The VRL welcomes the new faculty and staff of the department.  The library takes pride in serving all Art and Design Department members in teaching and learning.

Also, the VRL welcomes the following two new assistants: Shelby Pendowski and Lisa Dunkelberger.  The library would like to thank Liz Uitvlug, who has served the library since 2010, for her dedication to new member training.  Congratulations to the newly graduated Julia Victor, who served the library for over two years and now assumes a position in the Peddle Book Store near the University of Chicago in Illinois.

With gratitude to the Publications Committee's assistance, the VRL launched a new webpage (http://www.gvsu.edu/art/visual-resources-library-vrl--39.htm) in 2011. The library hours and contact information are listed on the page, from which the GVSU Visual Resources Library (GLEAN©), VRL policies, library guides, image permission and request forms, and the VRL Newsletter are accessible.  A widget of the Visual Resources Collection's featured images was also implemented to give a snapshot of the copyrighted/licensed collection.

The Art and Design faculty has been very supportive in introducing the VRL and the GVSU Visual Resources Library (GLEAN©) to students.  ART 101, Art Education, and Foundations faculty gave assignments to their classes in which they had to search GLEAN©. The Foundations and Painting faculty also created media groups and course reserves on GLEAN© to facilitate their teachings.  All of the above have helped increase the access rate of GLEAN©; the pageview of the system has increased to 36,642 since August 2011.

The support of the Art and Design members is greatly appreciated.  The quantity of the images in GLEAN© has grown to a total of 251,470 as of August 2012.  From January 2011 to May 2012, a total of 5,300 images was requested to be made by the VRL, and 587 students attended the library instruction sessions.

The VRL would like to thank Professor Sheldon Kopperl (80 volumes), Professor Sigrid Danielson, Professor Virginia Jenkins, Mr. Tim Klein, Professor Beverly Seley, Professor Kirsten Strom, Professor Lorelle Thomas, and the Art Education Program for their generous book donations to the library.  The bibliographic records of the above volumes can be accessed in the media group of "Collection: VRL Catalog New Titles" on GLEAN©.  These books are available for viewing by students and can be checked out by Art and Design faculty and staff.  Gratitude also goes to Mr. Jim Visser, the Workshop Supervisor, who kindly helped deliver donations from Professor Kopperl's residence to the library.

Dellas Henke, Renee Zettle-Sterling, Tyler Graphics LTD., Foundation Portfolios Scholarship winners/participants, ART 101 classes, and Art Education students donated 1,762 digital images to the VRL in 2011 and 2012: "Collection: Dallas Henke", "Collection: Renee Zettle-Sterling", "Collection: Tyler Graphics Prints", "Foundation Portfolios (2011-2012)", "Student Artwork: Art 101", and "Student Artwork: Art Education".  From off-campus locations, the above links are viewable after logging into the digital image system.  In addition to the aforementioned images, Tyler Graphics LTD. also donated 628 images created by seventeen artists who did not reply to the VRL's permission requests.  These images are now included in the Art and Design Department Collection on GLEAN© and can be accessed by faculty/staff when logging into the system with individually assigned usernames and passwords.

All of the titles of the program resources and the VRL books, periodicals, and DVD/VHS are now included in the Visual Resources Library (VRL) Catalog collection in the digital image system.  These titles are now searchable in the system via multiple searching points (author, title, subject, classification term, publication year, ISBN/ISSN, etc.).

A full set of Art and Design Department Collection (including all images in the former GLEAN©) has been expanded and is now in better quality after comprehensive editing in 2011.  The VRL recommends faculty/staff who are still using images downloaded from the former GLEAN© to contact the VRL Curator for improved alternatives.

In winter of 2012, the VRL collected data of the student library survey from the students of Art Education, ART 101, and Foundations: 2-D Design.  The primary objective of the survey was to gather feedback regarding library resources and services from students.  The survey was an effort to guage gaps between library resources/services and students' expectations.  The survey, which included a mix of open and close-ended questions, was administered to several classes through print distribution.  Upon completion of the survey, respondents returned the forms to the class instructors, and in turn the library.  143 students responded to the winter 2012 survey.

75.5% (compared to 52% in the 2011 survey) of respondents said that they used services provided by the VRL.  92% agreed that the VRL librarians and staff were approachable and willing to help.  95% of respondents said "Yes" when asked, "Are our collections and services (including those in both VRL and University Libraries) adequate to support your learning?".  Respondents also suggested that a greater number of contemporary and major photographers' artworks be included in GLEAN©.

Collection: Dellas Henke (131 images)

Collection: Renee Zettle-Sterling (370 images)

Collection: Tyler Graphics Prints (426 images)

Foundation Portfolios (2011-2012) (195 images)

Student Artwork: ART 101 (Fall 2011) (109 images)

Student Artwork: ART 101 (Winter 2012) (174 images)

Student Artwork: Art Education ART 332 (2011-2012) (200 images)

Student Artwork: Art Education MAT 300 (2011-2012) (157 images)

Art 21 [videorecording]: Seasons One and Two

Art 21 [videorecording]: Season Three

Art 21 [videorecording]: Season Four

Art 21 [videorecording]: Season Five

Judy Chicago & The California Girls