Lauren Dolman (Balliol College, Oxford)

This lightning talk presents the research and findings of a postgraduate dissertation in Library and Information Studies undertaken in the summer of 2017. It covers the researcher’s initial investigation into best practice in materials libraries and the exploration of whether concepts associated with the field of library and information science are applicable to them. Materials libraries are a relatively new phenomenon that have emerged largely outside of the library profession, and are found in a range of institutional settings: academic institutions, professional organisations and commercial companies. Essentially, they are collections of physical samples of materials such as metals, glasses, ceramics, polymers and composites, and have become popular in the last ten to fifteen years, particularly among design communities such as artists, designers and architects, for the sensory understanding they can bring to the making process.

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Through the collection of empirical data via interviews with practitioners working in six case study materials libraries, the research sought to understand what practices are employed in their development and management, and whether they bear any relation to the concepts of library and information science. The talk outlines the research findings in a thematic way, showing that the specific practices of materials libraries, such as systems for cataloguing, tools for collection development and strategies for teaching, are all being tailor made to suit the needs of these unique collections. Indeed, in an environment where materials libraries are largely working in isolation from each other, and without any formal guidelines, each of the cases has come up with its own innovative solutions to the challenges that materials collections present. However, even if not explicitly recognised, the ultimate function that materials libraries share with traditional libraries as facilities stewarded by librarians for knowledge creation means that they also share many of their overarching principles. As a more formalised model for materials libraries begins to take shape from the growing body of research around it, the talk concludes by suggesting that this model will emerge as a bespoke amalgamation of established library and information science concepts and innovative new practices.

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Lauren Dolman is a recent graduate of the MA in Library and Information Studies at UCL, and recipient of one of the Cowley Prizes awarded to two students of distinction in her cohort. Her proposal for a paper at this year’s conference is drawn from the research undertaken for her dissertation there. Having previously worked in art book publishing, she began her career in art librarianship as a graduate trainee library assistant at the Courtauld Institute of Art’s Book Library, and then as library assistant at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, while completing her degree. She is currently working at Balliol College, Oxford.