The Art Research Library – ARL to patrons – is a collection of hundreds of books about art and art history located in the Seaboard Depot building on Riverpark Campus. The cozy facility is complete with study tables, seating, and a food pantry. It previously operated as a detached entity but has now been merged into the CSU Libraries, providing more services for students.
It’s a small library, about the size of the art history classroom next door, but it’s covered wall-to-wall in bookshelves holding volumes on subjects from the Italian Renaissance to fashion to Internet art. Students often sit at a central table, discussing everything from recent assignments to their favorite historic artists. A shelving unit by the door holds a variety of nonperishable foods and serves as a food pantry for any student in need.
A student assistant will be serving as librarian, usually in conjunction with Tom Ganzevoort, CSU’s subject librarian for history and art and the main facilitator of the ARL. I sat down with Ganzevoort to talk about the library, its food pantry, and the services librarians can provide to CSU students.
Cataloging hundreds of books, Tom said, is a time-consuming process. About 600 books have been recorded so far. Before now, the ARL’s collection of approximately 1,800 books was not searchable online. The catalog was only accessible in-person and did not cover the full collection. Books weren’t available on GIL Express, USG’s interlibrary loan system. These issues have been resolved through the merger, simplifying the research process for students.
Standard library services such as checkouts, returns, and GIL Express pickups are now available at the ARL. Ganzevoort also encouraged students to explore other library resources like subject area research assistance. Every CSU librarian provides research consultations in designated subject areas.
“I would encourage students to not be afraid to ask librarians for help. We especially like working with students, particularly research consultations. Students will come in freaked out and stressed – by the time they leave you can watch the stress level go way down,” Ganzevoort said.
The ARL food pantry is a shelving unit stocked with nonperishable foods like ramen, canned soup, granola bars, and pasta. Students are welcomed to take what they need and leave what they can. Food insecurity has been a significant problem for Riverpark students, Ganzevoort described, especially those who didn’t have school meal plans. A Music School food bank reportedly turned away an art student, so the ARL took charge to create an easy-access, all-major food pantry.
The ARL used a grant from the Center for Servant Leadership on main campus to start and maintain the food pantry. It is now looking for alternate funding sources. In the meantime, library staff, students, and faculty have donated money and food to keep the pantry going. “One way or the other we will keep this adequately stocked so that students can grab stuff and go. It’s been necessary and popular,” Tom said. The food pantry accepts donations of nonperishable foods.
