Fort Worth Library moving some materials to Amon Carter Museum

The Amon Carter Museum's research library received a large batch of art-related periodicals from the Fort Worth Public Library. Pictured with the delivery are Amon Carter staff members, front, Allison Olivarez, associate archivist and special collections manager; and Caroling Clavell, technical services librarian.

To see some cool Fort Worth Library items, make a visit to the Amon Carter Museum?

Say what?

It’s true. Multiple issues of periodicals representing more than 35 art-related titles are on loan in the Amon Carter’s research library. The materials, previously stored at the Fort Worth Public Library’s Central Branch, comprise a length roughly equal to the height of a 10-story building.

The transfer is a no-cost collaboration that moved materials that saw little use at the Fort Worth Public Library to the Amon Carter, where art researchers can more readily access them.

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The materials are a mix of bound volumes, boxed issues and microfilm. Many of the magazines are no longer published.

“Relocating these materials benefits the public,” said Linda Barrett manager of the Fort Worth Public Library’s Genealogy, Local History and Archives. “Anyone looking for these periodicals can always go to the Amon Carter and use them.”

The lone publication still found at the Library is “Fortune.”

Amon Carter Research Library Sam Duncan said the copies of “Fortune” the museum requested are older issues in an oversize format with unique artistic value.

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“During the mid-20th century, ‘Fortune’ was beautifully produced with many commissioned illustrations from a who’s who list of artists,” Duncan said. “I’m already thinking about an exhibition that would highlight the publication’s contributions to graphic design and its support of American artists.”

The collaboration came about after Duncan had visited the Fort Worth Public Library for many years to access several art-related periodicals for researchers.

“One in particular was ‘Art Digest,’ especially issues from the 1930s and 1940s, important periods for the research we do at the Amon Carter,” Duncan said.

“We know the periodicals will have a good home at the Amon Carter,” Fort Worth Library Director Manya Shorr said. “It just makes sense to add them to the museum’s art-focused collection, as those are resources already familiar to local art historians.

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“This is another way the Fort Worth Public Library is reducing barriers to accessing information and resources, even if those resources are housed elsewhere.”

The loan agreement stipulates that the museum must provide public access to the material. Even casual scholars are able to peruse the periodicals and the roughly 150,000 items in its library collection.