Onsite exhibitions
There are five three display cases in the Loeb Music Library's Richard F. French Gallery: two large, deep wall cases, and three shallow cases in the second-floor foyerone shallow case. Almost anyone is welcome to curate an exhibit, but it exhibition. It is the KeeperCurator of the Isham Memorial Library's responsibility to ensure that there is at least two one major exhibitions exhibition per year, one in the fall and one in the springand to work with curators to realize the exhibitions they envision.
Planning
A calendar of upcoming exhibitions is maintained in the H: driveMusic 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.
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Materials chosen for an exhibition must be evaluated by a member of the Weissman Preservation Center staff member to see determine whether the item can be displayed, whether it requires conservation treatment prior to display and how it should be displayed.
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Ideally, your labels should address two fundamental questions: What is this object, and, ? 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.
- Put them in contact with the curator.
- If they would like to take pictures, record, or film within Harvard Library or Harvard College Libraryat Harvard University, invite them to complete the required Photography, Filming, and Recording request form.Advance notice of at least two weeks is preferred. No photography or filming is permitted without written permission, and is subject to Harvard University’s policies. Additional details and special considerations can be found here.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.