UH Libraries Special Collections proudly announced they will be digitizing the Texas Art Project previously archived at the MFAH. The Texas Art project is a collection of visual arts history between 1978-1985 featuring women artists and artists of color. Students and scholars will soon have access to approximately 150,000 primary source images.
This project was made possible through the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, TexTreasures grant, and Institute for Museum and Library Services funding.
Portrait of Dorothy Hood in the studio (1977) | Martha Armstrong | Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Archives
View introductory exhibit at the MFAH.
The Architecture, Design, and Art Library would like to honor the legacy of Gerald D. Hines by sharing an interview archived in the UH Digital Library.
The interview took place in 2013 between Jorge Munoz and Mr. Hines from the series Building Houston. He discusses his early beginnings, career as a developer, collaboration with important architects, building materials & finishes, and selected projects.
Click here to listen to interview.
On August 17th the Architecture, Design, and Art Library will be implementing its phase one re-opening plan. See new hours and key services below:
New Hours of Operation
Monday-Friday – 9 am – 1 pm
Saturday-Sunday – by appointment (Contact cwessinger@uh.edu to request)
Mode of service
- The general library spaces will continue to be closed to patrons.
- The service desk will be open in order to provide the following services.
- Borrowing of library materials
- Scan requests
- Research assistance requests
- Information and basic library instruction
- Scans and in-depth research assistance will be delivered online.
- Patrons may return library materials through the drop-box on the interior wall only.
Services
Returning library materials
- Library items may be returned via the drop-box in the atrium or at another UH library.
- Materials may also be returned through campus or US mail.
Borrowing library materials
- Patrons may request materials via https://libraries.uh.edu/locations/jenkins/request/.
- Patrons may pick up these materials at the service desk.
- Patrons who will not come to campus may request delivery by campus or US mail.
Reserves
- The library staff will provide e-reserves, as usual.
- Pdf’s will be created on request
- Library staff will link pdf’s and e-materials to Blackboard pages, or deliver them electronically to instructors, who may deliver them via another platform.
- We will not provide physical reserves (books/dvd’s/etc.) at this time because of potential health risks. We will, however, make scans of readings from books that instructors require.
Document Delivery
- We will scan readings from books and journals, upon request.
- Patrons may request scans via https://libraries.uh.edu/locations/jenkins/request/
Research assistance
- Staff members may provide limited research assistance at the service desk, if circumstances are optimal.
- Most research assistance will be provided virtually.
- Patrons may request assistance with class and faculty research at archlib@uh.edu.
Holds
- Patrons may request materials be placed on hold for them via https://libraries.uh.edu/locations/jenkins/request/. They may request mail delivery or pick up at the service desk.
Staffing
Virtual assistance
- This semester our staff is committed to providing virtually the same excellent service that they offer in-person. For the safety of our patrons, staff, and larger community, we strongly encourage our patrons to avail themselves of our virtual services. Contact archlib@uh.eduwith questions and https://libraries.uh.edu/locations/jenkins/request/ to request library materials.
In-person assistance
Phase One Hours of operation
Monday-Friday – 9 am – 1 pm
Saturday-Sunday – by appointment (Contact cwessinger@uh.edu to request)
Facility
Patrons may only access the service desk at this time.
- No in-person events.
- No browsing.
- Computer lab is unavailable.
- Art history graduate student carrels are unavailable.
- Study tables and carrels are unavailable.
Workflows
Service desk
- Only one patron may approach the service desk at a time.
- Doors will be propped open.
- The staff will place signs and markers spaced six feet apart outside the door, so that patrons wait in a socially distanced line wrapped around the atrium wall to enter the library.
- Signs will also indicate that patrons must wear a mask and sanitize hands to enter the facility. (Hand sanitizer will be provided.)
Returns
- Patrons may return library materials through the drop-box on the interior wall only.
- At the end of each shift, the box will be replaced with an empty one.
- Materials will be checked in after two days. Employees will wear gloves and/or use hand sanitizer when handling returns.
To alleviate any financial burden and health risk students may be experiencing, the Architecture, Design, and Art Library has extended the lending period of its art & design supplies. Students may now borrow these supplies without any worry for an entire semester, either at the service desk or by using our request form. All while supplies last.
Circulating Art & Design Supplies:
X-ACTO KNIFE SETS
DRAWING BOARDS
T-SQUARES
ARCHITECTURAL RULERS
DRAFTING RULER SET
CHOPPERS
WOOD CARVING SET
In 2019, the Architecture, Design, and Art Library launched its new non-consumable art & design supplies. The goal was to assist students who may have an economic disadvantage or in need of special supplies to complete their projects.
The Architecture, Design, and Art Library continues to be closed until further notice, but we’ll continue to mail out books and scan pages on demand.
For this reason, we’ve created a temporary library request form that is now available.
Only items from our collection are eligible. Items from other libraries, please visit here.
Shipments are made weekly with limited staffing. We appreciate your patience.
For questions, please email us at archlib@uh.edu.
A PLEDGE FROM THE STAFF OF THE WILLIAM R. JENKINS ARCHITECTURE, DESIGN, AND ART LIBRARY TO OUR STUDENTS AND OUR COMMUNITY
Concrete steps toward equity and social justice in William R. Jenkins Library staffing, collections, services, outreach, and operations
Staffing
Our library employs one librarian, 3-7 student workers, 1 part-time and two full-time assistants who specialize in art and design information resources. We actively recruit our professional staff from the alumni of the academic departments we support, which has typically resulted in an ethnically and racially diverse department. (Three-fourths of our current professional staff are UH alumni.) We recognize that we need to recruit from many parts of our campus population, as well as our city’s art and design community, so that our students benefit from many cultural perspectives and circles of knowledge. We will strategically promote our job openings to ensure a diverse pool of applicants for our open positions.
- We will continue to promote open student worker positions to the students of the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design and the Katherine G. McGovern College of the Arts. We will also promote job postings directly to student organizations for people of color and groups traditionally under-represented in higher education.
- We will promote our professional job postings directly to arts organizations for people of color and groups traditionally under-represented in higher education, as well as community organizations dedicated to connecting under-represented groups to employment opportunities, in order to ensure a diverse pool of applicants for these positions.
Collections
The librarian wrote an analysis of the general collection in 2008, which noted a lack of diversity in the collection and developed a plan to increase resources in under-represented subject and geographic areas, in order to create a more balanced set of resources. As a result, the librarian began purchasing comparatively more materials on those identified subjects. In 2019 the librarian also developed a plan for the Kenneth Franzheim II Rare Books Room collection. The Franzheim Room is the rare books room located within the William R. Jenkins Architecture, Design, and Art. The plan recognized the lack of racial inclusion in the rare books collection and acknowledged that the collection does not sufficiently reflect the major research interests of our academic departments. The general collection of the Architecture, Design, and Art Library is roughly 100,000 volumes and the Kenneth Franzheim II Rare Books Room collection is approximately 1,000 volumes. Given those numbers, as well as the collection budget and the expense of rare books, it is not possible to quickly create a balanced collection. While the number of titles in those much–needed subjects has increased over the past dozen years, the effect has not been significant. The library staff is cognizant of the fact that, for most of our patrons, the library collection is the most fundamental representation of the University of Houston Libraries. It is the physical manifestation of the library’s mission, more so than any other service or staff member. In order to increase progress at a faster pace, therefore, we pledge to implement the following measures.
- We pledge to spend endowments designated for the library’s general collection on works by and about people of color, as well as activist art and design during Fiscal Years 2020-2022 in order to create a more representative collection. This will also help us align with the curricula, goals, and faculty interests in the College of the Arts, as well as the College of Architecture and Design.
- We will pursue the goals of the Kenneth Franzheim II Rare Books Room Collection Plan (2019), which include increasing the number of books by and on people of color in the rare book collection.
- During Fiscal Years 2020-2022 new purchases for the Franzheim Room will be books by or about people of color or about the visual culture of under-represented regions. By increasing the holdings in these subjects we will not only support the faculty interests and curricula of our academic units, but will also more closely meet the needs of our many students who select thesis and other research topics for which the collection offers few resources.
Services
The Architecture, Design, and Art Library’s services and programming include traditional library services, such as research assistance, technology support, and resource procurement. It also offers services related to its foci on art and design. The facility features exhibitions of student artwork. The staff curates digital and in-house exhibits. They host talks on architectural publishing. They organize pop-up libraries in fine arts centers around campus. The staff pledges to ensure equitable service and representation to the populations we serve.
- We will launch an annual assessment of the inclusivity and equity of our programs and services. Our good intentions are not enough. At the end of each academic year we must publicly assess the balance of ethnic and cultural perspectives of our exhibits, artists, speakers, and programs.
Community engagement
According to the Houston Arts Alliance’s Arts & Economic Prosperity 5 national economic impact study, Houston’s arts and culture industry generates $1.12 billion in annual economic activity in the greater Houston region—supporting 25,817 full-time equivalent jobs and generating $119.3 million in local and state government revenues.i The Architecture, Design, and Art Library has opportunities to partner with arts organizations in Houston in order to leverage support for both art and design research on campus as well as artistic expression in the City of Houston. That community support should include all segments of Houston’s population of artists. Houston is and has been home to a thriving community of visual and performing artists who claim ancestry from Africa, Asia, indigenous America, and Latin America. It is our privilege, as the largest public art library in the region, to work with, to celebrate, and to assist that community.
- We will reach out to community art organizations committed to social justice and equality to learn how we can support and partner with them.
- We will explore opportunities to facilitate dialogue with academic units and community partners on how information resources support social justice, as well as racial, ethnicity, gender, and identity-based equality.
- We will leverage our social media presence by creating spotlights for diverse members of our artistic community, including members of our academic departments and student bodies, to show their work and give them a space to talk about their educational influences, the books and resources they recommend, and talk about the importance of art and design research in their endeavors.
Being held accountable
As stated earlier, our good intentions are not enough. As members of a service profession, as educators, and as State of Texas employees, we owe it to our patrons and to our community to account for our actions. We plan, therefore, to distribute an annual report on our progress at the end of each academic year. We will also undergo annual training and self-education. It is our good fortune to work for a library system that provides training and is served by a Committee on Diversity and Inclusion, which provides a monthly reading and discussion group. The University of Houston is also home to a Center for Diversity and Inclusion, a Women and Gender Resource Center, an LGBTQ Resource Center, and a Center for Students with DisABILITIES, all of which offer robust training opportunities.
- Every summer semester we will undertake an assessment of our collection development, services, outreach, training, staffing, and operations. We will note the diversity of student artists, staff, and exhibits annually to ensure we are presenting multiple perspectives.
- Our report will include a list of training and other educational efforts undertaken by the library staff.
While the College of Architecture and Design building, which houses the Architecture, Design, and Art Library, remains closed, the library staff will distribute physical library materials to University of Houston students and employees by mail and scanned library materials by email. UH patrons may contact archlib@uh.edu to request materials from the collection. Patrons not affiliated with the University of Houston should request materials from their home institution or public library.
Immerse yourself in a virtual art experience from the comfort of your own home. The Architecture, Design, and Art Library presents Inspiration Intention Process by student artist Dario de Leon now on view. Viewers are able to interact with the artwork, listen to his studio play list, and more.
Biography
I was born in 1996 in The Valley, a region comprising the southernmost lands in Texas. A place neither fully Mexican or American, but something in between. Growing up I hated any art that wasn’t a touchstone to academic standards or antiquated beyond belief. In high school I figured out that was because I just didn’t understand how to understand art that wasn’t feeding me a narrative. When I was 17 Basquiat and a national treasure of an art teacher enlightened me and here we are. This year I’m graduating with a degree in art history. I believe as an artist I have an obligation to inspire others, explore what art is and its limits, and create something larger than myself as an individual. Art is too powerful to be squandered on goals of selfish ambition, awards, and achievements; those should come as affirmations of your Intentions.
Student Art Exhibits
Beginning in 2008, the University of Houston Libraries hosted an annual juried exhibit of student artwork, open to all students of all classifications and majors. A jury of professionals from the Houston arts community as well as UH School of Art faculty members selected work which was mounted each spring semester at the M.D. Anderson Library. After spring 2014, the very successful program, moved to the William R. Jenkins Architecture, Design, and Art Library in order to host solo and group exhibits all year-round.