Librarian's Corner

Allen Stuart Weller
February 1, 1907 - November 16, 1997

        This column is dedicated to the memory of Allen Weller, a distinguished scholar and former Dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts. Professor Weller was the rare individual who did succeed as both scholar and dean. He served as dean for seventeen years from 1954-1971, presiding over the foundation of both the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts and the Krannert Art Museum.
        Professor Weller published several important texts on American contemporary art: The Joys and Sorrows of Recent American Art, Art USA Now, and monographs on the American Artists Abraham Rattner and Harry Breen. His doctoral dissertation, undertaken at the University of Chicago, was devoted to the Renaissance theorist and architect Francesco di Giorgio. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Illinois in 1947, Professor Weller taught art history at the University of Missouri from 1929-1942, and 1946-1947. The true scholarly passion of his life was the sculptor Lorado Taft to whom Weller had devoted two monographs. His newly completed Lorado Taft: The Chicago Years, will be published by the University of Illinois Press.
        Weller's pride and joys were the Krannert Art Museum and the creation of the Contemporary Arts Festival held at the University of Illinois from 1948-1974. Professor Weller maintained his office in the Museum and continued to contribute to the well-being of the Museum and to the world of scholarship at large.
        I will miss seeing Allen Weller in his Krannert Art Museum office and my encounters with him will always be among my treasured memories. Despite the frailties of old age, he continued working nearly daily in his office, where he could be found stooped over his latest manuscript. I found his fortitude, diligence, and intellectual curiosity inspiring. I always felt reassured by his presence and by his example that great things could be accomplished in both the scholarly and administrative realms. I feel enriched through having had the great pleasure and honor of knowing this magnetic personality.
        Professor Weller and his wife Rachel, who survives him, have made numerous and substantial gifts to Ricker Library. Characteristic of Professor Weller's generosity he has bequeathed to Ricker Library his dense collection of vertical file materials. He has also requested that memorial contributions be made to either the Ricker Library or the Krannert Art Museum. If you are interested in making a donation to Ricker Library in honor of Allen Weller, please contact Jane Block by phone at 333-0224, or by e-mail, j-block3@uiuc.edu.

        Many of our patrons have noticed the change in the look and operation of the library's online public access computer (OPAC). Over the summer and fall several modifications were made to the entire library computer network. All OPAC computers in the library have been recently upgraded in preparation for a new integrated online catalog system to be implemented in 1998.
        Of immediate consequence to Ricker patrons are two changes. The first change is related to the implementation of the library's "Gateway," on all OPAC computers accessing the library's online catalog. The gateway is a web-based system of accessing library resources, including the OPAC, article databases, etc. Access to the OPAC is obtained by selecting the "Online catalog," link on the Gateway. The login to the system is automated after this point. After a few seconds you will be linked to the basic search screen the library uses. You may continue to search in the usual way at this point.
        The second change affects access and searching of one of our most popular databases, the Art Index. This resource is now available through a vendor called OVID. The OVID system is used to provide access and searching capability for a number of databases, including the ERIC, Psychlit, and the Wilson Databases, which includes Art Index. On OVID Art Index has been incorporated into Art Abstracts. Art Abstracts, as the name implies, includes abstracts to selected articles. Other advantages to the OVID system include sophisticated searching, saving and display options that we have not had access to before. To access Art Index from the Gateway Screen, simply select the "Article Databases," option. You will have to select Art Abstracts twice during the login procedure. Once in OVID you will find that the screens are user-friendly and that online help is provided. The coverage of Art Index on OVID is similar to that available on our previous system: 1984 to the present. If you have any questions or would like more information about OVID or any of the other changes in the library catalog please contact Chris Quinn by phone (333-0224) or email (c-quinn2@uiuc.edu).

• Professor Emeritus and Mrs. Albert C. Bianchini for their gift of sixty-six architectural books.
• Professor Marianna Tax Choldin for her gift of The Museum of the Jewish Historical
                             Institute: Arts and Crafts
• Mr. Russell A. Dankert for the gift of two back issues of the University of Illinois, Architectural
                            Yearbook.
• Richard J. Faletti for his gift of Sotheby's auction catalogs.
• Professor Emeritus Philip P. Fehl for his gift of art books and back issues of journals
• Professor Emeritus Marcel Franciscono for the gift of Paul Klee: Reisen in den Süden:
                            Reisefieber Praecisiert, and other titles.
• Nancy M. Fuchs for the gift of twenty books.
• Professor Arthur Kaha for the gift of ninety-six architectural books.
• David McCall for his gift of Design for Life.
• Mrs. Ruth McKissack for her gift of forty books and journals.
• Professor Stephen N. Orso for the gift of thirty-five art books.
• Professor Ralph Smith for his donation of many recent books on Art and Architecture
• Professor Daniel Socha for his gift of back issues of Artforum.
• Mr. Barry Swedeen for his gift of Frank Lloyd Wright and Madison: Eight Decades of
                            Artistic and Social Interaction.
• Professor Robert Wedgeworth for his gift of Degas Beyond Impressionism; Johannes
                            Vermeer: Der Geograph und Der Astronom nach 200 Jahren Wieder
                            Vereint; and Niki de Saint Phalle.
• Dean Emeritus and Mrs. Allen S. Weller for an extensive vertical file collection.
• Tadeusz Zadrozny for the gift of Architektura Gotycka W Polsce.
• Professor Jerrold Ziff for his gift of several books on drawings and prints

. . . . the following for gifts through Library Friends

Mrs. Mildred L. Barnett in honor of Professor Amy Papalexandrou
Mr. Randall J. Biallas Professor Jane Block and Professor Paul Kruty.
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Fisher in memory of Allen Weller and in memory of Walter Keith.
Mrs. Sheila R.C. Foote
Professor Emeritus and Mrs. Marcel Franciscono.
Mrs. Beverly A. Friese
Professor Emeritus Rudard A. Jones and Mrs. Ruth T. Jones
Mr. David V. Karlquist
Professor Henry Maguire and Professor Eunice Maguire
Professor and Mrs. Michael McCulley
Professor Steven Orso
Mr. Charles M. Pipal
Mr. Robert L. Ritz
Professor Emeritus Ingvar Schousboe and Kirsten Schousboe.
Mr. Frank Soldano and Mrs Christina Eales Soldano
Mr. John E. Sommerville
Professor Lydia M. Soo
Mrs. Marilyn Sward
Mr. R. Barry Swedeen and Mrs. Beth L. Swedeen
Dean Emeritus and Mrs. Allen S. Weller
Mr. Michael Franklin White

Axsom, Richard
Printed Stuff: Prints, Posters and Ephemera by Claes Oldenburg. Hudson Hills, 1997 (Q.769.973OL2A)

Berson, Ruth
The New Painting: Impressionism, 1874-1886: Documentation. San Francisco: Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, 1996
(Q.759.4074N421)

Bonami, Francesco, ed.
Echoes: Contemporary Art at the Age of Endless Conclusions. New York: Monacelli, 1996. (709.045EC45)

Bruegmann, Robert
The Architects and the City: Holabird and Roche of Chicago, 1880-1918. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997.
(Q.720.977311B684A)

Carpenter, William J.
Learning by Building: Design and Construction in Architectural Education. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1997.
(720.71173C227L)

Gabriel, J. Francois
Beyond the Cube: the Architecture of Space Frames and Polyhedra. New York: John Wiley, 1997 (Q.721.042B468)

Ibelings, Hans
The Modern Fifties and Sixties: the the Spreading of Contemporary Architecture over the Netherlands. Rotterdam: NAI Uitgevers, 1996.
(720.9492IB3M)

Maki, Fumihiko
Fumihiko Maki: Buildings and Projects. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1997. (Q.720.952M289F)

Marling, Karal Ann, ed.
Designing Disney's Theme Parks: the Architecture of Reassurance. New York, Flammarion, 1997.
(Q.791.06879496D46)

Pointon, Marcia
Strategies for Showing: Women, Possession, and Representation in Engish Visual Culture. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
(305.0942P55S)

Wieck, Roger S.
Painted Prayers: the Book of Hours in Medieval and Renaissance Art. New York: Braziller, 1997.
(Q.242.0940902W634P)

Faculty who will be submitting requests for reserve materials for Spring 1998 are urged to submit their lists as soon as possible. Reserve lists or any questions about reserves should be addressed to Dorfredia Williams-Robinson. She may be reached by phone at 333-0224 or via e-mail at dawilli@uiuc.edu.
 

This Newsletter was prepared by Christopher Quinn. Please direct your comments and suggestions to me via telephone at 333-0224 or email, or via mail at:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Ricker Library of Architecture and Art
208 Architecture Building
608 Taft Drive Champaign, IL 61820