Founded in 1976, Art monthly is Britain’s oldest contemporary art magazine. It is impossible, and perhaps even unwise, to try to account for the magazine’s longevity, but a contributing factor may be the high degree of continuity between the past and present that is reflected in the loyalty of Art monthly’s readership and of its writers and regular contributors. This does not mean that the magazine has not changed at all; on the contrary. That Art monthly has adapted and responded to shifts in the art world over the years is reflected, for instance, in the large number of student subscribers to the magazine. However, change has been introduced gradually and in a manner in keeping with the founding ethos of the magazine. This is what is meant by ‘the gentle art of staying the same while changing utterly’ – the subheading for this article, and of the talk on which it is based.

As the world of information resources becomes more and more digital, what is the role of special collections in libraries? This paper highlights their growing importance as unique and distinctive assets in an increasingly levelled landscape. It also stresses the value of opening up access to these collections through large-scale digitisation, reflecting on the role the profession should play in leading that work.

This paper describes and evaluates the information-seeking behaviour of young people in the virtual environment. Data are drawn from a JISC/BL funded project on the future scholar and a seven-year study of the virtual scholar conducted by CIBER at University College London. Hundreds of thousands of young people, mainly students, from all over the globe, are covered in the log analyses. On the basis of these data, the characteristics of their ‘digital footprints’ are drawn, demonstrating the huge paradigm shift that has occurred in the information seeking of young scholars. The results are surprising, disturbing and challenging and the author concludes with a discussion of how information professionals and the arts and humanities community in general might best meet young people’s information needs.

Over the last decade, most libraries, archives and museums have undertaken some form of digitisation project, making digital surrogates of their collections available for users. We are now at a stage where we must ask: how are these resources being used? Why are they used, and by whom? Does digitisation live up to its rhetoric of improving scholarship, and improving access?

The planning and design of library spaces is changing radically in the light of increased expectations, developments in teaching and learning, and the growth of electronic resources. The need for physical space in the age of the virtual library has been questioned, but in recent years there has been a plethora of bigger and better library buildings. This paper considers the drivers for change in library building design, the importance of good communication between librarians and architects, and the underpinning criteria for good design both of the building as a whole and of the fixtures and fittings within. Modern libraries must respond to social, pedagogical and technological changes, and librarians, in collaboration with architects and institutional administrators, must design inspirational and practical buildings fit for 21st-century use.

The author of this article set up one of the first materials libraries in the UK, and here discusses her work in researching and sourcing materials and products for use in design disciplines, both in academic institutions and in private practice. The article describes the practical and changing tools of materials research, recommending trade fairs and journals, commercial materials libraries, specialist books on materials and electronic sources including blogs. It lists industries at the cutting edge in developing innovative materials, and gives advice about the best way to approach companies for information as well as the practical aspects of keeping samples and literature.

This article describes some unusual ways of working with the special collections in the University of Southampton Library of Winchester School of Art. Two of these collections have proved particularly fruitful: numerous successful activities centred on the Knitting Reference Library have aroused great interest, and there is now a strategic aim of making it the primary research resource for knitting for artists, students, and researchers in the University, and also for the wider community locally, nationally and globally. The contents of the Artists’ Books Collection too are being shared with a new audience, through exhibitions, events and participation at artists’ books fairs.