VRC Collections

The Slide Library was established in the late 1960s by Professor Horace King, who began purchasing slides and having them made by copy photography to enhance his art appreciation courses.

Denison University’s Slide Library, now the Visual Resource Center includes a collection of approximately 150,000 35-mm slides. The digital collection numbers approximately 100,000. New slides are no longer being added to the collection, but the existing slides are digitized, cataloged and have been added to the department’s digital holdings. The VRC also houses a collection of glass, magic-lantern slides, which have also been digitized.

The majority of the slides were acquired through in-house copy photography or commercial vendors. The digital collections continue to be developed in much the same way. Both collections represent images of paintings, sculpture, architecture, textile arts, maps and non-western art including Japanese, Indian, Chinese, African, Southeast Asian, Middle Eastern, and Oceanic. There is a rapidly expanding contemporary art section which includes performance and video art.

The collections are cataloged by medium, by period and country, then also alphabetically by artists name or architect for all art from the Seventeenth Century and before. Eighteenth, Nineteenth, Twentieth, and Twenty-first Century art is arranged alphabetically by artist, combining the mediums of painting, graphics, minor arts, sculpture, multimedia and performance.

Slide circulation ceased in 2007 as the digital holdings grew in size and scope. The art history faculty are the primary users of the collection, though there has been an increase in studio faculty use.

The mission of the Visual Resource Center is to serve as a broad, under-graduate level teaching collection, with emphasis on the Art History and Studio Art curricula and specializations of the faculty. The primary function is to develop and maintain a collection of visual images to support classroom teaching in the art department. Special effort is made to assure that all materials are of the best possible quality, that they are maintained in a manner conducive to longevity, and that they are organized/cataloged in an accurate and consistent manner to provide logical access.

As an autonomous and highly specialized collection, the Visual Resource Slide and Digital Library functions independently of the main campus library. The collection does not circulate in the same manner as their collection, nor do we participate in resource sharing or inter-library loan.

Selection of materials for the collection is the responsibility of the Visual Resource Curator.

Items are added to the collection

• Fill gaps or enhance a specific area as determined by the Visual Resource Curator
• Support classes being taught in the Art History or Studio Art programs
• Replace old, deteriorated or lost items.

In order to comply with copyright regulations, all images made available by Denison University Art Department or by the Visual Resource Center must be used for educational purposes only, i.e. for research, classroom lectures, and reports or presentations. Copyright restrictions must be closely observed in order to protect both the Art Department and the university.

The Art Department Visual Resource Center - Slide and Digital Library is located in room 503 on the fifth floor of Bryant Arts Center/Cleveland Hall. This recently renovated lower-campus building is located on College Street and is part of Denison’s Fine Arts Quad.

Hours

• Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
• Saturday-Sunday, Closed
• Closed June through mid-August; Limited hours during regularly scheduled Denison University vacations.