Type: Colleges and Universities



Library: Decker Library
Library Web site or Online Catalog: http://www.inside.mica.edu/library/library.html
Library Collection Highlights: The Decker Library of the Maryland Institute College of Art serves to support the academic mission of the college. The Decker Library houses a collection of 55,000 monographs, over half of which cover the visual arts. The Library includes a growing collection of artist's books, used to support the teaching of courses in artist's books, printmaking and photography.
Library Collection Strengths: Painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, graphic design, photography, illustration, artist's books
Library History: At its founding, the Maryland Institute established a library open to its "members, their sons and apprentices." There was a membership fee of $.25 per quarter. By 1866 the library held 4000 volumes and was open to senior members, ladies and junior members. By 1904 the library had grown to 20,000 volumes, but this wonderful collection was lost in the Baltimore fire. When the Maryland Institute reopened in its new home on Mt. Royal Avenue in 1908, an elegant wood-paneled library was a highlight of the building. In 1963, the College acquired the B & O Station, and library space was included in the conversion of the space to MICA use. Over the next 30 years, under the direction of John Stoneham, the library grew to be one of the outstanding art college library collections in the country. In 1975 the library was named and rededicated the Decker Library "for the many contributions the Deckers made to the Maryland Institute over the years." In 1997 the library moved to its current home at 1401 Mt. Royal Avenue.
Contact: Marianne Laino
Title: Reference Librarian
E-mail: mlaino@mica.edu
Telephone: 410-225-2715
Fax: 410-225-2316
Mailing Address: Decker Library, 1401 Mt. Royal Ave., Baltimore, MD 21217-4191



Institution Highlights: The Maryland Institute College of Art, which celebrated its 175th anniversary in 2001, has consistently been ranked among the top tier of visual arts undergraduate and graduate programs in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its academic standing, MICA is recognized throughout the Baltimore-Washington region as a cultural resource, sponsoring many public and community-outreach programs, including more than 100 exhibitions by students, faculty, and nationally and internationally known artists annually as well as artist residencies, film series, lecture, and poetry readings. The host institution for the exhibitions of Baltimore's summer arts festival - Artscape - MICA is one of the few major visual arts institutions in Baltimore where all exhibitions are free and open to the public.

The Maryland Institute College of Art offers BFA programs in Ceramics, Drawing, Environmental Design, Experimental Animation, Fiber, General Fine Arts, General Sculptural Studies, Graphic Design, Illustration, Interactive Media, Painting, Photography Printmaking, Sculpture, Video.
Institution History: The Maryland Institute College of Art, founded as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of Mechanical Arts in 1826 by a group of local businessmen and philanthropists, was patterned on the existing mechanics' institutes in England. In 1848 a School of Design and a School of Fine Arts were added to the original Mechanical Arts program.
Institution Web site: http://www.mica.edu