and the expense of art materials, the library supplements the teaching of this segment of the curriculum. I am fortunate to be able to work with an established library that contains art books no longer in print and therefore not available at any cost. These resources enrich the cultural background that I am able to provide for my student's learning.
With the advancement of technology and the information age, the library expands to a new configuration. The role of the library as a technology center includes the learning and use of computers and other hardware. For instance, my Art 1 students learn to use the library's scanner. Once the student knows this skill he/she uses that equipment to transfer completed drawing and design projects to a computer disk. To accomplished this, I send pairs of students after an introductory lesson to the library to scan their art projects. This allows the remainder of the class to continue to work on other hands-on projects in the classroom.
Independent learning, as well as cooperative learning, is practiced with this exercise. The visual information transferred to the computer disk is later used in the final project of publishing a literary-art book. The scanning skills continue to be developed through learning and assignments in other subject areas.
The library can also be viewed as on ‘on-ramp' to the information superhighway. With the emergence and growth of telecommunications, libraries are now connected around the world. Research opportunities expand beyond the area of the library walls. This also affords a better system of interlibrary loans. But there is a larger service available. Students and teachers can connect with other like-learning situations and communicate. The number of art bulletin boards is growing. Bulletin boards are a system of posting a message and receiving an answer using telephone lines, a computer, and a modem. CLAYART and The Ceramics Gopher are examples of Internet services available. Students are able to post questions on technical information, glaze recipes, or culturally based ceramic uses and receive information from multiple sources in answer to their questions. Students are able to research colleges and art schools when examining future plans. If they have questions of specific schools they are able to post these online. There is also information on exhibitions and craft fares. The world assisted by the library becomes a classroom. Where the equipment for telecommunications may still be prohibitive for individual ownership, it is increasingly available in libraries. Much like the concept that started early libraries, that of bringing information and learning to those who could not afford to own books, libraries are now providing a similar service with telecommunication equipment.
Another area of growing importance, and one of increasing volume in the visual fields, is that of interactive CDs and laserdiscs collections. The National Gallery of Art laserdiscs combines over 1,600 images, with a fascinating documentary on the museum's development and a guided tour through its many galleries. The most comprehensive collection of Picasso's work is available on the laserdisc Picasso. With interactive, multimedia CDs diverse learning styles are addressed in the research process. These technologies increase a library's visual information capacity and learning accessibility.
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