Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives

01/04/2018

Did you know that our Senior Archivist, Jennifer Neal, is obsessed with Stephen King and collecting bookmarks?

http://brooklynmuseum.tumblr.com/post/169305126837/as-an-avid-reader-its-rare-youll-find-me-without -notes

As an avid reader it’s rare you’ll find me without a book, especially when it comes to Stephen King novels! I’ve tried reading digital versions but there’s nothing like holding an actual book in my hands and finding a great bookmark to mark my place. I often use postcards and random scraps o...

01/03/2018

"Amelia Edwards delighted an Academy full of people with her first lecture...[she] contradicted the impression that remote and mysterious things lose their interest when made near and clear" https://www.archaeologybulletin.org/articles/10.5334/bha-598/

01/02/2018

In case you missted it last week, our Digital Archivist discussed her experience attending the 2017 International Council on Archives Annual Conference in Mexico City.

http://bit.ly/2CrScmW

Part of being an Archivist is staying current with the current literature and practices in the archival field at large. To make sure I stay up to date with the work that my fellow Archivists undertake I attend conferences and participate in our professional organizations. This helps the ...

12/21/2017

Happy Holidays from the staff at and !

http://brooklynmuseum.tumblr.com/post/168785908706/happy-holidays-from-the-brooklyn-museum-archives

Happy Holidays from the Brooklyn Museum Archives! One of the best things about working in an institutional archive is collecting records about Brooklyn Museum staff. From photographs of Hawaiian Shirt Day in the 1990s to last year’s Annual Holiday Party, we have so much information documenting our...

12/15/2017

We love artists books at the ! This week our Librarian for the Wilbour Library of Egyptology talks about the latest iteration of materials from our rich collection of artists books featured in Infinite Blue.

http://brooklynmuseum.tumblr.com/post/168536573504/the-eclectic-collection-of-cool-blue-hues-that -notes

The eclectic collection of cool blue hues that fills the first floor of the Brooklyn Museum’s Infinite Blue exhibition creates an environment that’s more than the sums of its parts. Each object has an intention of its own—whether it’s a painting, a delicate porcelain piece or an ancient figu...

12/08/2017

Ken Burns was in our Library and Archives reading room! Looking at our awesome collection! We are officially the coolest Library ever!

12/07/2017

The and are so excited about tonight's screening of Ken Burns' newly restored Academy Award–nominated documentary The Brooklyn Bridge (1981, 60 min.), followed by a discussion with Burns and New York Times reporter Jim Dwyer. The film returns to the Brooklyn Museum, where it originally premiered in 1981, to examine the narratives of struggle and triumph behind the creation of the Brooklyn Bridge. Our collecctions include documentation regarding the 1981 screening and so Brooklyn Bridge ephemera! bridge

http://brooklynmuseum.tumblr.com/post/168289302480/on-the-evening-of-friday-december-18th-1981-ken

On the evening of Friday, December 18th, 1981, Ken Burns publicly premiered his documentary Brooklyn Bridge at the Brooklyn Museum. Today, December 7th, 2017, Ken Burns will return to the Museum with...

12/06/2017

Setting up for a celebration of the Brooklyn Bridge - from really big books to postage stamps - we have it all!

11/30/2017

Our Digital Archivist talks about original video footage related to 's first installation of 's "The Dinner Party" in 1980. These seven videos are part of the 23,000+ items in the audiovisual collection.

http://brooklynmuseum.tumblr.com/post/168044414096/in-our-current-exhibition-roots-of-the-dinner

In our current exhibition Roots of “The Dinner Party”: History in the Making visitors learn that the Brooklyn Museum was one of two (2!) American Museums “brave enough to exhibit The Dinner Party...

11/16/2017

We're celebrating the opening of "Rodin at the Brooklyn Museum: The Body in Bronze" this week in the !

http://brooklynmuseum.tumblr.com/post/167553562630/its-no-surprise-that-the-hand-of-god-was-the -notes

It’s no surprise that the Hand of God was the initial inspiration for the creation of one of the most significant private collections of sculpture by Auguste Rodin – the Cantor Collection. In an interview in 1989 B. Gerald Cantor says that his ‘magnificent obsession’ with Rodin was sparked by this…

11/09/2017

This week, J.E. Molly Seegers explores what Stewart Culin was up to 103 years ago...

http://brooklynmuseum.tumblr.com/post/167303904577/after-taking-an-overnight-train-stewart-culin -notes

After taking an overnight train, Stewart Culin arrived in Seoul at 7:00 am on the 11th of November, 1913. The following five days he spent collecting and meeting with colleagues were an auspicious...

11/02/2017

Everyone knows that loves to dance. From the annual Artists' Ball Dance Party, Target First Saturdays, and our staff getting down at the holiday party ( and staff included), the Brooklyn Museum has a long history of dance dating back to as early as 1930.

http://brooklynmuseum.tumblr.com/post/167047940777/as-camilo-goody-recent-bkm-education-fellow -notes

As Camilo Goody, recent BKM Education Fellow, discovered, it is a common misconception among Dance Historians that Dance programs were not incorporated in Museums until the 1960s. Through his research in the BKM Archives, Camilo discovered that dance came to the Brooklyn Museum as early as 1930. Cam...

11/01/2017

Bookface

10/30/2017

Jennifer Neal and Carmen Hermo discuss selecting materials form the that are currinetly on display in "Roots of 'The Dinner Party': History in the Making."

http://brooklynmuseum.tumblr.com/post/166813098806/one-of-the-best-things-about-being-a-museum -notes

One of the best things about being a Museum Archivist is working directly with Curators and learning more about the exhibition planning process. I’ve really enjoyed the time the Archives staff spent assisting Carmen Hermo, Assistant Curator of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, with a...

10/19/2017

Celebrating in the

http://bit.ly/2hSpnCG

10/12/2017

The is celebrating the with the first woman editor in the country, Sarah Josepha Hale.

http://brooklynmuseum.tumblr.com/post/166322840322/she-signed-herself-the-lady-editor-the-first -notes

She signed herself “The Lady editor”. The first woman editor in the country, she wrote over two dozen books and hundreds of poems – including the classic “Mary had a little lamb”. She also basically invented Thanksgiving. Her name was Sarah Josepha Hale. Her editorial career began with the Ladies’ M...

09/28/2017

"Proof: Francisco Goya, Sergei Eisenstein, Robert Longo" explores how social, cultural, and political complexities are reflected in the artists' work. Spanning four centures, this exhibition highlights common themes of revolution, war, and civil unrest. This week, celebrates Francisco Goya's series of 33 etchings executed by Goya between 1815 and 1816.

http://brooklynmuseum.tumblr.com/post/165829142487/brooklyn-museum-library-celebrates-francisco-goya -notes

Brooklyn Museum Library celebrates Francisco Goya, one of the featured artists in the current exhibition Proof: Francisco Goya, Sergei Eisenstein, Robert Longo by highlighting a rare and beautiful...

09/21/2017

Gearing up for the exhibition at !

http://brooklynmuseum.tumblr.com/post/165580600732/the-vaults-at-saqqara-had-been-opened-and-there -notes

“The vaults at Saqqara had been opened, and there had been found in a sepulchral chamber more than five hundred mummies of the ibis. I was presented with two, and could not refrain from opening one… I...

09/14/2017

We're celebrating the highly anticipated opening of the Museum's first phase of a major reinstallation of our renowned collection of the Arts of Asia and the Middle East.

http://brooklynmuseum.tumblr.com/post/165329192627/did-you-know-that-brooklyn-museum-was-one-of-the -notes

09/07/2017

We're celebrating in the !


http://brooklynmuseum.tumblr.com/post/165079293439/the-brooklyn-museum-archives-celebrates-back-to -notes

The Brooklyn Museum Archives celebrates back to school with historic photographs from the collection. Although the Education Division wasn’t established until 1930, the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (BIAS) offered hands-on art classes as early as 1841. These images from the early 20th cent...

08/31/2017

We're gearing up for the West Indian American Labor Day Carnival in the !

http://brooklynmuseum.tumblr.com/post/164823227922/this-year-is-the-50th-anniversary-of-the-west -notes

This year is the 50th anniversary of the West Indian American Labor Day Carnival and the Brooklyn Museum has long been a supporter of the all of the celebrations organized by WIADCA. Everyone at the Museum is really excited for this year’s festivities so I thought I’d do some research in the archive...

08/28/2017

The ' Digital Archivist discusses conducting archival research of our unprocessed collections.
http://brooklynmuseum.tumblr.com/post/164558061824/with-portraits-by-alexis-adler-of-jean-michel -notes

With portraits by Alexis Adler of Jean-Michel Basquiat being displayed in the caribBEING House, I was asked to follow up on an item that was displayed in our 2015 Basquiat: The Unknown Notebooks exhibition, Basquiat’s Brooklyn Museum Junior Membership card. The card does not specify which years Basq...

08/21/2017

Love fashion? Stop by the Museum to browse the "fashion corner" in ! New materials from the have been installed, including select sketches from designer, Bonnie Cashin.

http://brooklynmuseum.tumblr.com/post/164290418532/who-wears-the-same-outfit-all-year-long-not-us

Who wears the same outfit all year long? Not us! From blue jeans to azure evening gowns – the exhibit Infinite Blue at the Brooklyn Museum is always changing. Since May of this year the Brooklyn...

08/10/2017

Having a personal and professional connection to her work, the Museum's Archivist discusses materials that are featured in the Legacy of Lynching exhibition in this week's Tumblr post.

http://brooklynmuseum.tumblr.com/post/164021602778/as-a-professionally-trained-archivist-and

As a professionally trained archivist and historian who grew up in South Carolina, The Legacy of Lynching: Confronting Racial Terror in America exhibition really hit home for me. When I learned the Museum would be partnering with the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) and Google to present the exhibitio...