Maryland ArtSource is the result of a long-standing cooperative tradition among Baltimore's art and research librarians who work together to inform students, faculty, researchers and lifelong learners about resources available locally regarding Maryland art and artists. Collaboration on Maryland ArtSource arose from informal discussions at conferences among our art librarian colleagues from the Baltimore Museum of Art, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland Institute College of Art and the Walters Art Museum. We contacted the Maryland Historical Society, Enoch Pratt Free Library, the Maryland State Department of Education's Division of Library Development & Services and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County to formalize our partnership and make plans for the future.

The concept of joining together to serve our diverse community of users was so compelling that we decided to promote the benefits of this information-sharing partnership through a dynamic, interactive Web site. To achieve this end, we decided to form a task-oriented group of professionals called BAROC [pronounced like BAROQUE], or the Baltimore Art Research & Outreach Consortium, to develop Maryland ArtSource.

Because individuals frequently come to our institutions with questions about Maryland art and artists, BAROC envisioned helping them to find all information relevant to their interest at the unique and widely varied library and museum collections in the Baltimore area. Better yet, we wanted to make a wealth of information available online so researchers would need not travel to our holding institutions at all; this way, even schoolchildren in the far reaches of the state and international scholars could benefit from exposure to the valuable contributions of the Maryland art community.

To serve our constituents better, we set out to design a number of features that would be most useful to them: an online 'library' containing profiles of Maryland artists; a series of virtual galleries containing images and information about works of art depicting Maryland or created by Maryland artists; and a resource about Maryland institutions, their collections and contact information.

BAROC began a search for funding for Maryland ArtSource, which was achieved through the generous support of several foundations and a federal agency, the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The funding enabled two smaller BAROC libraries, the Walters Art Museum and the Baltimore Museum of Art, to automate their library collections so users could access their holdings online. BAROC was also able to hire a Project Coordinator to guide the development of Maryland ArtSource, and to contract with a technology company to develop the site. We were on our way!

We hope you enjoy Maryland ArtSource and its offerings. As our project moves forward, the BAROC Partners plan to reach out to colleagues at additional Maryland educational, arts and cultural institutions so that our partnership model can help to promote their professional development and service to the public.