Two of the College’s Librarians get students prepped for the new semester with a highlights tour of things you can find in our libraries.
If you're not already familiar with the kinds of materials found in art libraries, what you'll see in the collections of our own SVA Libraries may surprise you. Think: manga, comics, graphic novels, magazines, DVDs, and Blu-rays (and players)—as well as a Picture Collection, video games, tabletop games, and electronic resources galore. We know it’s overwhelming; that’s why we’ve created a “best of” selection that we hope will give you a taste of everything our libraries have to offer. Of course, nothing would be better than you visiting the collections—on-site or online—to see for yourself!
1. Ghost World
Faced with life after high school, best friends Enid and Rebecca have no plans but to find jobs and live together. Their summer becomes more focused when they prank an older man, Seymour, by responding to his personal ad, but their friendship begins to diverge as Enid’s cynicism and Rebecca’s conscience drive a wedge between them. Based on Daniel Clowes’s graphic novel of the same name, this DVD can be checked out with a DVD player.
Jackie Battenfield provides practical advice on marketing, networking, and managing an art career in this essential book for artists. It offers strategies to help artists succeed by combining creative passion with business skills. Check out our guide to ebooks at SVA Library for more information.
3. Susan Sontag’s “Against Interpretation”
Susan Sontag’s essay “Against Interpretation” created quite a stir when it was first published in 1966. In it, Sontag argued against the de rigeur art criticism of the day, which focused on the meaning and component parts of an artwork, and instead advocated for an appreciation of art that emphasizes its form and aesthetic impact. It remains essential food for thought for artists at all stages of their careers. This collection also includes other famous essays, including “On Style” and “Notes on ‘Camp,’” among others.
4. Smile
This graphic novel by Raina Telgemeier (BFA 2002 Illustration) is a Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards Winner (2011) and #1 New York Times bestseller. It centers on Raina’s experiences with an accident that leads to a long and painful journey of dental work and braces. Throughout the book, Raina navigates the ups and downs of middle school, including dealing with friends, crushes, and self-esteem issues. The SVA Libraries have thousands of other graphic novels to check out, too—come in and browse the stacks!
5. Textures
The look of a velvet cape. The way light dances on water. Grass swaying in a field. What do these things all have in common? You can find them all in the Textures folder of our analog Picture Collection. Portraying texture is essential for any visual artist, from illustrators and game designers to painters and art critics. These pictures have been cut from books and magazines spanning decades worth of visual print material—and you won’t find them online. The complete collection covers more than 1,300 subjects and over 300,000 pictures. Browse a list of folders for more inspiration.
6. Thrasher
Whether or not you're into skateboarding, it's undeniable that skate culture has had an influence on the full spectrum of creative practices—from photography to fashion to graphic design and on. The SVA Library subscribes to Thrasher, the long-standing skate magazine, in an online database called Flipster, which means you can access it 24/7 by logging in with your SVA credentials. Flipster also has the full issue (and many previous issues) of nearly 40 additional magazines like Aperture, Communication Arts, and The New Yorker.
7. BOMB
BOMB is an NYC-based arts magazine that centers the artist's voice by publishing conversations between creative people working across mediums. The founders wanted to document and disseminate candid conversations between artists – without intervention by curators, critics, or journalists. Find BOMB and over 200 other print magazines on the shelves at the Main Library (380 Second Avenue, 2nd Floor).
8. Persepolis
Based on the graphic novel of the same name, Persepolis is the coming-of-age story of a bold and precocious Iranian girl growing up during the Islamic Revolution. You can stream it online in our Sony Picture Classics collection. The SVA Library provides access to hundreds of movies via streaming video databases, which you can watch anytime online by logging in with your SVA credentials. Other streaming video databases you can explore include Projectr, Kanopy, and Swank.
Would you like to be a tiny Prince of the Cosmos rolling the world up into a sticky ball in hopes of rebuilding the universe? Then perhaps you would like to check out Katamari Damacy, which is just one of the many available games in the video games collection at Library West. You'll find everything from popular to independent titles for an array of systems. There's even a game room with PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and a circulating Switch.
10. Alice is Missing
Do you like role-playing games? Maybe you're familiar with Dungeons & Dragons, or maybe you're fully immersed in the vast and varied world of RPGs – in either case, Library West has an outstanding RPG collection waiting for you. Alice is Missing is a unique RPG in that it is conducted in total silence, via texts, as players unearth clues about the disappearance of a local high school student.
The Main SVA Library is located at 380 2nd Ave, 2nd Floor, and also contains the SVA Archives, as well as a computer lab equipped with 41 iMacs, six Cintiqs, three flatbed scanners, two book scanners, black-and-white and color printing, and the latest versions of Adobe CC, Maya and Final Cut Pro.
SVA Library West is located at 133/141 W 21st St on the lower level. The large lounge has comfortable workspaces and game room with Xboxes, Playstations and Steam/PC gaming systems. (You can also borrow a Switch!)
SVA Library’s Online Collections
The library’s online collections are always open! To get started, check out the Online Resources and Services guide for streaming films, digital magazines, e-books and image databases.
Got a question? Ask a Librarian, or call us at 212-592-2660. See you soon!
