Mission
The Herron Art Library is a full-service branch of the IU Indianapolis University Library (UL) as part of the Library’s Distinctive Collections. The Herron Library serves the Herron School of Art + Design, the IU Indianapolis community, residents of Indiana, and visiting scholars’ teaching and research needs related to the study of studio art, art education, art history, and art therapy. The Herron Art Library collects materials across a wide variety of formats on art and artists pre-history through the present day with an emphasis on modern through contemporary art. A main collection of the Herron Art Library is the Artists’ Book and Fine Press collection available to students and faculty upon request. The Herron Art Library is located in Eskenazi Hall, one of the buildings for the Herron School of Art + Design.
Material Selection
General Collections
Our general collections include subcollections: journals/periodicals (non-circulating), special (non-circulating), reference (non-circulating), Indiana, stacks, oversized, and juvenile texts. The scope of this collection includes topics in studio art, art history, art education, architecture, and art therapy. Topics in studio art include sculpture, printmaking, painting, photography, ceramics, and furniture design. The focus of this collection is to serve the teaching and research interests of faculty, staff, and students at the Herron School of Art + Design as well as offer the latest publications in the field. The Art + Design Librarian will take purchase recommendations from Herron faculty and staff upon request. Note that Herron School of Art + Design also offers programs in music therapy and music technologies. Those respective collections are part of the collections located in University Library.
Artists’ Books and Fine Press
The Artists’ Books and Fine Press Collection currently contains approximately six hundred artists’ books and nine fine press books. This is a teaching collection that is used in instruction for the Herron School of Art + Design as well as other disciplines on campus by request. The content of this collection ranges widely from topics in nature to instances of trauma. Purchasing for this collection is in accordance with the instruction needs of the Herron School. Collection development is focused on artists’ books, fine press books, zines, and broadsides.
Duplicate Copies
Purchasing duplicate copies of library materials is done at the discretion of the Art + Design Librarian. Please email us if you have any questions.
Gifts
Gifts and exchanges will be accepted according to the same criteria as purchases. Gift material that is not determined to be within the collection scope will either be returned to the donor or given to Better World Books, a certified B corporation, for public sale, with profits shared with the Herron Art Library. See the Herron Art Library’s official gift policy for more information.