In July 2024, BLS Library will initiate a new institutional subscription to online resources from the Center for Art Law in DUMBO. This will include: an extensive library of this Center's blog posts; recordings and materials/handouts from this Center's past events; and access to a redesigned Case Law Corner (which tracks "lawsuits involving artworks, cultural property, artists’ estates, galleries" and other issues).
BLS Library acquired (and will continue to add) new guides, handbooks and legal treatises on art, culture and law in 2024. These sources appear under guide tabs: Recommended Starting Points; Guides, Handbooks & Toolkits; Treatises; and International Conventions: Websites & Commentaries.
Did you know that Jeff Gabel, the BLS librarian who ordered many new resources for you, is an internationally-recognized artist? This is his biography.
Below, Jeff is working in situ on 28000 pages or, 'In Color': a mid-life crisis at Spencer Brownstone Gallery (2015-16).
Former Brooklyn Law School (BLS) Reference Librarian/Adjunct Professor of Law Carolyn Brown created the initial version of this guide. Carolyn noted that an art law researcher might wish to explore a broad range of topics: art and artificial intelligence; copyright and trademark issues concerning artwork; challenges regarding digital art; the First Amendment and artistic expression; art theft and modern restitution; and protection of cultural heritage/property. In summer 2024, BLS librarians are enhancing this guide.
This guide primarily highlights 1) recent publicly accessible books/toolkits and 2) recent books available through BLS Library. BLS is an independent law school and BLS Library's collection focuses on legal sources. BLS students who plan to work off campus and do not live in a BLS residence: implement the BLS proxy server instructions for 1 web browser (librarians recommend the instructions for Firefox), then close/reopen that browser. This will allow you to access BLS ebooks off campus. (If you successfully implement the BLS proxy instructions, a prompt will appear requesting your BLS username/password.)
New York Public Library (NYPL) provides 24 art research guides, including Art Resources from Home and How to Research an Artist. NYPL collects books on hot topics in the art world, such as Art Institution of Tomorrow: Reinventing the Model (2023) and Curating Art Now (2022). NYPL offers both Digital Research Books Beta ("free to read, download and keep") and a searchable catalog that includes audio, digital and print books available to those who apply for NYPL library cards. Searching NYPL's catalog yields books like Art & Crime: The Fight Against Looters, Forgers, and Fraudsters in the High-Stakes Art World (2022) and The Museum of Other People: From Colonial Acquisitions to Cosmopolitan Exhibitions (2024). NYPL also has noted research centers, including: Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs; Art and Artifacts Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; and Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
Those who live, work or attend school in New York state also can apply online for a Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) card. See BPL's descriptions of Art, Music and Recreation online resources and databases. Search BPL's holdings and filter results by: Books & more to find audio, digital and print books such as: The Art Business: Art World, Art Market (2024); Legal issues for Arts Organizations: A Practical Guide (2024) and The Thefts of the Mona Lisa: The Complete Story of the World's Most Famous Art Work (2024).
UNESCO's UNESDOC Digital Library includes Open Access Resources. Researchers can filter by topic(s), such as: Cultural heritage; Intangible cultural heritage; and Cultural property preservation.