Volunteering: Content Development regarding scholarly texts from private sources including commercial art dealers and galleries

 

Notice:

Resource Library has amassed considerable information covering many artists and topics. In late 2016 Traditional Fine Arts Organization (TFAO), publisher of Resource Library, changed focus away from adding additional articles and essays. TFAO is instead concentrating on furthering breadth and depth of information from other sources to place in Topics in American Art. In early 2017 TFAO added hundreds of additional museums to it's list for ongoing study. Find the covered museums here: A-C D-G H-L M-Q R-S T-Z.

For the indefinite future TFAO plans for Resource Library to remain inactive while accumulating data for Topics in American Art.

Volunteer opportunity regarding scholarly texts from private sources including commercial art dealers and galleries

Identifying and processing paper-published scholarly text from private sources texts on American representational art for inclusion in Resource Library within TFAO's topics of interest, not otherwise published online with open access. Volunteers may assist in any or all of the following:

 
(a) conducting online searches of art dealer web sites to identify publications owned by them containing scholarly texts. Locate dealers for study by reviewing membership rosters for dealer associations. For further information on associations see Appraisals of Original Art Objects in Resources for Collectors, Life Long Learners, Students and Teachers of Art History. For tips on searching the Web see the indexes and information retrieval page of Resource Library.
 
(b) discussing with dealers their publications to verify ownership, learn about included essays and their authors, and to see if the texts meet Resource Library's submitting materials guidelines.
 
(c) reviewing Resource Library's previously published texts using keyword searches within the contents of Resource Library and by reviewing the author index to prevent duplication. Searches within Resource Library are available through its homepage.
 
(d) obtaining texts through email, the US Postal Service.and reviewing them to see if the texts meet Resource Library's submitting materials guidelines.
 
(e) reviewing with TFAO names of the dealer-publishers, authors and titles of identified texts.
 
(f) obtaining written approvals for republishing.
 
(g) OCR scanning, proofreading and reformatting of approved texts, using Resource Library's content presentation guidelines.
 
(h) forwarding to TFAO via email completed packages including copies of original texts, .doc files of digitized texts and approval letters from copyright holders.

Note: TFAO's experience is that success in this particular volunteer opportunity requires use of the phone for parts (b), (d) and (f). Phone conversations in some instances are followed by volunteer email letters confirming the conversations and providing additional information. Click here for examples of email letter templates used by volunteers.

Chapters of lengthy books can be distributed among several volunteers to lighten the work of each person.

 

Credits

Resource Library's chronological index refers to thousands of articles and essays made possible in part through the help of volunteers who have provided research assistance. Acknowledgements of their efforts are included in the credits for published texts.

 

Suggested experience

1. Experience including

2. BA or BS degree from an accredited college or univesity

3. Willingness to commit to a short term project.

 

About TFAO

Traditional Fine Arts Organization (TFAO) offers online the most thorough body of knowledge concerning American representational art through its publication Resource Library, plus projects, reports, studies and catalogues including:

For the past 19 years, all content has been presented to the public free of charge - and will continue on that basis permanently. TFAO is 100% non-commercial.

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