Exhibitions

Onsite exhibitions

There are three display cases in the Loeb Music Library's Richard F. French Gallery: two large, deep wall cases, and one shallow case. Almost anyone is welcome to curate an exhibition. It is the Curator of the Isham Memorial Library's responsibility to ensure that there is at least one major exhibition per year, and to work with curators to realize the exhibitions they envision. 

Planning

A calendar of upcoming exhibitions is maintained in the Music Library's Exhibits folder on SharePoint. 

Help

Isham staff may be called upon to help others put on exhibitions, and can assist with every aspect from planning to labels to deinstalling. Another option to consider is student help. Pforzheimer Fellowships and provostial funding are both useful resources for exhibition help.

Selecting

First, create an Event in Aeon. Add yourself and any co-curators as Users. Begin choosing materials. The capacity of the cases, and the conservation needs of the materials you've chosen, will both be important factors.

Page your selections, or ask Isham staff to page them if they are special collections items. Flag the opening you wish to display. Exhibition selections can go on hold in the Merritt Room under a cabinet for conservation review, flagged at the opening desired for the exhibition except when they are to be displayed closed.

Conservation review

Materials chosen for an exhibition must be evaluated by a Weissman Preservation Center staff member to determine whether the item can be displayed, whether it requires conservation treatment prior to display and how it should be displayed. 

Labels

Ideally, your labels should address two fundamental questions: What is this object? Why is it significant? They must include a complete citation, as well as the call number. For examples, please see documentation in SharePoint. 

If you are looking for guidance, the Australian Museum has condensed useful information on exhibition label writing at its website: http://australianmuseum.net.au/writing-text-and-labels.  While geared towards a museum environment, the “Writing Text and Labels That Work” section applies just as well to our exhibition space.

When you are ready to print your labels and other accompanying text or images, please bear in mind that our preferred vendor Flash Print can only accept PDF uploads.

Photoduplication

Enter Aeon orders for the items, send Imaging Services the billing code, then deliver the objects to Widener G81. 

Publicizing

See here for instructions on adding events to the Harvard Library calendar. 

Include the following text at the bottom of the page:

Please note: For the most up-to-date access policies and visitor guidance, please visit Harvard Library Visitor Access.

Persons with disabilities who would like to request accommodations or have questions about physical access, please contact Loeb Music Library Administrative Coordinator Patricia O’Brien, obrien2@fas.harvard.edu, 617-998-5314.

Prior to composing social media content, review the Music Library's instructions, and reach out to the Digital Programs and Reference Librarian to discuss guidelines. 

Press inquiries

If a journalist wishes to do a piece on the exhibition, follow this workflow.

1. Put them in contact with the curator.
2. If they would like to take pictures, record, or film at Harvard University, invite them to visit the website Photographing and Filming on Harvard Property. 

Deinstalling

Before your exhibition is removed from the cases, take photographs of the cases and check that you have kept PDF copies of the labels and other information, as well as Word versions of same. Maintain enough supporting and production documentation that we could reproduce the exhibition as it first appeared. Do not retain any physical artifacts: the relevant section of the General Record Schedule, Exhibition Records (5440), is format neutral, meaning that retaining a digital file is sufficient. 

Return collection materials to their normal storage locales as soon as possible, finish Aeon requests and adjust Alma records as necessary, and close the Aeon event for the exhibition. 

Offsite exhibitions

Music Library materials occasionally travel to be exhibited outside the building. Each step outlined below can take more time than the workflow for onsite exhibitions, therefore it is best to begin planning for offsite exhibitions even further in advance.

Outgoing Loan Agreement

This document is completed by the Harvard Library registrar (usually the Keeper). It is copied, and one copy rests with each of the lending registrar and the receiving registrar. 

General Facility Report

The receiving registrar must also complete and return the General Facility Report. 

Flash-curating a Wintersession exhibition

The Music Library has twice flash-curated an exhibition during Wintersession: I Am Proud to Play a Pipe (2020) and Harvard Haggadot (2023). These curatorial experiences are valuable to students who are interested in museum work, preservation or the subject, or who are just hoping to learn something new. 

• The Undergraduate Experience Librarian is a potential liaison in the design of the exhibition.
• When conceiving the theme, consider libraries and collections which don't have their own exhibition spaces: they may be eager to collaborate. Also, upcoming events could inspire topics. 
• Start the design process early in the week. Have a student take responsibility for this.
• The cost of printing for the 2023 exhibition was $173 and including one large wall placard and five small case placards. In future, consider printing just one large placard and putting all of the text on a QR-accessed site.