The Perpich Center for Arts Education Library (Golden Valley, MN) is a small library located in Perpich Arts High School. We are here to serve students of Perpich Arts High School as well as residents of the state of Minnesota. The Library provide materials and reference services on specialized topics related to arts and arts education for arts educators, artists, and others in the general public who are interested in our unique resources.

A.R.T. Library Program Questionnaire gathers insights from librarians and publishers within the Program's distribution network to reconsider and reflect on what it means to make art books public today.

• How would you define the main role the library plays in your community?

We are a Minnesota state agency library run which serves the students of Perpich Arts High School and the people of Minnesota - specifically teaching artists and arts educators - although anyone 18 and up who lives in Minnesota can check out our materials. We provide resources mostly related to the arts and arts education, but also have an extensive collection of fiction, graphic novels, and diverse picture books.

• How would you define your responsibility as a librarian/teacher?

My job is to encourage information literacy, inspire the joy of reading and discovery via various sources of information (books, media, online), and provide a welcoming space.

• When was the first time you participated in the A.R.T. Library Program? Do you participate yearly?

Since 2012. And yes, I participate yearly.

• What do art books provide that other books might not? Why is it important for your institution to make art books available?

My school is an arts high school with art areas in visual arts, media arts, literary arts, dance, theater, and music. It is especially important for the visual/media arts students to have access to art books which represent many points of view. Students interact differently with books than they do with art on the internet and having physical books around helps them discover art they might not have discovered on their own. The images in the book feel much more intimate than images on the internet. A.R.T. offers books that I myself wouldn't have considered purchasing because I hadn't heard of the artist until discovering it on its catalog. They are also books that many of the libraries in my state do not own, so I am providing materials to the entire state of Minnesota that the public did not previously have access to.