The Visual Resources Collection

The Visual Resources Collection is a teaching resource created in 1965. It now consists of approximately 300,000 thirty-five millimeter slides which cover the entire spectrum of the history of art from the Prehistoric to Contemporary periods. Collection development is primarily in the following areas: architecture, sculpture, painting, drawings, prints, manuscripts, minor arts, photography, new movements, societal cultures, Asian art, and performing arts. There are small but developing sections of images specifically related to other disciplines in the Humanities including: biography, history, literature, and African-American material.

The primary function of the VRC is to support teaching activities by supplying slides to faculty offering regularly scheduled courses in the Arts and Humanities. The archive is such a critical teaching resource, that patronage is somewhat limited to insure that it does not interfere with the teaching program. Students are provided with access to the VRC, if they are required to give slide presentations in class. A Visual Resources Access Fee is required for faculty outside of the Schools of the Arts and Humanities as well as for community patrons.

The Visual Study Lab

The Visual Study Lab (VSL) is attached to the VRC and also entered through HIB 61. The intention of this facility is to provide a space for individual and group study of slides, video, and digital images. The technological transition from analog slides to new digital formats has made this expanded space an invaluable addition. Faculty and students utilize the VSL for a variety of functions. Slides, videos, and CD-ROM can be left on reserve for research and study. Internet access (for e-mail and the Web) is available on four computers as well as all the programs in Microsoft Office. Library resources are also accessible. Slide and flatbed scanners enhance the available equipment. We see this resource evolving as its most effective usage is determined over time.

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