How Resource Library differs from paper-printed art magazines and journals

How Resource Library differs from paper-printed art magazines and journals

About Resource Library:

Resource Library is a free online publication of nonprofit Traditional Fine Arts Organization (TFAO). Since 1997, Resource Library and its predecessor Resource Library Magazine have cumulatively published online 1,300+ articles and essays written by hundreds of identified authors, thousands of other texts not attributable to named authors, plus 22,500+ images, all providing educational and informational content related to American representational art. Texts and related images are provided almost exclusively by nonprofit art museum, gallery and art center sources.

All published materials provide educational and informational content to students, scholars, teachers and others. Most published materials relate to exhibitions. Materials may include whole exhibition gallery guides, brochures or catalogues or texts from them, perviously published magazine or journal articles, wall panels and object labels, audio tour scripts, play scripts, interviews, blogs, checklists and news releases, plus related images.

What you won't find:

User-tracking cookies are not installed on our website. Privacy of users is very important to us. You won't find annoying banners and pop-ups either. Also, our pages are loaded faster without cookies. We want you to view Resource Library content as quickly as possible. Resource Library contains no advertising and is 100% non-commercial. .

(left: JP Hazeltine, founding editor, Resource Library)

Service to diverse publics

As would be the case with a public library serving the needs of diverse publics, Resource Library is of service to a broad spectrum of individuals in terms of intellectual development, physical ability, and education. Resource Library includes aspects of both a popular magazine and a scholarly journal. It maintains a balance between both emphases.

Paper-printed American art periodicals usually do not co-emphasize popular and scholarly material and serve a narrower spectrum of publics.

Resource Library complies with generally accepted VI standards to facilitate reading by the visually handicapped. Also, by the use of text-to-speech software, visually impaired individuals can listen to the text contained in Resource Library's pages.[1] HTML utilized by Resource Library facilitates text translation for the benefit of readers not proficient in English.

Paper-printed periodicals sometimes publish multiple editions by language. In the case of American art magazines this is not presently done.

Organization of contents

TFAO indexes Resource Library articles and essays in up to five ways. Readers may access the thousands of texts published in Resource Library via Topics in American Art, a TFAO catalogue which lists all articles and essays. Topics also explains how to research topics not listed. Texts are also listed by source in the Art Museum, Gallery and Art Center Index, the Author Study and Index, which lists articles and essays by author name, and the Chronological Index, which lists articles and essays by date of publication. Also, if a Resource Library text discusses deceased American artists, it may be referenced in America's Distinguished Artists, another TFAO catalogue. Institutional sources are indexed alphabetically and by geography. Access to content is immediate through each method. Search engines direct readers to individual phrases, keywords or images within Resource Library.

When Resource Library publishes more than one article or essay concerning an institution, it creates as an additional resource for readers a sub-index page containing: 1) links to each article and essay concerning that institution, plus 2) available institutional information such as physical location, history and exterior photo.

Every index includes the date of publication for each article or essay. The latest date of publication concerning an institutional source is also noted in the Art Museum, Gallery and Art Center Index or Academies, Associations, Ateliers and Societies Index. If a source submits text referencing an exhibition, but does not provide the year of the exhibition, Resource Library adds the appropriate year in order to provide clarity. Resource Library wants readers to be confident of dates of exhibits or events when reading materials published many years ago.

Resource Library's content is archived perpetually. For more information please see TFAO Free Online Digital Library.

For paper-printed periodicals, reference librarians direct readers to individual issues of a periodical. If the paper-printed periodical covers exhibits, the dates of exhibits may vary from the issue date. Issues of paper-printed periodicals are usually archived in chronological order by publication date. There are also available through commercial sources online, paper-printed and cd-formatted lists and abstracts of materials within previously published issues. These compilations are published often on an annual or semi-annual basis.

Multimedia connectivity via editor's notes

In editor's notes following many Resource Library articles and essays are links to earlier articles and essays published in Resource Library related to the subject of the texts. Also, links are made to appropriate Topics in American Art, a robust TFAO Catalogue which contain links to online audio and video materials and texts from sources outside of Resource Library, plus references to DVD videos and paper-printed books and magazine articles. Links are also provided to America's Distinguished Artists to enable readers to access further biographical information on artists referenced in the articles and essays. Resource Library informs readers about related information from all forms of media. TFAO Catalogues are updated on a continuous basis.

Paper-printed periodicals articles employ sidebars, addenda and footnotes to serve this purpose. Articles in paper-printed periodicals, once published, cannot be updated as new information becomes available.

Advertising, subscription fees, and selection of contents

Resource Library, an online publication of Traditional Fine Arts Organization (TFAO), does not accept paid advertising and never publishes publicity articles for commercial gallery exhibitions. Resource Library does not charge the public to access its materials, is 100% non-commercial, and is funded by TFAO, which has no earned income and is supported solely by donations.

Resource Library accepts scholarly essays from non-profit institutions and commercial galleries, plus publicity materials from non-profit institutions. Resource Library and its publisher have always assured, and will perpetually assure, sources of all Resource Library content that the public will never be charged for access to any Resource Library content. No payment is made to copyright owners or other third parties for materials published by Resource Library nor does any source pay to have its materials published.

When sources submit materials for Resource Library publication consideration, they provide contact information for the benefit of readers. Contact information may include e-mail addresses, street addresses, post office box addresses, phone numbers and website URLs. Contact information is published online together with each article or essay. Resource Library advises readers to contact sources directly concerning questions about published materials and not to contact Resource Library. For information on acceptable Resource Library contents please see submitting materials.

Many paper-printed periodicals accept paid advertising, offer paid subscriptions and sell individual issues. Editorial content of some paper-printed magazines is not influenced by paid advertising, others do not share that policy. Many paper-printed magazines favor articles and calendar listings for commercial gallery exhibitions or individual artists, while other magazines favor coverage of museum exhibitions.

Distribution

Resource Library is distributed without charge online to viewing stations in libraries, schools, colleges, universities, private locations and all types of mobile devices throughout the world. Resource Library is 100% electronic.[2] No paper copies are distributed. Resource Library contains statistics on reading sessions and pages read in an readership information section.

Paper-printed periodicals aimed at broad audiences publish circulation statistics on a periodic basis. These statistics indicate the number of subscriptions and copies sold in retail channels. Paper-printed American art periodicals, with few exceptions, are distributed by the postal service to paid subscribers and in certain instances, larger book stores, mostly in the United States.

Deadlines and publication timing

Resource Library does not need submission deadlines. Providers of texts and images may submit them at will, although Resource Library will not accept images intended for publicity use in connection with an exhibition at a particular venue after the exhibition has ended without express permission from copyright holder(s) for post-exhibition publication. For more information please see Submitting images.

Resource Library strives to publish acceptable materials newly received from sources on a weekly basis and have lag time between receipt of materials and publication date not exceed three weeks. All materials are published on a permanent basis, subject to Resource Library's policy on errors and omissions. All content is backed up in multiple and redundant methods.

Persons making travel plans find Resource Library to be an in-depth and up-to-date source of information available on both temporary institutional exhibitions and permanent collections of American representational art.

The nature of paper publishing requires periodicals to be printed in a series of issues, have deadlines for submissions and have content aggregated for publication at a future date.

Editing of content

In Resource Library whole essays are republished wherever possible from exhibition catalogues and other sources. Content provided by a named author is not altered without seeking consultation with the author. For further information please see errors and omissions.

Articles and essays submitted for publication by paper-printed magazines are often edited in order to shorten the texts. This editing may be necessary because of various constraints and policies of the publications.

Environmental protection

From an environmental perspective, Resource Library conserves energy in distribution of its content relative to distribution costs of paper-printed magazines, and conserves forest resources and landfills. Also, viewing of pages at a reader's home computer may reduce the fossil fuel energy needed for trips to a physical library. Resource Library further encourages institutions that publish exhibition catalogues and brochures to lessen paper-printed copies wherever feasible.

TFAO's website is hosted by an organization with its offices and data centers powered by alternative energy. The machines hosting the our website and e-mail are fully eco-friendly. (right: Forest in Grand Teton National Park. Photo © 2008 John Hazeltine)

TFAO also prevents the use of paper in its overall operations wherever possible. Every effort is made to store correspondence and documents online.

Errors and omissions

For information on how Resource Library attends to errors and omissions please see click here.

Paper printed periodicals by their nature are unable to provide similar services in the original publication.

Protections for sources

Art images are stored and published at 72 dpi as limited pixel width and height, high-compression, jpeg images in Resource Library to speed download times and to deter illicit paper-based reproposing of the images.

Paper-printed periodicals' art images are usually stored digitally in mega-pixel pre-press files and then often printed on four-color presses providing images at many hundreds of dots per inch. Paper-printed images can be scanned or copied for unlawful uses at a higher quality of reproduction than those in Resource Library.

Special uses

Technology helps people appreciate art in museums, but still can't duplicate the experience of being there. Having said that, at some exhibits with thick crowds it's hard to comfortably read wall panels and extended object labels. Increasingly, visitors are using tablets and smart phones to solve this problem by either reading the texts online distant from the art objects while in the galleries or before their visit. For several years Resource Library has provided this solution for numerous exhibits, plus related information, at no charge to the public.

Reference list of paper-printed art magazines and journals

Please see American art publications to view a partial list of paper-printed art magazines and journals.

Notes:

Resource Library has amassed considerable information covering many artists and topics. In late 2016 Traditional Fine Arts Organization (TFAO), publisher of Resource Library, changed focus away from adding additional articles and essays. TFAO is instead concentrating on furthering breadth and depth of information from other sources to place in Topics in American Art. In early 2017 TFAO added hundreds of additional museums to it's list for ongoing study. Find the covered museums here: A-C D-G H-L M-Q R-S T-Z. For the indefinite future TFAO plans for Resource Library to remain inactive while accumulating data for Topics in American Art.

1. see "Selecting Internet Access Tools for Blind and Visually Impaired (VI) Users" from School of Information, Communication and Library Studies, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.

2. see Library of Congress number ISSN 1550-8420

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