Handout to accompany "Avant-Garde Cataloging"

1. Rachel “Ivy” Clarke, Cataloger
Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising
rclarke@fidm.com · http://archivy.net
What is avant-garde?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avant-garde
What is the purpose of cataloging?
 Find, identify, select and obtain materials within a collection
http://archive.ifla.org/VII/s13/icc/imeicc-statement_of_principles-2008.pdf
Cataloging is a user service.
 The convenience of the user is the highest priority when developing cataloging standards.
What are artistic patrons looking for, and how are they looking for it?
 Information needs1
 Inspiration
 Specific visual needs
 Technical knowledge (“how-to”)
 Marketing and career guidance
 Current trends and events
 Information-seeking behavior2
 Visual and physical collection browsing
 Visual information over textual formats
 Human reference assistance rather than self-navigated catalogs and indexes
Where current standards fall short
 Disparate media and material types
 Unfamiliar classification and vocabulary
 Focus on text-based & known-item searching
 Failure to incorporate IFLA criteria
 Lacks of arts context, focus
Bridging the gap
 Include all material types
 Audiovisuals, vertical files, ephemera, digital and multimedia materials, slides
 Support physical browsing
 Arts-friendly classification systems
BISAC
ColorMarq (http://www.colormarq.com)
Tweaking standard classification (DDC, LCC)
 Support virtual browsing
 Visual and interactive interfaces
FIDM (http://meri.fidm.com)
CalArts (http://calarts.edu/library)
Ringling (http://www.ringling.edu/index.php?id=147)
Indianapolis Museum of Art Dashboard (http://dashboard.imamuseum.org/)
1
Hemming, W. S. (2008). The information-seeking behavior of visual artists: a literature review. Journal of Documentation, (64)3,
343-362.
2
Joan M. Day and Elizabeth McDowell, “Information needs and use of art and design students,” Education Libraries Bulletin, 28, No.
3 (1985): 31-41.

2.  Enhanced metadata
 Notes, tables of contents, keywords, summaries, indexes, images
Ask Clarence from Oberlin3 (http://www.oberlin.edu/library/art/askclarence.html)
Tricia Burmeister’s image index (http://tburmeister.wordpress.com/)
 Improved subject access
 Specialized vocabularies
AAT (http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/vocabularies/aat/)
ULAN (http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/vocabularies/ulan/)
CONA (a work in progress—get involved!)
(http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/vocabularies/contribute.html#cona)
ICONCLASS (http://www.iconclass.nl/)
Veer (http://veer.com)
Material for this presentation was based loosely on the author’s "Cataloging and Classification for Art and
Design School Libraries: Challenges and Considerations." In Glassman, Paul and Gluibizzi, Amanda (eds.)
Handbook of Art and Design Librarianship for Higher Education, London: Facet (in press, forthcoming May
2010).
Further suggested reading
Baca, Murtha. “Fear of Authority? Authority Control and Thesaurus Building for Art and Material Culture
Information,” Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 38, no. 3/4 (2004), pp. 143-151.
Challener, Jacquelyn. “Information-Seeking Behavior of Professors of Art History and Studio Art,” Master's
thesis, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, 1999, p. 34.
Cobbledick, Susie. “The Information Seeking Behavior of Artists: Exploratory Interviews,” The Library
Quarterly, 66, no. 4 (1996), pp. 343-372.
Cowan, Sandra. “Informing Visual Poetry: information Needs and Sources of Artists.” Art Documentation 23,
no. 2 (2004): 14-20.
Downey, Maria. “Information-Seeking Practices of Artists in the Academic Community,” MLS thesis, Kent
State University, Kent, Ohio, 1993.
Frank, Polly. “Student Artists in the Library: An Investigation of How They Use General Academic Libraries
for Their Creative Needs,” The Journal of Academic Librarianship 25, no. 6 (Nov. 1999), pp. 445-455.
Fry, Eileen. “Of Torquetums, Flute Cases, and Puff Sleeves: A Study in Folksonomic and Expert Image
Tagging,” Art Documentation 26, no. 1 (2007), pp. 21-25.
Gardner, Sue Ann. “The Changing Landscape of Contemporary Cataloging,” Cataloging & Classification
Quarterly 45, no. 4 (2008), pp. 81-99.
Gilchrest, Alison. “Factors Affecting Controlled Vocabulary Usage in Art Museum Information Systems,” Art
Documentation 22, no. 1 (2003), pp. 13-20.
Oldal, Maria. “Using Alternate Vocabularies in Art Cataloging,” Art Documentation 21, no. 1 (2002), pp. 7-14.
Pacey, P. “How Art Students Use Libraries,” in A Reader in Art Librarianship (New York: Saur, 1985), p. 53-5.
Powell, Elaine F. “Information Seeking Behavior of Studio Artists,” Master's thesis, UNC Chapel Hill, 1995.
Rose, Trish. “Technology's Impact on the Information-Seeking Behavior of Art Historians,” Art Documentation
21, no. 1 (2002), pp. 35-42.
Stam, Deirdre. “How Art Historians Look for Information,” Art Documentation 16, no. 2 (1997), pp. 27-30.
Sundt, Christine L.. “The Image User and the Search for Images,” in Introduction to Art Image Access: Issues,
Tools, Standards, Strategies (Los Angeles: Getty Publications, 2002), pp. 67-85.
3
Prior, Barbara Q. “Library Catalog as Reader's Guide? Two Stories and a Problem,” Art Documentation 23, no. 1 (2004), pp. 21-25.