The Clark houses one of the most distinguished art research libraries in the country, with more than 296,000 volumes in over 130 languages. From its opening in 1962 the library has grown and changed over the years to accommodate teaching spaces, visual resources, new programs and initiatives, and a never-ending array of new technologies (in addition, of course, to its growing collection of books), always striving to meet the needs of our valued students, scholars, staff, researchers, and visitors.
The library’s special collections enhance both library and museum holdings. Highlights include the founding collection of Robert Sterling Clark's rare books, the history of photomechanical reproduction, early illustrated printed books, decorative arts and sample books, twentieth- and twenty-first century artists’ books, and archival collections.
special collections book of the month
Artists' Book Collection
In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, this book is a collection of short, graphic scores by artist and composer Raven Chacon. Paying tribute to Yankton Dakota writer, musician, and activist Zitkála-Šá (1876-1938), the publication is structured around a series of scores for thirteen contemporary female Indigenous performing artists: Laura Ortman, Cheryl L'Hirondelle, Suzanne Kite, Barbara Croall, Jacqueline Wilson, Autumn Chacon, Heidi Senungetuk, Ange Loft, Joy Harjo, Carmina Escobar, Olivia Shortt, Candice Hopkins, and Buffy Sainte-Marie. Includes texts by each artist, a contextualizing essay by Chacon, and performance notes.
FOLLOW THE LIBRARY
Serving the general public as well as visiting scholars and local students and faculty, the Clark library welcomes all visitors to use its reference and research services and to enjoy its collections. An extensive array of electronic resources and reference materials support scholarly research in the field of Art History. Library staff are dedicated to assisting all users to access the library’s wide-ranging and diverse collections.
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New Acquisitions Book of the Week
The Huni Kuin Artists Movement (MAHKU)was officially founded in 2013 after several university drawing workshops were held in the upper Rio Jordão region, Brazil, near the Peru border. In the large mural created for the façade of the Central Pavilion, MAHKU has painted the story of kapewë pukeni (the alligator bridge). The myth describes the passage between the Asian and American continents through the Bering Strait. In order to cross it, the humans found an alligator who offered to carry them across the Strait on its back in exchange for food. However, as they crossed, animals became increasingly scarce and the humans ultimately resorted to hunting a small alligator, betraying the trust of the large one, who submerged itself beneath the sea. Thus originated the separation between different people and places. This myth underscores MAHKU and its members as the producers and products of passages between distant contexts and territories, connecting the visible aspects of their art to the invisible nature of their visions, through the association and translation between traditional village practices and the parameters and conventions of the art world.
Painting, the main artistic production of Mahku, was born in 2012 out of the need to revive collective knowledge on the verge of disappearing. It consists of translating Huni meka songs that guide ayahuasca rituals and certain myths into images. Guided by Ibã Huni Kuin, the artists transform and create bridges with the non-Indigenous through murals, drawings and installations while building alliances and strategies of autonomy.
LIBRARY HOURS
PUBLIC HOURS
The library is open without appointment. Hours are:
Monday - Friday, 9 am to 5 pm
All are welcome to email the library with reference/research questions.
HOLIDAYS
The library is closed to the public on the following holidays:
New Year's Day
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Presidents' Day
Memorial Day
Juneteenth
Independence Day
Labor Day
Indigenous Peoples Day
Thanksgiving (2 days)
Christmas (2 days)
EXTENDED HOURS
Extended hours are available to holders of a Clark badge or a Reader's Card. Reader's cards are given by application. Cards may not be appropriate for all applicants but we will always do our best to meet your research needs.
Mon-Thurs 8 am to 11 pm
Friday 8 am to 6 pm
Saturday 9 am to 6 pm
Sunday 9 am to 11 pm
HOLIDAYS
With the exception of Christmas Day and New Year's Day the library is open during holidays to anyone eligible for extended hours.