About the Fine Arts Division
The Fine Arts Division,
located on the fourth floor of the Central Library, serves
both research and informational needs in the performing
and visual arts, and includes books, magazines, videos,
compact discs, long-playing records, DVDs and mounted pictures.
The book collection is primarily circulating and includes
materials in the subject areas of art, music, theatre, film,
television, dance and fashion. Extensive reference sources
are also available, as well as access to web-based products
such as Art Index.
Notable collections include the history of fashion and
design; biographical/historical files in film, theatre,
dance, music, fashion and art; limited holdings of Sotheby's
and Christie's auction catalogs; the Dallas Theater Center
archives; and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra archives.
The Fine Arts Division has an extensive graphic arts
collection featuring hundreds of graphic novels, compilations
and histories of comic books and newspaper comic strips,
and an ever-growing collection of manga (multi-volume comics
from Japan). This collection also includes in-depth sections
and drawing instruction, graphic design and advertising
art.
Special features include an 8-seat listening center,
a multiple-screen video wall, two performance areas and
the Lillian M. Bradshaw Gallery.
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Film/Theater/TV
The Fine Arts Division’s film, theater, and television
collections include a wide variety of electronic, print,
and audiovisual resources for use by scholars, practitioners
and interested laypersons alike. Some of these collections
may also serve as an introduction to Dallas’s performing
arts community.
Both general film aficionados and specialized researchers
will find circulating and reference materials on cinema
and television history and extensive biographical information
on American and international directors and performers,
along with print and video/DVD resources on more technical
aspects of filmmaking. Many scholarly and popular magazines
on all aspects of show business and cinema studies are also
accessible for use within the Library. The Division also
offers hundreds of DVD versions of films and television
series both classic and contemporary, available for a seven-day
checkout.
In addition, on many Saturday afternoons, the Fine Arts
Division offers free classic film showings, utilizing the
4th floor’s video wall. Some month-long series may focus
on particular cinema genres or themes, such as film noir,
westerns, science fiction, and Oscar-winning performances.
The Fine Arts Division’s reference and circulating theater
holdings include the history of live performance both in
America and throughout the world, plus biographies of seminal
directors, designers, and performers. Patrons will also
find instructional and vocational materials on acting, directing,
set and costume designing, lighting, stage managing, technical
producing, and creating a theatre troupe from scratch, among
many other topics.
For persons doing research on local and national theater
productions from years past, the Division offers extensive
reference files of original playbills, photographs, reviews,
and other historical records. A large number of theatre-related
periodicals are also available for use within the Library.
In addition, two special collections focusing on Dallas’s
own unique theatrical history are available to interested
scholars. The Dallas Theater Center Archives, documenting
the organization’s business and creative history from 1954
to1984, are housed in the Division; and portions of the
Margo Jones Collection, which is shared with the Library’s
seventh floor Texas/Dallas Division, are also accessible
as reference materials.
In the spirit of community outreach, the Fine Arts Division
periodically sponsors appearances by Dallas-area theatre/performance
groups in the 4th floor Performance Space and the Lillian
Bradshaw Gallery. Participants have included the South Dallas
Cultural Center, Echo Theatre, Texas Radio Theatre, and
the Dallas Storytellers Guild.
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Music Resources
Fine Arts houses approximately 30,000 records, 7,000
compact discs and 14,000 music scores. The score collection
is particularly strong on vocal scores of operas and musicals.
Fine Arts also has collected editions of a number of classical
composers in the reference section. The record collection
is particularly strong in operas and motion picture soundtracks.
Circulating records and compact discs may be checked out
for three weeks.
Fine Arts also has a sheet music collection in two sections:
popular (reference only) and classical music (circulating).
The collection at present is indexed by composer and title
in a card catalog on the floor.
The Fine Arts Department supports library service to
students and teachers of the Dallas Independent School District,
the Dallas County Community Colleges, Southern Methodist
University and the University of North Texas.
The Fine Arts Department has the following collections
of material relating to Dallas music history:
- Dallas Civic Music Association (later Allegro Dallas)
– archives from its history run from 1930 to 1992
- Dallas Opera – programs and scrapbooks since its
inception in 1957
- Dallas Symphony Orchestra - programs, scrapbooks
and items from conductor Dr. Paul Van Katwijk
- Marion Flagg collection – items from Marion Flagg,
DISD Supervisor of Music from 1940-1964
- Texas Composers Forum
- Texas Federation of Music Clubs Manuscripts
- Voices of Change
- Works Progress Administration Dallas Music Project
– music in three categories: Concert, Dance and Tipica
The Fine Arts Department houses a clipping file which
includes clippings from the Dallas Morning News, the Dallas
Observer and previously the Dallas Times Herald and the
New York Times. There are biographical files on music personalities
and groups, and files from music organizations in the Dallas/Fort
Worth Metroplex area. The files may also include brochures,
press releases, and other sundry information donated to
the library.
Mu Phi Epsilon in conjunction with the Fine Arts Dept.
presents a Sunday concert series
in the fall and late winter and early spring months.
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Databases
The following databases can be accessed with librarian
assistance. Please ask about them at the Fine Arts service
desk.
- Wilson Art Index
Wilson Art Index – Extensive coverage of art subjects
in periodicals, English and some foreign language, back
to 1984, keyword search. Gives citations only. Full
and complete article must be accessed in the magazine
itself or microform. Includes advertising and graphic
art, fashion design and textiles, archaeology, architecture
including landscape architecture, motion pictures, television,
and video. Wilson Art Index is available from the librarians
at the two computers at the reference desk.
- Artjobonline
Nationwide database of current jobs, internships, fellowships,
conferences and commissions in art fields including
visual art, non-profits, commercial, galleries, public
art agencies, film, and academic. Arranged by region
or type of job. Other helpful job search information.
Accessed by password at the Fine Arts reference desk.
- Askart.com
Database covering 52,000 American artists, all periods
and regions. Artists must have been born in the United
States, spent a significant part of their there, or,
if only of brief residence, created work of ongoing
interest to Americans. Each entry has a brief biography,
book, periodical and museum references, auction records
and images. Entry gives collectors and interested parties,
and current exhibits. While basic name and dates can
be found at Askart.com, further information requires
a password. Accessed at the Fine Arts reference desk.
- ArtSEARCH
Database maintained by the Theatre Communications Group
for professional, not-for-profit theaters. Lists jobs
in member theaters by type in an easy to search manner.
Also lists grants, events such as the TCG convention,
and research including their annual fiscal and salary
survey. Some coverage of international events and resources.
Accessed at the Fine Arts reference desk.
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Picture File
The Fine Arts Division has an extensive Picture File
Collection of nearly 100,000 images. The pictures are mounted
on 10” X 14” poster board and can be checked out for a three
week loan period, just like a book. The collection includes
a Personalities File (pictures of famous people throughout
history), an Art File (featuring work by painters, sculptors,
photographers and architects), and a General File containing
hundreds of subjects from A to Z (such as Animals, Fantasy,
Religion and Zeppelins).
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Lillian Bradshaw Gallery
The Lillian Bradshaw
Gallery on the fourth floor of the central Dallas Public
Library is available for visual art exhibitions and library
sponsored events at no charge. Professional in every way,
this gallery contains 1,122 square feet of cork-backed,
cloth wall space for hanging, and a rail with moveable hooks
and wires.
Each art exhibit lasts a month, opening on the second
day of the month and running until the second last day
of the month. Preference is given to local and emerging
artists. There is no charge for using the Bradshaw
Gallery, nor does the library participate in the selling
of any artwork. The gallery is usually booked two years
ahead. The art librarian or an administrator must review
the artist’s work for suitability. This may be done in
person or by online methods. Contact the art librarian
for further information or to be mailed a more specific
set of rules art@dallaslibrary.org.
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Hours of Operation
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Sunday
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1 pm - 5 pm
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Monday
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9 am - 9 pm
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Tuesday
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9 am - 9 pm
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Wednesday
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9 am - 9 pm
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Thursday
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9 am - 9 pm
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Friday
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9 am - 5 pm
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Saturday
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9 am - 5 pm
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