Art Catalogs Unbound

Abstract

Exhibition catalogs have a long history within arts organizations, libraries, and archives. Scholars often rely on them for research, but they can also be used for teaching critical information and visual literacy concepts. Through instruction, cataloging enhancements, open data sharing, and crowdsourcing initiatives, librarians can link the scholarly and artistic conversations within these texts to broader discourse, social contexts, collections, and resources. Through various initiatives and platforms illustrated in this article, communities can contribute to a new type of digital exhibition catalog, one that breaks free from the bound book format and embraces the participatory nature of the internet.