In smaller countries where the art literature has tended to be overlooked by international indexing services, there is a pressing need for national art bibliographies. A retrospective bibliography can serve a vital role in awakening citizens to unfamiliar artists and artistic activity, and to the richness of the cultural heritage. Beyond that, national art bibliographies make possible the investigation of artistic influences and international cultural connections, and of individual artists on the move.

Describes the evolution of the Artists in Canada database, from a checklist of artists’ files in one library, to a manually compiled and then automated union list, and now, into an on-line retrieval service.

ARLIS/ANZ Art Libraries Society, Australia New Zealand was formed in August 1976. Since then, ARLIS/ANZ has arranged a number of seminars and workshops for art librarians in both countries; found finance to bring three noted art librarians to the antipodes to give talks and workshops which stimulated both members and other interested professionals; and has published thirteen issues of ARLIS/ANZ News. ARLIS has served as a valuable support for art librarians working in isolation, at great distance from international centres of publishing and art activity. Distance between ARLIS/ANZ centres led to the formation of local interest groups and cooperation between art libraries in art galleries and museums, universities, schools of art, and national resource libraries.

The Australian Art Index, AARTI, is one of a group of data bases within the Ausinet network which will, between them, cover contemporary Australian art and architecture on a national basis. National coverage is possible because of the small size of the Australian population, the existence of people prepared to take on the task with managements to back them and the availability of a network with the flexibility to take data in a wide range of formats. AARTI contains records of four types: monographs, journal articles, exhibitions and artists’ profiles. By April 1985 it contained some 9,500 records available online with a microfiche alternative for non-Ausinet members.

Computer technology, particularly in the area of data bases and networking systems, enables arts librarians to overcome some of the problems engendered by isolation and great distances. The Australia Council Library aims to provide greatly increased access to its large collection of press clippings on the arts in Australia through its data base, ARTSDOC. The artists’ file, a 22,500 record, A-Z sequence of press clippings covering the past decade, forms the basis of ARTSDOC. It is anticipated that input from 1986 onward will include all press clippings culled by the Library, whether they are artists’ clippings or more broadly subject based.

A brief introduction to Norwegian art libraries and an account of the founding and early history of ARLIS/Norge precede an annotated survey of bibliographies which include or are devoted to Norwegian art.

The Bibliographie Bildende Kunst has come out annually since 1973. It records literature of various kinds about painting, graphic art, plastic art, architecture, applied art, book art, design, folk art, artistic photography as well as theory and history of art. The compilation comprises monographs, periodical essays and important contributions from the daily press. Every yearly volume contains an index of authors and an index of subjects. Every five years a cumulated index is published. Since 1973 the Bibliographie Illustrierte Bucher der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik has come out. It lists GDR publications containing artistic illustrations. Every yearly volume is made accessible by means of an index of authors and subject titles. Index cumulations are published every five years. In 1984 a list concerning the location of periodicals and serials about Fine Arts in libraries of the German Democratic Republic was published. It contains titles from the 18th mid-century onward up to the present, including information on the particular ownership of GDR libraries. These publications are obtainable from Sächsische Landesbibliothek Dresden, GDR-8060 Dresden, PSF 467/468.

The most important bibliography for Dutch art is the Bibliography of the Netherlands Institute for Art History (Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie). This bibliography, first published in 1943, is in fact a continuation in another form of H. van Hall, Repertorium voor de geschiedenis der Nederlandsche schilder - en graveerkunst sedert het begin van de 12de eeuw tot het eind van 1932 (Repertory for the history of Dutch painting and engraving since the beginning of the 12th century up till the end of 1932), The Hague 1936 (Vol.2: 1933-1946 appeared in 1949). The last volume published, Vol.16, Part 1: Old Art, comprises the years 1971-1972; Vol.17, Part 1: Old Art, for the years 1973-1974, is in the course of publication. The material for the years after 1974, however, is put on fiches, and can be consulted at the Institute. The last volume published that included material on Dutch 19th-20th century art was Vol. 9 (1957-1958). Material for the years thereafter also can be consulted at the Institute. Address: Prins Willem Alexanderhof 5 (entrance at the fifth floor of the Royal Library), 2595 BE The Hague; tel. 070-471514. Postal address: Post box 90418, 2509 LK The Hague.

An annotated survey of sources of bibliographical information concerning Israeli art.