This article looks at the contributions that historical photograph collections can make to people’s lives, by examining the ideas that museums, archives and libraries explore and apply in the management of such collections. For instance, the theme of the photograph as an historical record of events will be used to examine the archivist’s approach; the photograph as a source of information for learning or enjoyment will introduce theories developed by the library community; and the value of the photograph as a physical object will form the basis for looking at how museums approach our vast and challenging photographic heritage.

My mother-in-law thought I had been arrested; my boss called me paranoid, but there were even more surprising aspects of the Dr Drewe case. This is the story of a con-man who fooled the art world with paintings executed in household emulsion, backed by cut-and-paste photocopies serving as provenance. It sounds incredible but it could happen to any library or archive.

The National Trust’s many historic buildings range from country houses to vernacular architecture, industrial archaeology and literary shrines. More than 150 of these properties contain books, for the most part the historic collections of their original owners. Though, in common with other heritage bodies, the Trust has been rather slow to realise the importance of its books, these libraries together represent something equivalent to the rare books collection of a national library. They are an incomparable though extremely fragile resource for the history of private book ownership, besides containing many rare books, and others of great beauty and interest.

The Library & Archives at Kew hold one of the world’s greatest collections of botanical illustration, assembled over the last 200 years. A resource well-known to the natural history community, it contains much to interest art historians. Using this historically rich heritage our forward thinking includes acquisition of more contemporary items and the formulation of a digital strategy for 21st-century access and exploitation.

Professional associations serve to underpin the work of libraries and of individual librarians. This paper considers the roles associations fulfil in general and goes on to examine in particular the international network of art library societies. Focusing on ARLIS/UK & Ireland, it outlines recent developments within the structure of the Society which have arisen from the needs of an active membership and a changing professional agenda.

Art libraries acquire a large amount of ephemeral material which creates a unique resource on the history of contemporary art. Librarians have to decide what should be retained, how it should be stored, and how the material can best be accessed. Increasingly there is pressure to digitise in order to promote collections, but how effective this process is in terms of ephemeral material remains a real question. A survey of prominent collections in London and New York has helped to inform future plans for the ephemera held by the library at Chelsea College of Art & Design.