Introduction to Controlled Vocabularies

Introduction to Controlled Vocabularies
Author: Patricia Harpring
Publisher: Getty Publications
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2010-04-13
Genre: Art
ISBN: 160606018X

This detailed book is a “how-to” guide to building controlled vocabulary tools, cataloging and indexing cultural materials with terms and names from controlled vocabularies, and using vocabularies in search engines and databases to enhance discovery and retrieval online. Also covered are the following: What are controlled vocabularies and why are they useful? Which vocabularies exist for cataloging art and cultural objects? How should they be integrated in a cataloging system? How should they be used for indexing and for retrieval? How should an institution construct a local authority file? The links in a controlled vocabulary ensure that relationships are defined and maintained for both cataloging and retrieval, clarifying whether a rose window and a Catherine wheel are the same thing, or how pot-metal glass is related to the more general term stained glass. The book provides organizations and individuals with a practical tool for creating and implementing vocabularies as reference tools, sources of documentation, and powerful enhancements for online searching.

Introduction to Object ID

Introduction to Object ID
Author: Robin Thornes
Publisher: Getty Publications
Total Pages: 73
Release: 2000-02-03
Genre: Art
ISBN: 0892365722

The illicit trade in art and other cultural objects now constitutes one of the most prevalent categories of international crime. Law-enforcement agencies have long recognized that documentation is critical to the protection and recovery of these objects. Standards were needed that would make it possible for information on stolen objects to move easily across electronic networks and, at the same time, that would be intelligible to law enforcement and art communities alike. Developed through the collaboration of museums, police and customs agencies, the art trade, the insurance industry, and appraisers of art and antiques, Object ID is an international standard that defines the minimal information needed to identify art, antiques, and antiquities. Introduction to Object ID summarizes the evolution of Object ID, explains its nine categories, and offers guidelines for using them. The book provides suggestions for writing descriptions of objects and includes a brief discussion of five additional categories that some institutions opt to employ. The second part of the book sets out guidelines for choosing viewpoints, selecting backgrounds, and positioning lighting when documenting cultural objects with photography. The Introduction to series acquaints professionals and students with the complex issues and technologies in the production, management, and dissemination of cultural heritage information resources.

Organization, Representation and Description through the Digital Age

Organization, Representation and Description through the Digital Age
Author: Christine M. Angel
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 406
Release: 2018-03-05
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 3110395991

Cataloging standards practiced within the traditional library, archive and museum environments are not interoperable for the retrieval of objects within the shared online environment. Within today’s information environments, library, archive and museum professionals are becoming aware that all information objects can be linked together. In this way, information professionals have the opportunity to collaborate and share data together with the shard online cataloging environment, the end result being improved retrieval effectiveness. But the adaptation has been slow: Libraries, archives and museums are still operating within their own community-specific cataloging practices. This book provides a historical perspective of the evolution of linking devices within the library, archive, and museums environments, and captures current cataloging practices in these fields. It offers suggestions for moving beyond community-specific cataloging principles and thus has the potential of becoming a springboard for further conversation and the sharing of ideas.

Checklist of Painters from 1200-1994

Checklist of Painters from 1200-1994
Author: Witt Library of the Courtauld Institute
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 576
Release: 2014-06-03
Genre: History
ISBN: 1134264062

The Witt Library of the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, is one of the world's greatest art history libraries. It contains some 1.7 million illustrations of the work of painters, draughtsmen, and engravers of the Western tradition, all of whom have been indexed by name, dates, and nationality. This new second edition of the Checklist of Painters is a transcription of the Witt index as it currently exists. The names of 66,000 artists, their dates, and their nationality (or school) are reproduced in alphabetical order. The Checklist of Painters is probably the most exhaustive work of its kind in existence; it now lists all painters (known by art historians) to have lived and worked from the year 1200 to 1994. It will be an important reference text in the art history collection of any public, academic, or professional library.

Guide to Reference in Genealogy and Biography

Guide to Reference in Genealogy and Biography
Author: Mary K. Mannix
Publisher: American Library Association
Total Pages: 609
Release: 2015-01-14
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0838912966

Profiling more than 1400 print and electronic sources, this book helps connect librarians and researchers to the most relevant sources of information in genealogy and biography.

Reference and Information Services

Reference and Information Services
Author: Kay Ann Cassell
Publisher: American Library Association
Total Pages: 537
Release: 2023-01-17
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 083893644X

From the ongoing flood of misinformation to the swift changes occasioned by the pandemic, a myriad of factors is spurring our profession to rethink reference services. Luckily, this classic text is back in a newly overhauled edition that thoughtfully addresses the evolving reference landscape. Designed to complement every introductory library reference course, Cassell and Hiremath's book also serves as the perfect resource to guide current practitioners in their day-to-day work. It teaches failsafe methods for identifying important materials by matching specific types of questions to the best available sources, regardless of format. Guided by a national advisory board of educators and experts, this thoroughly updated text presents chapters covering fundamental concepts, major reference sources, and special topics while also offering fresh insights on timely issues, including a basic template for the skills required and expectations demanded of the reference librarian; the pandemic’s effect on reference services and how the ingenuity employed by libraries in providing remote and virtual reference is here to stay; a new chapter dedicated to health information, with a special focus on health equity and information sources; selecting and evaluating reference materials, with strategies for keeping up to date; a heightened emphasis on techniques for evaluating sources for misinformation and ways to give library users the tools to discern facts vs. “fake facts”; reference as programming, readers’ advisory services, developmentally appropriate material for children and young adults, and information literacy; evidence-based guidance on handling microaggressions in reference interactions, featuring discussions of cultural humility and competence alongside recommended resources on implicit bias; managing, assessing, and improving reference services; and the future of information and reference services, encapsulating existing models, materials, and services to project possible evolutions in the dynamic world of reference

Cataloging Cultural Objects

Cataloging Cultural Objects
Author: Murtha Baca
Publisher: American Library Association
Total Pages: 420
Release: 2006-06-12
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9780838935644

In a visual and artifact-filled world, cataloging one-of-a-kind cultural objects without published guidelines and standards has been a challenge. Now for the first time, under the leadership of the Visual Resources Association, a cross-section of five visual and cultural heritage experts, along with scores of reviewers from varied institutions, have created a new data content standard focused on cultural materials. This cutting-edge reference offers practical resources for cataloging and flexibility to meet the needs of a wide range of institutions—from libraries to museums to archives. Consistently following these guidelines for selecting, ordering, and formatting data used to populate metadata elements in cultural materials' catalog records: Promotes good descriptive cataloging and reduces redundancy Builds a foundation of shared documentation Creates data sharing opportunities Enhances end-user access across institutional boundaries Complements existing standards (AACR) This is a must-have reference for museum professionals, visual resources curators, archivists, librarians and anyone who documents cultural objects (including architecture, paintings, sculpture, prints, manuscripts, photographs, visual media, performance art, archaeological sites, and artifacts) and their images.