Copyright (C) 1994 by Lesley Anne Bell This document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system and transmitted in any form (humanly possible) by any means. The author requests that the text retain its current integrity and credit be given her if used. Any comments or suggestions can be directed to labell@spartan.ac.brocku.ca. They will be welcomed by the author. GAINING ACCESS TO VISUAL INFORMATION Theory, Analysis and Practice of Determining Subjects A Review of the Literature with Descriptive Abstracts compiled by Lesley Anne Bell produced as an Independent Study and fulfilment of course requirements for the Graduate School of Library and Information Science University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada August, 1993 Independent Faculty Advisor: Elizabeth Dolan, MA, PhD (Columbia) Supervisor: Brenda MacEachern, BA, MLIS (UWO) GAINING ACCESS TO VISUAL INFORMATION A Review of the Literature with Descriptive Abstracts PREFACE The purpose of this bibliography is to gather useful and stimulating written works that discuss the cataloguing and indexing of visual information. These works deal, in particular, with the provision of subject access to works in the field of art. Articles published in professional journals have been selected, rather than monographs, although a selection of published subject cataloguing tools are listed separately after the indexes. Most information on the subject of art is communicated by means of text. However, art ideas and expressions are intended to be understood visually. Just as text, a work of art embodies or contains a concept. The study of art focuses upon both art objects and art in reproduction, as containers of information. When people want to discuss art ideas, however, they use words. Gaining access to a collection of art or art reproductions is problematic when the art ideas or the visual contents of the work are not indexed, or translated into a textual form. As one author, Sara Shatford (abstract no. 4) explains, we can know what these works are of, but how do we know what they are about? This survey of the literature, then, specifically examines the unique problems and issues in working with 'still' images, such as original art works: paintings, drawings, graphic imagery, sculpture; and as surrogates of original art works in the forms of reproductions, photographs and slides. i With this in mind, some articles have been chosen for their definition of the unique problems associated with cataloging art. Among the articles examined are those concerned with the nature of art and the nature of language, the theoretical approach to subject analysis in general, the intellectual problems associated with this work, the description of various tools for assisting in providing subject access, and projects that apply a methodology. The guiding impulse behind each of these activities is providing for the visual information needs of people and the art community in particular. THE UNIQUE PROBLEMS OF ART INFORMATION Cataloguing is a process of describing an item based on its physical evidence, as a vessel or container: what does it say it is? what does it call itself? Printed materials speak for themselves, in terms of identity of their physicality, with titles and often with stated creators. Indexing reaches deeper into the item, analyses what is within: what are the identifiable parts? what are the actual contents? Subject 'access' terms can be generated from this process as a list of people or events or things that the item says it contains information of. But does such an identity and such a list of parts actually say what the item is about? Subject analysis is the study of an item to determine a quality that is essentially an intellectual and subjective decision by cataloguers and indexers, in order to describe what the physical evidence intends. The words chosen to represent concepts attempt to embrace the essential expression or meaning of the work. Subject analysis is a process of translation, then, from one expressive form to another. In the case of monographs, which are already textual, the form does not essentially change. ii There are distinct differences between items that are literary and items that are visual. When analyzing a work of art, either as an object or as a surrogate for the original, other considerations need to be made. The process of translation into text is a difficult bridge to build. Even description of the physical aspects of a work of art or of a reproduction can be problematic. Works of art are mute: they often lack attribution, lack titles, or have no permanent location. There is no known formula to fix identity. Subject terms that are chosen to address the contents of an art work, then, are words chosen to identify the main elements, or the action. Further subject analysis is the attempt to assign meaning of the whole. As Michael Krause (abstract no. 1) states, it is the meaning of the image that users are seeking, be it emotion, political fact, or the styles of 17th century houses. The words or concepts that are chosen are important decisions that determine how users will, in turn, decide if this item contains what they need. Many articles address the needs of users for art information. The importance of providing subject access to visual information has been recognized as a necessity. Users of art information are more frequently people from outside art's traditional boundaries. Several authors point out that the use of computers has dissolved what were once sharply divided disciplines or areas of knowledge. Computers have made it possible for information about art collections to be exchanged. This can be a daunting task, as each curator faces the fact that their translations of visual information into textual identifiers and descriptors does not necessarily match the choices made by their colleagues in other situations. In other words, collections speak their own dialects. Many, almost all, of the articles describe this situation. The reader will find references to several key projects involved in creating a common tongue for art information. The process of 'mapping' manual art catalogues to the computer environment has challenged visual collections because of the immensity of information that can now be stored and retrieved. As visual curators work to iron out their differences and systematize their process, the expanding capacity of technology offers an increasingly widening horizon. FEATURES OF THIS LITERATURE REVIEW Form This bibliography is a collection of descriptive abstracts. Each citation is accompanied by a quotation from the text that has been chosen to encapsulate the main idea, or one of the ideas, covered by the author of the article. The quotes are intended to intrigue the reader intellectually. The abstract is a precis of the ideas that appeared as particularly strong, interesting, aspects of specific issues. Every article has been read by the compiler, in its entirety. Whether the references, notes or bibliographies of an article were short or extensive, their presence has been noted. When the author presents an impressive list, this has been emphasized. The citations are divided into four categories, but all are numbered sequentially. Three indexes are included, and are keyed to these numbers. The first index is a general subject index. The second is a more specific key to names of projects, programs, associations and institutions mentioned in the citations. The third is a list of authors responsible for these articles. Where two authors have been named, both are listed. Following the iv indices is a list of publications that are tools or sources to assist in subject access. For the most part, these latter publications are recently published. Scope This bibliography began with the intent to focus upon the provision of subject access to visual information: works of art and their surrogates in collections of museums, archives, libraries and visual resource centres. It was to include theory behind the work, issues behind the decisions, possibilities behind the problems. It then became apparent that the scope of this bibliography must widen. A wealth of information exists about the intellectual activity of cataloguing of visual information in general, not necessarily art information. Our culture is intensely dependent on visual communication. Images convey powerful cultural messages. The information world is having to grapple, more and more, with the processing of non-textual information. This is why articles that describe the capacities of the newer electronic technologies to store and retrieve images are included. The possibilities offered by these imaging systems are relevant to the process of dealing with art information. Perhaps it is here, that the ideas of art specialists and technology experts will converge. Imaging technology offers the art information community the ability to communicate images as images. However, those who have been working for years in the translation of art into textual concepts, have the ability and the experience to appraise intelligently the visual information for textual access. v Use Those who work with non-book materials, specifically 'still' images, will find their ideas shared by authors in these articles. Persons who find that most information on subject access covers literary or textual information, will find references to visual information activities. Those who want to know about the work being done to standardize art information, will find descriptions and evaluations of programs and tools. The scope of the articles spans the last twenty years, with an emphasis on the last ten. Work done within the computer environment is a constant through most of these articles. Readers will find ideas that they now recognize as dated in terms of the technology. However, history, especially art history, is about the flow of ideas, time-specific but not time-limited. Earlier ideas can be appraised as seedlings; they can be valued as ideas worth re/viewing. Intent This review is intensely subjective, the choice of what to include and what to summarize has been, to a great extent, intuitive (though some might argue, idiosyncratic). In no way can this list promise to be a homogenous survey of the literature. In no way is it complete. What is intended is to provide readers with a number of starting points for their own investigations. Whether they are interested in art information or visuals as data, the articles examined represent the interesting and issue-laden activity of providing subject access to images that cannot be easily given form as text. Lesley A. Bell August, 1993. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i. THE UNIQUE PROBLEMS OF ART INFORMATION ii. FEATURES OF THIS LITERATURE REVIEW . . iv. Form . . iv. Scope . . v. Use . . . vi. Intent . vi. SUBJECT ANALYSIS: THEORY & APPLICATION 1. TOOLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12. PROJECTS & PROGRAMS . . . . . . . . . . 34. TECHNOLOGY AND INFORMATION THEORY . . . 44. INDEXES (not numbered) Subjects Names Authors PUBLISHED TOOLS AND SOURCES A: SUBJECT ANALYSIS - THEORY AND APPLICATION 1./ Krause, Michael G. 1988. Intellectual problems of indexing picture collections. Audiovisual Librarian v14 n2 (May): 73-81. "the deeper one looks at an image, the closer one gets to indexing meaning" (81). The intellectual problems of indexing are not in the particular indexing system, but in its application, when defining the subject matter of a picture. Indexers perform the intellectual act of choosing headings for access. They ask: how will I determine entry? what is the primary subject matter? what is the point of the picture? The author notes that when defining aspects of the item, indexing librarians tend to avoid dealing with meaning. Because pictures are indexed with natural language, the access terms chosen by indexer become a subjective comment on the meaning of the work. In effect, indexers do define the meaning which in turn defines how users will retrieve the image. The author suggests alternate kinds of headings that, with a broader definition of meaning, will increase the value for users. Using architectural illustration, the author provides an indexing exercise in order to demonstrate that deeper study of the picture will lead the indexer to choosing an array of terms that index more meaningfully. Closer study will also reveal broader uses the picture could be put to, and will assist retrieval with a wider selection of subject terms. 2./ Roberts, Helene. 1985. Visual resources: proposals for an ideal network. Art Libraries Journal v10 n3 (Autumn): 32- 40. "The task of providing an intellectual structure, as well as a visual data bank for the world's art is immense. That curators, art historians, and librarians should even contemplate the creation of such a network at times seems Quixotic" (40). The introduction describes the practice of Aby Warburg, who, in 1924, devised the prototype for the art historical lecture format. Since then, instructive formats project slides and show images simultaneously in order to support the narrative of a visual argument. The potential offered by the computer offers the ability for the user to manipulate a database of images. This vision is proposed as the ideal network, which is a model for access to visual reproductions in books and in other formats. Users would be able to retrieve visual materials by their indexed characteristics for the purpose of setting up a visual dialogue for comparing and contrasting. There are still difficulties in providing even a basic description for an image of a work of art, whether in a book or on a slide, because of the nature of art works. Works of art have an uncertain identity: a painting or sculpture seldom records its own title. Lacking an ISBN number, the work of art is still its own fingerprint. Although technology is capable, the barriers to the ideal network are: developing comprehensive records for all works of art, attention to iconographic indexing, and needed standards for indexing categories. This undertaking will require the cooperation of the entire art historical community. 3./ Shatford, Sara. 1984. Describing a picture: a thousand words are seldom cost effective. Cataloging & Classification Quarterly v4 n4 (Summer): 13-29 "One can conceive of a picture as a series of layers, or boxes within boxes ..." (18). Defining the subject of a picture is not simple. Pictures are often representations of actual works and they have elements of description that are unique to them. Where cataloguers of books and cataloguers of visual materials share a common objective, to describe and catalog their materials, there are essential differences between the 'literary' and the 'pictorial' - rules cannot be common for both. The search must be for compatible, rather than similar rules. The author presents a theoretical basis for the process of descriptive cataloging of pictures. Works of art are represented by surrogates, which are in themselves objects. The represented work is a layer upon the work of art and has its own meanings. In other words, one catalogues the subject of a work, the work represented in another work (a reproduction) and the work itself. These layers of access need to be understood by cataloguers. The author believes that understanding the unique properties of pictures will assist cataloguers to evaluate, adapt and apply present codes for books when cataloging visuals, or devising new codes and formats. includes bibliography. 4./ Shatford, Sara. 1986. Analyzing the subject of a picture: a theoretical approach. Cataloging & Classification Quarterly v6 n3 (Spring): 39-62 "As the sense of a word is associated with a number of individual images (referents), so too is a single image (referent) associated with many possible senses. In analyzing the subjects of a picture, we are really trying to determine the possible senses of the referents before us" (46). Several theories are presented, including some linguistic theory and extensive coverage of the theories of levels of meaning put forward by art historian Erwin Panofsky in 1962. The latter is developed with examples by the author to demonstrate that meaning is distinct from description, that what the picture is 'of' is separate from what the picture is 'about'. Panofsky's three levels of meaning can also represent three distinct orientations of users, to the content of the image. A picture is a referent to many subjects: the subjects that a picture can have depends on the user and their own orientation to the subject. Current thesauri and codes that cover selection of terms for subject retrieval do not provide principles for subject access to representational images, such as photos, slides, prints, and other 2-D static images. The author believes that a theoretical basis for subject description will suggest general principles that could be used to provide subject access for users. Subject access is related to the use of the picture: why is this picture needed? How could this picture be used? includes bibliography, pp. 60-62. 5./ Reynolds, Sally Jo. 1989. In theory there is no solution: the impediments to a subject cataloging code. Library Quarterly v59 n3 (July): 223-238. "A topical subject is not an identifiable entity like a name; it is defined by individual perceptions that we do not understand and cannot describe" (234). This article focuses on the assignment of subject terms to textual materials, and it clearly describes the problems of subject access, when using existing guidelines provided by LCSH. It also discusses relevant ideas namely, the nature of subject, and the process of subject cataloging. Lacking a subject cataloging code, librarians find that LC Subject Headings do not provide the necessary guidance for cataloguers that is provided for descriptive cataloging by the AACR. LCSH's pre-coordinated heading strings are also problematic for users. The author thinks that it is time for a distinct code for subject access. Current obstacles to the development of a separate code are librarians' still diverging goals and objectives for a subject catalog, and unresolved philosophical issues. Further to this, the author describes the mental process of subject cataloging: the role that is now played by insight, not by analysis. Failing the development of a subject cataloging code, the author suggests steps to make the operation of subject cataloging using LCSH more rational. includes bibliography, pp 236-38. 6./ Snow, Maryly. 1990. Visual depictions and the use of MARC: a view from the trenches of slide librarianship, in Beyond the book: extending MARC for subject access, Toni Petersen and Pat Moholt, eds. Boston: G.K. Hall & Co. pp. 225-235. "The power, strength and uniqueness of slide libraries reside in their bringing together thousands of individual images into a classified arrangement, and not in collections of slide sets ..." (226). The MARC format allows shared cataloging and the integration of book and, increasingly, non-book items in the online catalog. Slide libraries are presently excluded from this ability for several reasons. Current cataloging codes and manuals for graphic description do not recognize the fact that slide librarians catalog not the slide itself, but what is depicted in the slide. Copy slides are surrogates for original works, or specific places in time. Working without a standard or code (as in the case of books and graphic materials), slide libraries catalog images that they possess only as reproductions. The benefits of opening national bibliographic utilities to the subjects of visual depictions is explored. Linking images and their bibliographic sources would enhance reference work and scholarship. This would constitute a national visual index. The library-specific nature of MARC, and the difficulty of 'mapping' existing databases to MARC are described as limitations for slide libraries. There is also a need for a standard for cataloging visual depictions. includes bibliography. 7./ Freeman, Carla Conrad. 1990. Postmodern art: approaches to slide classification. Visual Resources Association Bulletin v16 n4 (Winter): 30-32. "Classification has always bothered people interested in visual art ... if one can know where a work of art 'belongs', one can diminish its challenge to the imagination and to the emotions" - Max Kozloff, 1968 (30). Philosophically, visual resource librarians label a work of art when they provide access to its associated documentary material. However, the classification of a slide or a photograph is not the same as classifying a work of art itself - the process is intended to make finding the document easier. The lack of a unified classification scheme for art work has permitted visual resource curators to create unique systems that suit the needs of their own collections and users. Given the changeable nature of contemporary art, a flexible and responsive system seems best. Various slide organization systems are surveyed for the ways that they classify contemporary art information. Curators search for terms that express the newest forms of art since 1945. One system divides art into 2, 3 and 4 dimensional works. The increasing variety of art works and the needs of the users guide these choices of categories. includes bibliography of contemporary art sources. 8./ Lucker, Amy. 1988. The right words: controlled vocabulary and standards (an editorial). Art Documentation v7 n1 (Spring): 19-20. "... art catalogers and indexers ... have thus reached a point of desiring, and actively needing, subject-specific vocabulary which can be considered standard and can be shared across databases" (19). The increased dependence on automated services for most aspects of their work have caused art indexers and catalogers to seek possibilities of reaching across their own databases to share information. Many art libraries have already developed their own subject-specific organization and collection-based vocabularies. Unless they can adapt their records to a communication format, such as MARC, sharing is not possible. Another barrier is the inability to share database information via cataloging and indexing utilities. These utilities will accept only LC subject headings as standard terminology. LCSH terms lack the subject- specificity of the newer art thesauri, such as the Art and Architecture Thesaurus and the LC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials. How even these two new tools can work together is not yet clear. Art catalogers and indexers need a common subject- specific vocabulary that also functions as a standard vocabulary and makes sharing of information through the utilities possible. 9./ Small, Jocelyn Penny. 1991. Retrieving images verbally: no more key words and other heresies. Library Hi Tech v9 n1 (Issue 33): 51-60. "I don't just want information about objects. I want bibliography. I want literary sources. I want articles. I want books. I want pictures. All on-line. All with one searching engine" (59). In this exuberant and often humorous article, the author defines the problems associated with art scholarly interpretation. She describes her image library's cataloging system and its methods of making this mutable information retrievable. The problems that arise when cataloging this information are problems surrounding the use of words. Because words are the medium around which a database is designed, the author presents a list of principles, with corollaries, for structuring textual art information data. She posits that, were this structured database to reside on top of a regular text retrieval base, the user would benefit from a more full and accurate recall. This is what she calls, the all-in-one Computerized Humanities Emporium. The principles and corollaries that accompany the text show keen insight into the work of art cataloging, with some irreverent and iconoclastic propositions. includes bibliography. 10./ Stam, Deirdre C. 1989. The quest for a code, or a brief history of the computerized cataloging of art objects. Art Documentation v8 n1 (Spring): 7-15. "Like the legendary pursuit of the Holy Grail, a quest which ... resulted in increased knowledge but no grail, the art community's strivings for a cataloging code for objects has resulted in increased sophistication but still no code" (7). This article focuses on the art community's efforts to devise a cataloging code for art objects. This detailed study of the movement bears reading for its survey of the issues of automation, of language, art- specificity, varying user needs and of course the determination to somehow codify art cataloging. The attempts to amalgamate the efforts of art catalogers began in the late 1960s. The author describes local and international work towards unity. The Museum Computer Network (MCN) was, through the promise of technology, one of the first associations to realize this potential. From the unification sensibility of the 60s to the multiplicity of the 70's and the harmonization of the 80's, the author maps the quest for a code, and notes that its focus has changed. Also noted is the continued need for a common terminology. The author acknowledges the importance of the work by art object catalogers who are looking beyond the walls of their own institutions to the larger issues that surpass the quest for a common code. Organizations who have historically and who are now working to advance art object cataloging are briefly profiled. includes extensive bibliography, p 15. 11./ Roberts, Helene E. 1978. The image library. Art Libraries Journal v3 n4 (Winter): 25-32. "The larger the image library grows the more useful it becomes, but the more urgent is the necessity for an intelligent organization that can provide ease in locating specific works and can accommodate diverse patterns of use" (25). The author examines the factors that make a 'truly great' image library. Citing the challenges facing the modern image library, several suggestions are made to achieve this goal. One, for example, addresses the evolution in user needs. Traditionally, image libraries have provided access to works of art through their collections of substitutes or reproductions, by using specific art historical terminology. Paralleling their growth, modern image collections have become a recognized resource by users from other disciplines. These new users challenge traditionally organized art image libraries to provide what the author calls 'alternate access', which is a semiotic, or language approach. This close analysis of the signs and symbols of art - iconology - is important consideration in the reorganization of image libraries that will serve both traditional and alternate needs. Art historian Erwin Panofsky's iconological theory addresses the meaning of a work, with 'three stages of interpretation'. These stages can be applied by catalogers and indexers of art images. Tools for this work already exist, however, in the form of iconographic indexes. Several outstanding indexes are mentioned. This article, although written 15 years ago, bears reading, if for the realization that many concerns are still current. The discussion of Panofsky has been echoed by theorists in the past decade. includes bibliography. B: TOOLS 12./ Roberts, Helene. 1988. Do you have any pictures of ... ?: subject access to works of art in visual collections and book reproductions. Art Documentation v7 n3 (Fall): 87- 90. "(as) the distinction between art and non-art (becomes) increasingly irrelevant, art historians may turn into visual historians" (90). The general population is becoming increasingly visually literate. Traditional art history focuses on aesthetics and style. This is changing to the use of art as a means to investigate and illuminate other cultural aspects, and even to the redefinition of what is a work of art? Images are increasingly analyzed for their subject matter, which is the information contained in the image itself. For the librarian, there are many tools to assist in subject heading decisions, but no ideal tools. Existing reference works are not complex, comprehensive, consistent or convenient enough. Subject categories for images are limited, the terminology varied, and resulting headings create a catalogue that is not integrated. The author suggests that ICONCLASS, a system for subject indexing, may come closer to being an ideal tool. Various projects involving the application of ICONCLASS are discussed. includes bibliography. 13./ Leung, C.H.C., D. Hibler and N. Mwara. 1992. Picture retrieval by content description. Journal of Information Science v18 n2 (month): 111-119 "(In) developing a database for pictures of a wider more general subject-matter, ... it is not the range of subject matter which determines the difficulty, but the fact that the nature of the application and its potential users are unknown" (112). Current art information systems, manual and automated, restrict efficient picture access to those persons with a particular knowledge, for example, of art history. The author refers to art historian Erwin Panofsky's (1962) three levels of subject description, for the range of ways that users access a picture. Art history's reliance on Panofsky's second level of description, that of iconographical interpretation, fails to serve non-expert users. Various systems that support iconographical interpretation are discussed: ICONCLASS, keyword systems such as the Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) and free text searchable systems used to index picture collections. The authors propose, instead, a simple approach to subject analysis based on an entity- attribute-relationship model for data, called Picture Description Language. This model permits natural language description, and allows all the relationships between elements of a picture to be described. It relies on a simple grammar of noun-objects, adjective-details and verb-relationships that can provide both a descriptive and a logical representation of the picture. The authors' premise is that this approach will broaden the application of pictorial information to users and uses outside of art's discipline. Evaluative experiments with users have shown considerable success. Data is provided. includes bibliography. 14./ Orbach, Barbara. 1990. So that others may see: tools for cataloguing still images. Cataloging & Classification Quarterly v11 n3/4 (Fall/Winter): 163-191. " ... the information value of images is often cumulative. More images related to a subject or event mean a more rounded picture" (164). What are cataloging considerations for determining the important data that identifies 'still' images? Using photographs as an example, the author outlines the unique and critical features of visual imagery and the wealth of information the researcher can find. How will the cataloguer record these features? Cataloging has a two-fold purpose: to maintain control over a collection and facilitate research. The author describes how recent tools supplement the AACR2, and specifically deal with cataloging and providing subject access for images. Sample records for photographs in USMARC are provided, as well as a sample entry from the LC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials (LCTGM). What is needed still, is a better understanding of how users work with pictures, how pictures support their research, and how a catalog can help them find what they want to see. includes bibliography. 15./ Markey, Karen. 1988. Access to iconographical research collections. Library Trends v37 n2 (Fall): 154-74. "Separate collections and specialized databases will proliferate as long as there is no single organization responsible for establishing and maintaining rules, guidelines and formats for identifying information and subject cataloging" (171). The author outlines four approaches to art historical scholarship. This article is focused on one approach, iconographical, or identification of themes and concepts. The author refers to Panofsky (1962) who also defines iconography as the second of three levels of subject matter in art: the first, the primary level, enumerates objects within the work of art. Several cataloging systems in major slide collections that support iconographical research are analyzed, and found to lack a primary level access. Citing this access as important, the author graphically compares these systems (ICONCLASS, DIAL, Marburger Index, Index of Christian Art) to her own 'matrix model' that includes primary access. Two successful systems that presently deal with primary access are noted (Historic New Orleans Collection, and RoSA, used by Canada's RCMP for cataloging missing art). These systems indicate a shift to the importance of primary subject matter. With manual systems increasingly becoming automated, differences between specialized subject vocabularies that are iconographical, will be overcome. In the meantime, the burden of access still rests upon the user, to become familiar with each system's terminology. includes bibliography, pp. 173-74. 16./ Barnett, Patricia J. and Toni Petersen. 1990. Extending MARC to accommodate faceted thesauri: the AAT model. in Beyond the book: extending MARC for subject access. Toni Petersen and Pat Moholt, eds. Boston: G.K. Hall & Co. pp. 7-23. "Those involved in the documentation of art bring a new dimension to the conceptualization of the subject of an item to be cataloged" (7). There is a basic difference between the definition of subject, by bibliographic cataloguers and by visual cataloguers. Until automation, slide librarians and other visual resource cataloguers provided access to their collections by the name of the artist, because there was no comprehensive vocabulary that could accommodate their definition of subject access. The Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) was developed to fill this gap. At the same time, during the mid-1980's, two MARC fields were opened up to allow description of content: genre (655) and physical form (755). The AAT is a controlled vocabulary that attempts to cover all art information, for use by cataloguers of book and non-book materials. The article provides a concise profile of the AAT in terms of standards, organization, terminology, coverage, and a list (1990) of current users. It is compared with other systems, such as PRECIS and LCSH. A detailed description of the compatibility of AAT with MARC is presented. The author recognizes that MARC remains the basic tool for transporting information, and although it has adapted to the needs of visual resources, still more development is required. includes bibliography. 17./ Dooley, Jackie M. and Helena Zinkham. 1990. The object as "subject": providing access to genres, forms of material and physical characteristics. in Beyond the book: extending MARC for subject access, Toni Petersen and Pat Moholt, eds. Boston: G.K. Hall & Co. pp. 43-80. "It is not difficult to identify the unresolved issues in an area where so many questions exist and where so little work has been done" (43). The real promise of an integrated catalog, is one that can display data about: an actual work of art, a reproduction of the work, and books about the work of art. Two fields of the MARC format could make this integration possible, specifically field 655 (genre/form) and 755 (physical characteristics). The use and development of these two fields is described, as well as the thesauri that have been developed to fill the gaps in terminology for special formats. Such formats are: rare books and manuscripts, graphic materials and moving images. Profiles of two thesauri are provided: the Art and Architecture Thesaurus and LCSH. Differences in their approaches are noted, as well as indication where further research is needed. includes bibliography and list of acronyms. 18./ Cuneo, Mary Jane. 1982. Art cataloging: looking back in North America 1972 - 1982. Art Libraries Journal v7 n4 (Winter): 11-22. "... if entry for monographs must be governed by what is sensible for serials, and if entry for art books is based on what is best for slides, I have to wonder if users are well served. Materials differ; users' approaches reflect this; shouldn't our cataloging rules do the same?" (15). Art exhibition catalogues are essential materials in the study of art. They can be basic lists of works, and they can also be major scholarly publications. The author deals with the description and subject analysis of the unique features of art exhibition catalogues. The article surveys ten years of the efforts and difficulties experienced by art librarians in applying AACR and LCSH to art catalogues. For many, overcoming these limitations led to developing in-house systems that orphaned art catalogues from the rest of the collection. During this period, shared concerns brought art librarians together in a number of new associations, such as the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) and the Research Library Group (RLG). The art community began to challenge LC to reassess its subject headings. This period also generated a fledgling Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT), which, at the point of writing, appears "quixotic" to many, but offers exciting promise to art library cataloguers. includes bibliography, pp. 19-22. 19./ Vance, David. 1975. Growth of an information system. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science v2 n5 (December): 12-14. "This is the pattern of growth that has been forced upon one data-management system by its encounter with the complexities of art-museum records. The result is a new discipline ... that should, perhaps, be called 'descriptive science" (14). The author focuses upon an art information system called GRIPHOS (General Retrieval and Information Processor for Humanities Oriented Studies). This system addresses what he feels is the 'collision course' between art museum needs and information science. The problems of art museums and their users are defined, in particular, the volume of information each museum is responsible for, the way that information needs to be arranged, the mutable nature of art information, and the necessity to link areas of knowledge. The GRIPHOS system offers practical and sensitive solutions to these major problem areas. Although the description is brief, the system's ability to handle subject content analysis (iconography) appears to succeed. 20./ Lunin, Lois F. 1975. Program notes on information handling in the arts. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science v2 n5 (December): 15-17. "... though undiscovered, perhaps there's even a muse around to inspire and watch over information scientists in the arts" (17). Arts are not only the product or the performance but also the information about the product: history, other documentation, financial information, etc. The author's survey of how this information is handled in 'the lively arts' reveals several interesting processes and systems for information retrieval. Brief profiles of activities in architecture, computer art, crafts, interior design, dance, theatre and music are provided. This is not intended as a complete description, but an attempt to convey what is going on, what information is needed and what systems are being used to handle information needs in these particular art areas. 21./ McRae, Linda. 1992. More than MARC: developing a standard descriptive terminology for visual image collections. Visual Resources Association Bulletin v19 n2 (Spring): 25-26. "... there still must be a consensus as to the principles and processes governing application (of these tools), and at present there are no rules for applying these standards under the great variety of circumstances which occur in describing works of art" (25). The author pins down several key problems for the 90's in the work of visual resource curators involved in providing subject access to their collections. Various projects that address information exchange by 'mapping' their collections to the MARC format, reveal the need for more work around a specifically visual language. Recently released 'terminology' tools assist the cataloguer to describe a work and the concepts associated with its content. The Art and Architecture Thesaurus, the Union List of Artist Names (ULAN) and the Thesaurus of Art Historical Place Names (TAP) offer choices for standardized terms. Profiles of two in-house projects describe the construction of a local standard subject index and offer insight into the difficulties and complexities inherent in subject indexing. The problem that remains, in the opinion of the author, is the implementation of terminologies in a standard and agreed-upon manner. It is this consensual activity that will lead curators to the national image database they desire. includes bibliography. 22./ Bearman, David. 1988. Considerations in the design of art scholarly databases. Library Trends v37 n2 (Fall): 206- 19. "Thus an envelope for sharing art scholarly information may already exist if we can agree on the meaning of what we put inside it" (210). The concept for an art scholarly database embraces the needs of curators, art historians, collections managers, librarians and others for a wide variety of art information. The author provides a list of issues and problems encountered by the Architectural Drawings Advisory Group, in their work to construct an architectural drawings database. These problems, that involve the meaning of language, are shared by existing art historical databases. Can a database be designed that addresses the problems of language's changeable nature? Two data models are presented. The Art and Architecture Thesaurus' (AAT) structure is described. A particularly clear graphic analysis of the AAT's semantic linkages between terms is provided. While the AAT offers itself as a source for descriptive language, it does not cover iconography, focusing instead upon naming art scholarly 'entities' such as periods or materials. The second data model, under development by the Smithsonian Institution, attempts to define 'attributes' of entities, or the ideas that are abstracted from art objects. This information is relevant to art scholarly research. The decentralized structure of this model is problematic when linking this system to centralized bibliographic databases. Nonetheless, the author is confident that MARC formats, currently 'uni-centric' can be expanded to include information that is useful in art scholarship. This, however, will involve designing systems for commonly defined data elements (both entities and attributes) and the use of common vocabularies. includes bibliography. 23./ Petersen, Toni. 1983. The AAT: a model for the restructuring of LCSH. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, v9 n4 (September): 207-210. "We on the AAT Program feel that we are attempting to mark out a reliable path through an area known to be full of land mines" (210). The need for subject access has become a key problem for cataloguers and indexers who work with the subject vocabulary of LCSH. The problem extends to every place they are used: periodical index databases, bibliographic collections and art collections. Their inadequacy has been long noted by the art community. The work of the Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) Project is to enhance the vocabulary of LCSH using MESH as a model. Their preliminary work is profiled. Working with a 'subject piece' of LCSH, a hierarchical structure for architecture has been under way since 1981. Descriptions of basic premises, how data are arranged, how LCSH terms have been modified and expanded and the resulting syndetic structure are given. This work implies that changes within the LCSH structure are necessary. These changes can be positive, although serious problems are also made evident. includes bibliography. 24./ Dykstra, Mary. 1989. Subject analysis and thesauri: a background. Art Documentation v8 n4 (Winter): 173-174. "Conceptual analysis is that crucial first step in the indexing process which leads to the translation of the language of the materials themselves into an indexing language, which in turn is the point of access for the language of searchers' questions" (174). The task of translating the contents of visual document into words is assisted by structured lists of descriptive terms, or thesauri. These useful tools provide the indexer with choices for a descriptive vocabulary. Before this step can be taken, however, the indexer must ask, what exactly is the picture about? Thus, indexing the subject of an image becomes a two- stepped intellectual process. The extent to which the indexer analyses the concept of a work, then translates this analysis into descriptive terms, will contribute to searcher retrieval. The value of the Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) to indexers, as a carefully constructed list of terms, is described. More important than this, the author outlines some of the features of the AAT that assist in the initial step of conceptual analysis of a picture. It plays an important role as an intermediary between the work of indexers and the access points of searchers. That language is an expressive classificatory tool, is little realized. The author posits that thesauri, which control language, will be the classification schemes of the future. includes bibliography. 25./ Auchstetter, Rosann. 1987. MARC-ing the visual document: innovative efforts in visual information. Art Documentation v6 n2 (Summer): 65-66. "When a specialized constituency enters the MARC arena, they must be prepared to defend (their) requirements for 'non-standard' capability on a continuing basis" (65). An art image cataloguer would have loved to be present at this panel discussion between Richard Szary of the Smithsonian Museum, Elizabeth Betz Parker of the Library of Congress, Christine Hennessey of the National Museum of American Art, Patricia Barnett of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Deirdre Stam of Syracuse University School of Information Studies. Swinging between the theoretical and the practical, the panelists discussed the implementation of MARC information format, from their own perspectives. This brief report concisely outlines the ideas of museum and art librarian concerning the advantages and disadvantages of MARC. A word of caution is expressed by Stam: to not forget the importance of good internal vocabulary control which will support the bridge to other systems, through MARC, when it is ready. The use of a thesaurus, such as the Art and Architecture Thesaurus, will assist in this work. 26./ Petersen, Toni. 1988. Subject control in visual collections. Art Documentation v7 n4 (Winter): 131-135. "What is not clear until the decision to automate ... is made, is how much effort goes into translating the information in someone's head and in the many images within the collection, for the literal eye of the computer" (131). Automating visual resource collections has brought forward many issues that have yet to be resolved. Focusing on the construction of subject fields, the author discusses the contribution of the Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) to this particular issue. The general nature of this tool, what it includes and excludes and the way that it structures knowledge are described. In order to be authoritative, the AAT is rooted in, and expands upon existing subject vocabularies, for example, the author makes a comparison between the AAT's specialist terminology and LCSH terms. The ways that cataloging with AAT terms and concepts stretches the capability of the MARC Visual Material Format is also illustrated. That more than half of these fields require controlled vocabulary raises another issue: establishing authority files for art cataloging. The expressive power of AAT terminology brings to the catalog what has been stored in the heads of librarians who have controlled these collections. The author believes that current use of this tool has yet to employ its real strengths. includes bibliography. 27./ Bidd, Donald, et al. 1986. PRECIS for subject access in a national audiovisual information system. Canadian Library Journal v43 n3 (June): 177-184. "Because of the subtle, discursive and often metaphoric qualities of communication in image and sound, the determination of 'aboutness' can be particularly difficult and, at times, impossible: (178). Focusing upon the problems inherent in indexing film formats for retrieval, this article, nonetheless, sheds light on the unique problems experienced in providing access to collections or databases of other image formats. PRECIS is an indexing system, devised in the 1970's by Derek Austin of the British Library. How PRECIS is used to address indexing for retrieval by a number of Canadian organizations and their graphic materials, is the topic of this article. PRECIS' application in a bilingual context makes it particularly useful in indexing the National Film Board of Canada's (NFB) database of films, videos, filmstrips, television shows, as well as other visual information. How PRECIS is used by this organization is described in detail. The process of determining the 'aboutness' of a film, is two-fold: a summary statement that analyses content, and also serves the search needs of NFB's potential users. PRECIS' codes interpret the entry into permutated indexing strings that permit a variety of access points, under the vocabulary control of the PRECIS thesaurus. Other features, such as ease of conversion of the records to MARC format, the accessibility of records through UTLAS, and the ability to generate media catalogues directly from the database, make PRECIS a useful and cost-effective system for the NFB. PRECIS on- line offers greater access to records. Apparently users find this system, through its various manifestations, flexible and capable for a variety of subject search needs. includes bibliography. 28./ Stone, Gerald, and Philip Sylvian. 1990. ArchiVISTA: a new horizon in providing access to visual records of the National Archives of Canada. Library Trends v38 n4 (Spring): 737-750. "At the same time, a responsive chord was struck with a small number of companies who saw in our application an opportunity to develop a market for state-of-the-art imaging systems for cultural property agencies, including ... archives, museums, art galleries and libraries ..." (742). Since 1964, The Public Archives of Canada has provided access to its image collections by means of catalog cards with a reproduction of the photograph, drawing or painting pasted on it. These reproductions, with the accompanying text, served as visual finding aids. After twenty years, computer-generated labels replaced the typewritten text. This change paralleled the start of a database to hold what had become, by then, a collection of 10 million photographs, 200,000 works of art and the national postage stamp collection. Beginning with its Canadian political cartoon collection, the Public Archives investigated the transfer of its card catalog system to an online visual system. The choice of ArchiVISTA, an optical disc image retrieval system, was made after lengthy analysis of a number of new technologies. The authors describe the specific needs of design and function in a suitable system, and the rationale behind their momentous choice. This article is interesting for the process it describes, for the possibilities represented by various imaging formats, and finally, the favourable aspects of ArchiVISTA in its prototype application. While this article does not detail subject access using this system, it is clear that this imaging technology is an important first step for electronic access to Canada's mammoth national image collections, and, as the authors speculate, in-depth subject indexing will follow. includes bibliography. 29./ Fawcett, Trevor. 1979. Subject indexing in the visual arts. Art Libraries Journal v4 n1 (Spring): 5-17. "The vocabulary of art has never been properly brought to heel" (9). Although this article focuses upon the nature of subject indexing of textual documents about art, it clearly presents the intellectual process - and the problems - of indexing art information in general. Whether the art idea is embodied in an art work, or in a dissertation about the work, the job of the indexer is to translate that idea into verbal or symbolic language. The author points out that indexing systems do exist to assist the indexer with manipulating entries. This, however, means little if the original intellectual concept of the document is flawed. The lapses in sampled entries using the PRECIS system in the BNB indicate to the author that the problem lies in the initial analysis of the work. Also cited is the failure of art specialists to use a clear and common language. Ambiguity is the most troublesome aspect of art terminology. The author proposes an ideal art glossary and rules for application of terms. Noting the indexing problems, not only with PRECIS, but with LCSH, RILA and the Repertoire d'Art et d'Archeologie, the author concedes that this ideal is yet a long way off. He feels that this leadership role must be played by the cooperative efforts of art librarians. includes bibliography. 30./ Petersen, Toni. 1990. Developing a new thesaurus for art and architecture. Library Trends v38 n4 (Spring): 644- 658. "The thesaurus was envisioned as a set of terms that would include the history and the making of the visual arts; that is, it would form a hinge between objects and their replicas or representations and the bibliography about them." (647). Petersen, the director of the Art and Architecture Thesaurus, presents a complete history of this tool, from its initial concepts in 1979, to its present state of development. At all times, those working on this project grappled with fundamental problems in providing a tool that would address, in a practical way, the task of assigning subject descriptors to visual materials, whether books, art objects or surrogates of art objects. It was frustration with existing situations in art collections that led to the desire for a controlled vocabulary or a thesaurus that was specific to this area of knowledge. A thesaurus was needed that would provide: preferred terms for concepts, and set-up relationships between these terms. As the impulse gathered scholarly participants, ideas for a workable, but rigorous structure emerged. Gathering terms from existing art-specific glossaries, thesauri and subject lists, such as LCSH, the AAT arranged its terms in hierarchies. The advantages of such a 'nested conceptual array' are the clarity of understanding a relationship of a term among others, and the ability of the AAT builders to perceive gaps. Problems encountered along the way are described. The AAT's adaptability to new needs is hailed as one of its prime strengths. From its inception, it has welcomed and responded to the scholarly needs and uses of the art community. At this point, support from the Getty Art Historical Information Program (AHIP) and liaison with the art community through its professional associations, enables it to promise long-term commitment to this project. Other articles cover the AAT's application; this article is interesting for its coverage of the practical motivations and theoretical considerations within the making of this important tool. includes bibliography. 31./ Greenberg, Jane. 1993. Intellectual control of visual archives: a comparison between the Art and Architecture Thesaurus and the Library of Congress Thesaurus for Graphic Materials. Cataloging & Classification Quarterly v16 n1 (Spring): 85-117. "Intellectual control of pictorial images has its own unique set of problems. Visual images lack textual clues and ... objective intellectual analysis can be further complicated by an image's inherent aesthetic and emotional value" (88). The same qualities that make archival material valuable for enduring research can be found in visual archive material - the graphic documentation of the activity of persons, places or things. The author does not include visual resources such as slides or photo reproductions, or original art works, in this definition. The focus here, is upon visual materials having 'evidential and informational value', housed in archives. Where physical control of materials in archives has been assisted by recent tools, the intellectual control of visual archives has yet to be adequately addressed. Two tools that are currently used to provide subject access to visual archives are the Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) and the LC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials (LCTGM). Both tools are described in terms of their history, their structures as thesauri, for their similarities and differences, and ultimately for their advantages and disadvantages. The author concludes that a reconciliation between them does not yet seem possible. It remains the responsibility of the cataloguer to understand their differences when choosing what is needed. There is a 'pressing need' for continued investigation of intellectual control in visual archives. includes bibliography, pp. 98-101. includes charts, sample displays of each tool 32./ Blacow, Helen, and Carol Jackman-Schuller. 1989. Using the Art and Architecture Thesaurus as a tool for authority control in an automated slide library. POSITIVE v XIII n2/3 (July): i. "... we are literally pioneers in the field of authority control for visual resources" (i). The authors, curators of a large Canadian visual resource collection, describe their process of automating the slide images. Early in the project, cataloguing the records revealed inaccuracies and duplications that had accumulated. That there was an acute need for consistent descriptive terminology, became immediately clear. A parallel project began, to build authority control into their automating programme. The tool chosen to assist their work was the Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT). Authority control in a system guides cataloguers to make consistent choices for access headings, such as spelling or form of a term or name. It is a store of 'concrete elements of information' about an image, using an agreed-upon standard vocabulary. The authors point out the advantages of an authority controlled system: providing efficient user access to the system as well as facilitating system to system exchange of information. The article describes their process of building authority files. Where the AAT is not applicable to artist information, it proves useful for cataloguing other art information and for subject analysis. The point is made, that images are described in terms of their primary subject matter and not iconographically, which is an area not covered by the AAT. includes bibliography. includes bibliography of authority reference works for art information includes sample displays, entry forms 33./ Reed, Patricia Ann, and Jane Sledge. 1988. Thinking about museum information. Library Trends v37 n2 (Fall): 220- 231. "Much of the success of the project is attributable to the use of graphic communication tools ... (which) proves to be an excellent mechanism for promoting discussion. The old adage 'a picture is worth a thousand words' holds true" (230). In 1987, the community of seven Smithsonian museums, each housing major art collections, faced the necessity of joining their individual art data storage needs into one common integrated system. The magnitude of this problem caused them to consider that their solution would only be found outside of available technology packages. The entire project, called the Collections Information System (CIS) was, at the time of writing, a work-in-progress. Its approach proceeded in two phases. Where the first phase examined art data flow, or its function and use, the second phase looked at the data, at the meanings, and how are they related to each other? Graphic illustrations of these functions and relationships helped the museums' staff members to define data elements that, when grouped, defined data entities, such as persons, places or things. Intersection entities occurred when art data entities were related or combined. Because museum information consists of many related data groups, such visual data analysis proved useful for proposing a design for the CIS. By focusing on the relationships between grouped data entities, through diagram techniques, the staff were able to envision an ideal structure that would not only store the art information but be responsive to its changing relationships. This system would 'reflect the complexity' of museum information. one reference is provided. includes diagrams. C: PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS 34./ Sutherland, John. 1982. Image collections: librarians, users and their needs. Art Libraries Journal v7 n2 (Summer): 41-49. "Is the time, labour and money involved in the creation of a computerised index justified in the end results?" (41). It is generally agreed by those working in the field of art history, that no computerized system, for their use, will be cost-effective. Whether automation can be a practical operation depends on a number of factors appropriate to the collection itself. Several projects that involve cataloguing works of art in museums and photo archives are profiled. The most practical procedure is building a skeleton framework of essential information - descriptive and factual - with the option to add more complex information later. The indexing of subject matter and iconography of images highlights the problems of defining meaning in images. An example shows the different approaches that viewers have to defining the meaning of a picture. The author feels that a common-sense approach will be the most useful, in providing access for a wide range of users. Classification systems such as ICONCLASS, current thesauri and subject authority lists can allow indexers to gradually build upon the basic information. The variance in image collections, and the advances in computer technology will have to be considered in terms of the cost-effectiveness of standardization between collections. Goodwill and realistic decisions that focus on accessibility within each collection should guide the choice and use of indexing systems. includes discussion and critique of these ideas. 35./ McRae, Linda. 1991. Shared cataloguing for visual resources collections: testing the MARC format. Visual Resources Association Bulletin v18 n1 (Spring): 24-28. ..."Bowler added that he ultimately envisioned slide libraries buying the right to tap into an electronic file of visual images - a national digital image bank" (27). At the 9th Annual Visual Resources Association Meeting (1991), a panel discussion focused on 'Shared Cataloguing: different perspectives'. Five participants from museum and visual resources communities described their experiences in applying a shared cataloguing format. This process has involved the adaption or alteration of the MARC communications format in unique ways. Problems were defined. The five experiences showed that formats can be adapted to a specific community's needs, but none were appropriate for the possibility of sharing records between communities. The participants also concluded that common standards for describing works of art are a priority, above the format used, if records are to be shared. The goal of the Art Information Task Force (AITF) is outlined: to define elements of information needed to describe art objects, to evaluate terminology and recommend a communications format for information exchange. includes bibliography within the text. 36./ Column. 1991. Art Information Task Force formulates framework of art information categories. Visual Resources Association Bulletin v18 n4 (Winter): 10. Members of the Art Information Task Force (AITF) have been developing a framework that merges the needs of scholars for specific art documentation with categories of information that are currently used to describe works of art. The first initiative has been the analysis of 'data dictionaries' used by several major museum computer systems (including the Canadian Heritage Information Network). The draft framework, presented to the full AITF, consists of four groups: descriptive, historical, documentation and management of art information. Analyzed separately, members have now produced a fully articulated set of data elements for art information for review by the full AITF. 37./ Column. 1992. Art Information Task Force Visual Resources Subcommittee Appointed. Visual Resources Association Bulletin v19 n3 (Fall): 11-12. The Art Information Task Force (AITF) is sponsored by the Getty Art History Information Program (AHIP) and the College Art Association in the United States. Their goal is to facilitate access to art information through a set of standards and a format for electronic information exchange. Formed in 1989, the AITF has defined a framework of information categories that includes some surrogate information. Eventually, a compendium of cataloguing conventions will be formulated as a guide to using the categories. Various electronic exchange formats are being considered, under the auspices of the Museum Computer Network (MCN). A recently-formed subcommittee will represent the interests of slide and photograph collections, in terms of defining categories, automation fields, and identifying users of the categories, among other considerations. Findings will be presented at upcoming national conferences of the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) and the Visual Resources Association (VRA). 38./ Busch, Joseph A. 1992. Overview of art information endeavours. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science v18 n2 (December/January): 8-13. The Art Information Task Force/The Art Information Endeavours Three organizations are represented on the current Task Force (AITF): the Museum Computer Network (MCN), the Visual Resources Association (VRA) and the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA). The initial result of their work has been the Preliminary Survey of Information Standards Endeavours, prepared by Patricia J. Barnett of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A representative list of current international art information endeavours are presented in the article. Each project is involved in the development or identification of information standards relevant to art information. Contact names and addresses of each project are provided. A very valuable source, which includes several Canadian projects. 39./ Sutherland, Ian. 1992. Information for Canadian museums: the Canadian Heritage Information Network. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science v18 n2 (December/January): 16-18. "The role of a museum has changed from that of a simple repository of exotic artifacts to that of agent for cultural preservation and development" (17). Established 20 years ago, the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) was originally designed to inventory the collections of Canadian museums. Where CHIN's initial lofty goal was to document 'Canadian cultural heritage', it served to realistically reflect the basic needs of curators and researchers for current national source information. Housed on a mainframe in Ottawa, the system is accessed by participants of the museum community in both English and French. At present, about 100 museum databases are included. Currency and standards are maintained through the efforts of working groups who have produced data dictionaries for the humanities and natural sciences. These data dictionaries define data fields and provide guidance for entry of data into CHIN. A sample entry from the humanities data dictionary is provided. CHIN data entry standards are being adopted by institutions still outside the network. The flexible nature of the working groups facilitates adaption and improvement. Recently, reference databases contain information that 'appends' the museum inventories. Other partnerships include input from subject specialists and both Canadian and international information networks. The aim is to provide the means for participants to better care for Canadian heritage through cooperative information exchange. 40./ Bower, James M. 1992 Vocabulary coordination projects in the art information community. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science v18 n2 (December/January): 19-21. "Scholars pursuing interdisciplinary approaches to research and the explosion of multiculturalism in academe and in museum programming have stretched the boundaries of traditional canons of art history" (19). The process of cataloguing works of art has united the efforts of art historians, librarians and archivists into an art community. Computer technology has allowed the means to amass descriptive data about works of art. Not only can the object be described as a physical artifact, but analysis of its cultural context can be included. Sharing information would enhance this endeavour. The community has begun to realize the importance of establishing common terminology for documentation in their databases. To this end, a number of projects are under way internationally. The focus of this article is on the work of the Getty's Art History Information Program (AHIP). The Vocabulary Control Group (VCG), established by the AHIP in 1987, has recently released the Getty Union List of Artist Names (ULAN). Culled from the authority files of nine Getty projects and the Getty Museum, this list provides names, variant spellings, life dates and brief bibliographic citations. Further to this project, the VCG is releasing a Thesaurus of Art Historical Place Names this year. The TAP is a database of geographical places, current or historical. Each entry includes a brief historical note as well as sources. These databases will be made available in print and in machine-readable formats on CD-ROM. The VCG displays its ongoing cooperation with the art community - vendors of systems, curators, librarians and users of the facilities - in order to meet the challenge of documenting art. Sample entries of ULAN and TAP are provided. 41./ Ohlgren, Thomas H. 1982. Image analysis and indexing in North America: a survey. Art Libraries Journal v7 n2 (Summer): 51-60. " ... archivists and curators have not been able to agree upon standards for classifying and describing art works or their photographic surrogates. Instead of seeking a coordinated approach, archivists have erected mutually unintelligible Towers of Babel" (51). This article illuminates issues about subject standards, cooperative efforts between catalogues and automated approaches to subject access in visual resource collections, circa 1982. Use of different schemes has made cooperative effort through networks impossible. This has resulted in chaos for the art researcher. The author reports on the activities of the recently formed Image Access Society of North America. Their earlier survey and assessment of the schemes, methodologies, and systems used in image collections reveals a proliferation of differing philosophies behind these structures. A number of important issues are raised by the Society, as well as a determination to address what they see as the major issue for the future, the lack of uniform classifying standards for images. Three current vocabulary projects are profiled: the List of Subject Headings for the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, the Picture Division Thesaurus of the Public Archives of Canada, and the "ambitious" start- up proposal of the Art and Architecture Thesaurus. includes bibliography. 42./ Roddy, Kevin. 1991. Subject access to visual resources: what the 90s might portend. Library Hi Tech v9 n1 (Issue 33): 45-49. "Under these circumstances, subject access becomes even more problematic than usual: whatever else a book on Chaucer may be, it is dependably about literature; images frequently do not offer even that level of certainty" (45). Citing subject access as 'a species of ultimate challenge', the author describes why pictures confound information scientists and scholars. The importance of rising to this challenge has become critical as more image collections base their existence on providing this access. A number of world-wide projects that address subject access to visual information are briefly profiled. At the same time, new technological developments hold promise and problems for this work. The fundamental problem is in language itself, its use and its meaning. This is still a limiting factor for cataloguing, as it is for retrieval. This problem becomes evident, in the opinion of the author, when cataloguers fail to anticipate what users really need from an image database. When it comes to images, still, the perfect and expressive subject term is impossible. Two projects that employ images to access images are described. The Berkeley Image Database Project and the Berkeley Geography Department's Map Library Project offer exciting possibilities for user-defined searches in image databanks. The latter project holds particular promise, as the author believes environmental or contextual searching offers a key to the special needs of image searches. 43./ Bower, James M. 1988. One-stop shopping: RLIN as a union catalog for research collections at the Getty Center. Library Trends v7 n2 (Fall): 252-262. "At this point you may rightly wonder, 'how is it that he has gone on at such length without once mentioning the MARC formats?' Partly because library standards such as MARC had no place in what was still a thoroughly art historical department" (254). From the perspective of his work with the Getty Photo Archive, at the Getty Centre for the History of Art and the Humanities, the author presents what can only be called a definitive description of issues and processes. Challenged by phenomenal growth of the collection in the early 1980's, by the necessity to automate and by a change in the scholarly mandate, the Photo Archive was compelled to study its practice. Sensitive to the needs of its individual 'subject' sections, an in-house system was developed that permitted cataloguing of unique object information within each photo, but compiled these descriptions in what the author called 'the big bucket': an in-house database that would integrate the intellectually disparate subjects. Meanwhile, the Center's Library had begin to structure its database in MARC format, in order to merge its records in RLIN. The Photo Archive's focus was broadened to include a new thrust for research, historiography, or the study of art historical study. Materials in the Archives of the History of Art were quickly reported to RLIN's Archival and Manuscripts Control files (AMC). The Photo Archives, then, faced the very real circumstance of possessing a smooth-running local system that excluded their records from other complimentary and supportive materials. How this problem is addressed, makes for interesting reading. What is at stake is made very clear by examples of records held by the Photo Archives, the Archives of the History of Art and the Getty Library. Integration of these records is a powerful incentive. 44./ Besser, Howard. 1990. Visual access to visual images: the UC Berkeley Image Database Project. Library Trends v38 n4 (Spring): 787-98. "... extensive text-based descriptions of the images are seldom sufficiently descriptive for the researcher to determine which images are likely to be relevant. Even an enormous amount of descriptive text cannot adequately substitute for the viewing of the image itself" (788). Experiments continue, in what would seem to be the ideal search methodology for images, to retrieve pictures using pictures. The prototype IMAGEQUERY project at the UC Berkeley campus, at the time of the article, permits browsing of surrogate images from three of its collections. Campus-wide access to all of its image collections is the goal. The author provides screen prints of a typical search process where the user composes a search query in text, and browses through a series of name and object lists that progressively specify the desired image. The result is a screen containing up to several dozen thumbprint-sized images. From this display, the user can select one image at a time for higher resolution study and analysis, or pull down a menu for the complete text record appended to the image. Search 'sets' can be composed by the user for on-screen comparison and study. Presently, the three independent collection databases are accessed by users through a common interface. Each collection, however, maintains its own descriptive and indexing terms, which means that images in one collection are searched using its indigenous vocabulary. The prototype project raises problems yet to be resolved, including: implementation of a unifying subject-sensitive vocabulary such as The Art and Architecture Thesaurus; searches across different collections; and the display of large retrieved sets of images. includes bibliography. D: TECHNOLOGY AND INFORMATION THEORY 45./ Pacey, Philip. 1983. Information technology and the universal availability of images. IFLA Journal v9 n3: 230-235. "Whatever we can or cannot do, it behooves us, who are involved with images, and with mankind, to take to heart Walter Benjamin's warning that the illiterates of the future will be not those who cannot read, but those who cannot read images" (234). The visible world provides raw material for a vast industry of image providers and users. An abundance of images in our world spans all forms and purposes. Images enter our public and private lives in many ways, conveying information that can be truthful or deceptive. The author claims that we are all visually illiterate because we have not been trained to read, nor to write, visually. He notes that the more dependent visual communication becomes on technology, the more one- way this process becomes: image production by the few is received by the many. Acknowledging a universal need for images, the author challenges UNESCO's Universal Availability of Publications program to include images. Controlling the means of image production is also essential, to address visual illiteracy. Libraries are key to this process because they are equipped for the analysis of images, and are by nature centres for providing images as well as bringing people together to create their own visual information. includes bibliography. 46./ Barnett, Patricia J. 1988. An art information system: from integration to interpretation. Library Trends v37 n2 (Fall): 194-205. "The principle of medium merging with its message and reshaping information is nowhere more evident than in the field of information science" (196). Bibliographic systems have led to cooperative standards that allow sharing ofinformation and increased accessibility for users. This is the fundamental difference between current art bibliographic and art object database systems. The author makes a strong point for the need for visual collections to similarly define their data in a way that permits its sharing and extends its accessibility. The work of cataloguers and indexers of bibliographic and visual information is important. They need to be informed, however, and begin a complete rethinking of their methods and their approach to art history. The world of art history and art objects has yet to take steps that would integrate their work towards the building of a complete art information system. The ability to infer information from an online catalog is not now possible. It is important to devise descriptors that access both object descriptions and bibliographic descriptions. The author theorizes and presents various ways that aim to mutually enrich image description with textual research in an integrated system. includes bibliography. 47./ Cohen, Harold. 1975. Getting a clear picture. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science v2 n5 (December): 10-12. "Diversity is an increasingly rare and valuable cultural commodity, and it is my belief that the machine should increase our potential for diversification, not diminish it" (11). In this profile of the art world and its information needs, the author identifies two issues of major importance: the art world's lack of economic viability and its resistance to compromising on quality. When information science attempts to solve the art world's information needs with its costly systems, it runs into these two obstacles. The notational systems that the art world uses are their data. This data is their tool to describe what they do and what they have done, to inform others in the art world. The data is particular to the needs of the creators and the users. Museums are also unique structures, and unique from each other. Broad technological programs cannot be assumed to satisfy their individual needs. Information science cannot offer solutions before precise needs are articulated. Only through close collaboration with people who inhabit the art world - the museum personnel and the artists - will technology be able to offer solutions that address the needs of the art world for information about itself. 48./ Besser, Howard. 1991. Imaging: fine arts. Journal of the American Society for Information Science v42 n8 (September): 589-596. "... the fine arts world must seriously examine its user needs in terms of image quality and must decide whether it is willing to make a serious financial commitment to capture a substantial number of art images or cede this territory to the private sector" (595). The potential offered by digitizing technology for storing and displaying complex visual information has been noted by visual collections administrators. Because their collections are of valuable art originals or fragile reproductions, projects have been started to examine the suitability of on-screen surrogates for research and for conservation practice. High costs and questionable reproduction quality are key issues for contemporary image digitization. What needs to be considered, are the requirements of the user, whether for quick recognition or for close analysis of the computer display. The article covers the technical aspects of digitizing artwork - scanning, resolution, and compression - in terms that are clearly defined. Despite these problems, some exciting projects are underway in the fields of conservation and restoration. The broader social problem of art institutions maintaining intellectual control over their digitized collections must be faced. The possibility of the private profit-making sector gaining control of fine art images is an alarming prospect. includes bibliography. 49./ Buckland, Michael K. 1991. Information as thing. Journal of the American Society for Information Science v42 n5 (June): 351-360. "There seems no reason not to extend the use of 'text' and 'document' to include images, and even sounds intended to convey some sort of communication, aesthetic, inspirational, instrumental, whatever" (353). Addressing what may at first seem to be the classic question, what is information? this article presents, rather, a wide-ranging survey of theories that have attempted to define the nature of information. The author's own ideas punctuate the article. What makes this survey important for art information specialists, is the idea of 'information-as-thing' as integral to the communicative and instructive information bases and structures that are being conceived. Artists and art workers have been maintaining for years that art is 'information-as-thing', a physical description and tangible evidence of the process of informing and being informed. The author presents his study of information through a discussion of the various aspects of information, as evidence, as data, as document, as object, as an event, as a consensual decision. The implications for storage and retrieval of informative data in all manifestations, or by representation, are discussed. includes bibliography, pp. 359-360. 50./ Purcell, Patrick, and Henry Okun. 1983. Information technology and visual images: two case studies. Art Libraries Journal v8 n3 (Autumn): 43-48. "... made purely graphic by having the touch-sensitive control buttons on the (menu) pages identified not verbally, but pictorially, with graphic symbols ... or even with portions of superimposed digitised images which would form a kind of visual maze or jigsaw puzzle through which the user would uncover a path ..." (46). The ability to present a browsable interface of images that are stored in an electronic database is a current passion. It is notable, then, that this article is ten years old. The authors profile two image storage and retrieval systems that couple computer storage with the videodisc medium: ARCHFILE for modern architectural images and PICASSOFILE for images of the collected works of Picasso. The searchable fields that are used to define text records of each system are described. These records are, in turn, linked to their visual counterparts which are displayed on a separate video monitor. The systems aim to develop and combine a flexible query process with an efficient response. The user controls the process of image searching as well as choosing the kind of information that they want - text, image or both. The authors believe these systems will provide a 'new type of graphic information system'. At the time of writing, these MIT-funded projects were works in progress. Where is the follow-up information on them? includes bibliography. 51./ Brooks, Diane. 1988. System-system interaction in computerized indexing of visual materials: a selected review. Information Technology and Libraries v7 n2 (June): 111-123. "For the indexing of non-print collections to be successful, a visual element in an index is as important, if not more so, than the printed system that has been devised to access the pictures ..." (111). This article presents a survey of initiatives towards providing access to collections of visual materials in a variety of forms, film, video, film frames, photographs, slides and pictures. The author outlines the historical aspects of subject analysis of images, and describes five conventional text-based indexing and retrieval systems that have served for searching through collections of particular formats: Simons and Tansey for slides; PRECIS for film; RFD for film; a thesaurus devised by the Picture Division of Canada's Public Archives, and ICONCLASS for Western art. Several new technologies offer possibilities to the storage of images, as images, for retrieval, such as videotex systems, videodisc and laser-optical digital storage. The author describes several projects that combine systems successfully, and that promote good quality images as well as automated subject retrieval. In this way, the benefits of the conventional indexing language systems are enhanced by high-quality surrogate images that are substitutes for the various physical formats in the collection. Although the information is dated, in terms of the more recent technologies described. It is, nonetheless, a clear and informative essay on the means to address subject access to visuals. Profiled are several Canadian projects. includes bibliography, pp. 122-123. 52./ Hill, Thomas E. 1992. The ABC's of electronic visual imaging. Art Documentation v11 n2 (Summer): 76. "Observing that libraries reflect our concepts of cognitive processes ... he suggested that the growth of electronic visual media in library collections has begun to work a change on the concept of libraries and the concept of what we do" (76). An information session of the Spring 1992 Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) brought together three panellists to discuss various aspects of imaging technology and its potential use in visual resource collections. One panellist outlined several projects currently providing computer access to visual materials: slides, photographs and film formats. The advantages of electronic media in these situations were discussed, as well as drawbacks. As new technology offers greater storage capacity, higher resolution ability and faster access, costs are also falling to a more affordable range. The second speaker took the audience through the specific terminology of electronic imaging as well as its different processes. He outlined issues to be considered in choosing one process over another: the impact of new and still developing standards in the industry, as well as vendor compliance with these standards. The final panellist opened a theoretical umbrella over the discussion. Recent theories in art history and cognitive science suggest a shift to imagery as a 'mode of thought'. This has important implications to libraries and librarians who traditionally categorize and distribute knowledge. What happens when the form of knowledge changes? 53./ Hawkins, Donald T. 1992. Text retrieval technologies for image (and other) databases. Online v16 n2 (January): 92- 94. " ... the subject analysis that librarians perform to create categories and relationships is strongly akin to what the Artificial Intelligence literature calls knowledge engineering ..." (Locke, quoted, 92). This short article clearly describes various online retrieval technologies such as keyword, boolean, statistical and concept techniques that have been used to search text databases. With the increasing application of imaging technology, very large databases of image and textual data have become virtually inaccessible, often unable to link text with relevant images. The necessity for a text management system, based on these online retrieval methods, enhances even novice user access to large databases of graphics, pictures, video clips or voice segments. The importance of an associated controlled vocabulary is stressed. The most promising technique for retrieval is concept searching. Although it requires manual definition and relationship linking in advance, by an expert in the subject area - the knowledge engineer - it is particularly notable for its focus upon the 'aboutness' of an item. Although text management systems can be based on any of these retrieval methods, their successful application depends on the size of the database. Concept retrieval, because it involves artificial intelligence and expert system techniques provides a more sophisticated model for text management of large image databases. Library and information professionals are acknowledged as having the skills necessary for designing text management software to fulfil this need. includes bibliography. 54./ Cochrane, Pauline A. 1983. Guest editorial: a paradigm shift in library science. Information Technology & Libraries v2 n1 (March): 3-4. "If (greater attention is not paid to subject analysis and subject access in library catalogues), we may find the technology of online library catalogues dictating the science of online library catalogues" (4). In this short essay, the author points to the library profession's continued dismissal of recent catalog use studies. Most have continued to base their assumptions upon traditional beliefs that users make known-item searches in a catalog. A great deal of effort has been spent in designing catalogues for this use. Belief in this paradigm is now proving to be short- sighted. Recent online catalog user studies indicate that the majority of users perform topical subject searches, not known-item searches. These findings may finally 'shift' the profession, convince it to devote more resources to incorporating subject analysis in the catalog design. Before librarians commit to various new features of technology. The author calls for a 'professional consensus'. With the possibility of providing access to known-item and subject access points, thought and decisions must first be made about their differences: codes, formats and linking procedures. (Although dated, this article is often cited as the 'alarm' to the general profession to wake up to the importance of subject access, a point well-understood by visual resources librarians.) 55./ Young, James Bradford. 1991. Crisis in cataloguing revisited: the year's work in subject analysis, 1990. Library Resources & Technical Services v35 n3 (July): 265-282. "Who will be the Osborn and the Lubetzky of subject cataloguing? Who can mandate and sustain the work needed to comprehend the past and envision the future of subject access?" (266). This survey of one year of publishing on the topic of subject analysis is prefaced by a brief historical look at the major systems that have governed this aspect of library science. Greater demands are now placed on standard subject indexing and classification tools, especially in the online environment, exposing their weaknesses while at the same time reinforcing their importance to subject access. This crisis situation is surveyed and analyzed by a number of cited articles. The year's chief trend appears to be the application of subject analysis in a number of diverging situations. This work, the author states, will 'reconceive the framework' of subject analysis. One interest that appears to hold promise is towards expert systems technology. Other ideas include content enrichment through selected and linked additional data. The aim is improved user access through the catalog, to improved retrieval success. Both books and 'special materials' in non-book forms are presently the concern of cataloguers and indexers, in libraries, archives and museums. This article presents a rich array of ideas, and is itself an index of current thought upon the nature of this activity and the possibilities offered by recent technology. includes extensive bibliography, pp. 277-282. 56./ Dalrymple, Prudence W., and Jennifer A. Younger. 1991. From authority control to informed retrieval: framing the expanded domain of subject access. College & Research Libraries v52 n2 (March): 139-149. "Both (authority control and informed retrieval) are integral parts of a holistic approach to subject access" (148). The authors state that once 'ideal' proposals for subject access, are now possible. The differentiated tasks of library service, between public services and technical services, combined in the computer environment, can achieve more effective subject access to the catalogue, if their efforts are integrated. Indeed, these areas of expertise - knowledge of the catalogue and subject classification, and knowledge of the needs of users - are valuable input for catalogue system designers. Recent changes in what the authors call 'the domain of subject access' are described. The kinds of information that people seek has also expanded beyond monographic sources. Current practices towards serving subject access are examined in the light of this shifting environment. Controlled vocabularies, as subject authority lists or thesauri, are created by specialists in the field. Users could contribute to subject access by adding terms or leaving 'usage trails' of terms for others to follow. Informed retrieval, then, is an integration of the efforts of all users of the online catalogue environment. The incorporation of this experience is crucial in systems design. A framework for an 'informing' catalogue is proposed by the authors. Combined with the capabilities of controlled vocabularies linked to natural language searching, it would feed back information to the users, as they progress, allowing choice of method for access and relaying their possible retrieval results. The role of the librarian as an agent in this process is vital. includes bibliography. 57./ Huston, Mary M. 1990. New media, new messages: innovation through adoption of hypertext and hypermedia technologies. The Electronic Library v8 n5 (October): 336-342. "As individuals, our acceptance of new processes and procedures will depend in large measure on the degree to which we have been involved in their creation and have identified with the need for changes" (340). The kind of information sought has changed profoundly since the introduction of computer-based information systems. This has also changed the ways that a collection should respond to user needs, to be adaptive to the queries of users. Various new hypermedia technologies support the intuitive searching methods of users, allowing subjective browsing and transit through large amounts of linked data. A project that uses hypermedia, at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, involves graphics, text and sound formats. Project Jefferson provides authoring tools, where the user can build their own links between blocks of information. They also have the ability to view one or more portions of the information on the network, to form their own visual associations. This article covers far more ground than can be related here. Cognitive theory and information theory are discussed. The author speculates on the changes that will occur in libraries because of this new technology, as well as the changes that must occur among employees in order to keep abreast of new methods of information handling. This new 'workplace culture' would be geared to innovation and creativity, on the part of the workers, for the benefit of users. Librarians need to stop seeing themselves as custodians, and see themselves rather, as navigators. includes bibliography, pp 341-342. 58./ Oberhauser, Otto C. 1991. Interactive multimedia in library and information services. Audiovisual Librarian v17 n1 (February): 17-25. " ... optical media have opened a revolutionary way of multimedia information storage and retrieval, with a wide variety of possible applications" (17). An informal survey by this author revealed that few in the art information community are aware of the capabilities or of the possible applications of optical technology, other than CD-ROM. This seems to indicate an attitudinal problem, as the benefits of other optical storage media, including multimedia, are well-known. The author cites examples of the application of multimedia formats to optical storage and retrieval of a variety of media, such as 'still' and 'moving' pictures, graphics, sound, text, or all together. Multimedia, an extension of the hypermedia concept, also allows the user to browse the information in self-directed and versatile ways. The continued development of optical technology is stimulating related industry tools, systems and software. Some art institution projects using multimedia optical storage technology are described. The author's position is that failure to become informed about this technology is a loss of opportunity for libraries, museums and archives to claim a share in the education and entertainment market. There are several suggestions for further research. One problem that arose in the survey, involved indexing visual materials held in visual databases. Development in this area requires agreed-on tools for subject analysis as well as continued monitoring of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and the possibility of indexing by means of pictures. includes bibliography, pp 23-25. 59./ Stam, Deirdre C. 1993. What do art information professionals want to learn about information technology and how do they want to learn it? Art Documentation v12 n1 (Spring): 3-5. "While individual needs vary, there is a widespread desire to place these new technologies into some kind of integrated framework and to relate that technological framework to the purposes of the profession" (4). An Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) survey of art information professionals in December 1991 found that a wide range of technologies are currently used by all, but each professional does not necessarily use all the formats. Many respondents, however, indicated the need to know more, ranging from the basics of word processing to the details of imaging technologies. The survey asked for the preferred method of learning, and what exactly did the person want to learn? Both art librarians and visual resource curators were consulted, and their responses were significantly alike. Among other points, both groups stressed that a need to gain an overall systemic view of technology was preferred to isolated skill-building. Both stated their preference for learning from colleagues, or through in-house tutorials. When asked if their professional organization, ARLIS/NA, could be of assistance, the majority answered yes. Although money is usually important, the greater priority is the time needed to learn. The potential for ARLIS to function as a clearinghouse for regional educational activities, as well as act as a forum for technology education and its evaluation by members, would seem to address these concerns. 60./ Murgai, Sarla R. 1992. CD-ROM and expert systems: where the twain shall meet. The Southeastern Librarian v42 n2 (Summer): 43-45. " ... we are already seeing the next major milestone in human progress, the dawn of the Optical Age: one in which all information will be created, processed, transmitted and stored optically ..." (45). This very short article provides definitions of 'the new technology'. In particular, it clarifies how such features as artificial intelligence and expert systems are interrelated. What constitutes a knowledge base is also explained. How expert systems are valuable to libraries and their patrons is described. The combined power of expert systems and CD-ROM technology has produced a number of library products, useful for acquisitions, indexing and reference. A few of these products are described. Of note, is an indexing expert system that uses artificial intelligence to recover information from a picture database. A citation for this item will lead the curious to find out more. What expert systems can and cannot do are summarized. The currency and the brevity of description is both exasperating and tantalizing. What expert systems promise can be further explored through the references provided. includes bibliography. 61./ Bennett, Hugh. 1993. Photo CD: a Macintosh primer. CD-ROM Professional v6 n4 (July): 93-101. This article is offered, in this review of the literature, as a touchstone to the extent of popular imaging technology at present. Since Kodak's announcement in September 1990, of its Photo CD technology, new developments have arrived on a monthly basis. Presently, a roll of 35 mm. film can be left with most commercial photofinishing labs, and the pictures will be returned in a week, on a CD-ROM. Subsequent photos added to the disc are termed multisession photos. What Kodak promises, is service to as wide an area of application as possible with guaranteed standards. The author outlines the five formats, or versions, of Photo CD. Only one format is available currently. Each format offers different storage capability, per CD-ROM, and different image resolution. Minimum hardware and software needs are stated in detail. Companion software packages have been released that manipulate and retrieve images stored on Photo CD's. Features of some of these packages are described. In particular, Aldus Corporation's Fetch is a cataloguing and retrieval program that is able to work with 32,000 Photo CD images, and offers keyword searching. Image librarians may be taking more than passing notice of Kodak's Professional Photo CD Image Library, which is a jukebox configuration that stores and retrieves up to 100 Photo CD's. The article does not elaborate on this product. includes bibliography. INDEX TO SUBJECTS Note: Keyed to article numbers, not page numbers Access users and user needs: 11, 13, 34, 54, 56, 57, 58, shared, integrated, universal: 2, 6, 9, 10, 17, 27, 33, 35, 40, 46, 33, Art information unique properties: 1, 2, 3, 4, 11, 18, 19, 42, 47, 49, 52. projects and programs: 13, 22, 28, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 48, 50 Information theory: 39 Subject cataloguing - art information tools and systems: 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 39, 41, 43, 44, 50, 51, 53, 55. theory: 3, 4, 7, 13, 15, 24, 29. practice: 7, 16, 29, standards: 10, 38, Subject cataloguing general: 54 theory: 5, 55. practice: 5, 55. Technology general: 59 image data: 28, 44, 48, 50, 51, 52, 53, 57, 58, 60, 62. Terminology - art information general: 1, 9, 21, 26, 30, 40, 56. standards: 8, 21, 38, 41, 61. Visual literacy: 12, 45 INDEX OF NAMES Note: keyed to article numbers, not page numbers. AAT: Art and Architecture Thesaurus 8, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 30, 31, 32, 41. AHIP: Getty Art Historical Information Program 30, 37, 38, 40. AITF: Art Information Task Force 35, 36, 38. AMC: Archive and Manuscript Control Files 43. Architectural Drawings Advisory Group 22. ArchiVISTA 28. ARLIS/NA: Art Libraries Society of North America 18, 37, 38, 52, 59. Berkeley Image Database Program 42, 44. Berkeley Geography Department Map Library Project 42, 44. CHIN: Canadian Heritage Information Network 38, 39. CIS: Smithsonian Institution Collections Information System 33. CAA: College Art Association (USA) 37, 38. Getty Photo Archive 43. GRIPHOS: General Retrieval and Information Process for Humanities Oriented Studies 19. ICONCLASS: ICONography CLASSification 12, 13, 15, 34, 38, 51. Image Access Society of North America 41. LC Subject Headings for Prints and Photographs 41. LC Subject Headings LCSH 5, 16, 17, 18, 23, 26, 30. LCTGM: LC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials 8, 13, 14, 16, 31. MARC 6, 14, 16, 17, 21, 22, 25, 35. MARC Visual Material Format 26. MCN: Museum Computer Network 10, 37. MDA: Museum Documentation Association 38. National (Public) Archives of Canada Picture Division Thesaurus 41, 51. Panofsky, Erwin 4, 11, 13, 15. PRECIS: PREserved Context Index System 16, 27, 29, 51. Project Jefferson, University of Southern California, Los Angeles 57. RLIN: Research Libraries Information Network 43. RLG: Research Libraries Group 18. Simons & Tansey System for Slide Classification 51. TAP: Thesaurus of Art Historical Place Names 21, 40. ULAN: Union List of Artist Names 21, 40. VCG: Vocabulary Control Group 40 VRA: Visual Resources Association 35, 37, 38. INDEX OF AUTHORS Note: Keyed to article number, not page number. Auchstetter, Rosann: 25. Barnett, Patricia J.: 16. 46. Bearman, David: 22. Bennett, Hugh: 61 . Besser, Howard: 48. 44. Bidd, Donald: 27. Blacow, Helen: 32. Bower, James M.: 40. 43. Brooks, Diane: 51. Buckland, Michael K.: 49. Busch, Joseph A.: 38. Cochrane, Pauline A.: 54. Cohen, Harold: 47. Cuneo, Mary Jane: 18. Dalrymple, Prudence W.: 56. Dooley, Jackie M.: 17. Dykstra, Mary: 24. Fawcett, Trevor: 29. Freeman, Carla Conrad: 7. Greenberg, Jane: 31. Hawkins, Donald T.: 53. Hill, Thomas E.: 52. Huston, Mary M.: 57. Jackman-Schuller, Carol: 32. Krause, Michael G.: 1. Leung, C.H.C, et al: 13. Lucker, Amy: 8. Lunin, Lois F.: 20. Markey, Karen: 15. McRae, Linda: 35. 21. Murgai, Sarla R.: 60 . Oberhauser, Otto C.: 58 . Ohlgren, Thomas H.: 41. Okun, Henry: 50. Orbach, Barbara: 14. Pacey, Philip: 45. Petersen, Toni: 26. 23. 30. Philip Sylvian: 28. Purcell, Patrick: 50. Reed, Patricia Ann: 33. Reynolds, Sally Jo: 5. Roberts, Helene E.: 2. 11. 12. Roddy, Kevin: 42. Shatford, Sara: 3. 4. Sledge, Jane: 33. Small, Jocelyn Penny: 9. Snow, Maryly: 6. Stam, Deirdre C.: 10. 59. Stone, Gerald: 28. Sutherland, John: 34. Sutherland, Ian: 39. Vance, David: 19. Young, James Bradford: 55. Younger, Jennifer A.: 56. Zinkham, Helena: 17. PUBLISHED TOOLS AND SOURCES Bakewell, Elizabeth, and Marilyn Schmitt. 1988. Object, image, inquiry: the art historian at work. Santa Monica, CA: Getty Trust. Getty Art History Information Program. c1993. The union list of artist names. Getty Art History Information Program. c1993. Thesaurus of art-historical place names. Library of Congress. Subject Cataloging Division. 1985. Subject cataloging manual: subject headings: rev. ed. Washington, DC: Library of Congress. Parker, E. Betz. 1982. Graphic Materials: Rules for describing original items and historical collections. Washington, DC: Library of Congress. Parker, E. Betz. 1987. LC Thesaurus for graphic materials: topical terms for subject access. Washington, DC: Library of Congress. Petersen, Toni. 1990. The art and architecture thesaurus, 3 vols. Oxford University Press. Public Archives of Canada. Archives Branch. 1984. Descriptive and subject cataloguing at the National Photography Collection. Ottawa: Public Archives Canada. Panofsky, Erwin. 1962. Studies in iconology: humanistic themes in the art of the Renaissance. Reprinted, New York: Harper & Row. Sahli, Nancy. 1985. MARC for archives and manuscripts: the AMC format. Chicago: The Society of American Archivists. (AMC: Archives and Manuscript Control) Simons, Wendell, and Luraine C. Tansey. 1970. A slide classification system for the organization and automatic indexing of interdisciplinary collections of slides and pictures. Santa Cruz, CA: University of California. Van de Waal, Henri. 1981. ICONCLASS: an iconographic classification system, 17 vols. Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing. Visual Resources Association Special Bulletin No. 2. Standard abbreviations for image descriptions for use in fine arts visual resources collections, compiled by Nancy S. Schuller. Zinkham, H. and E. Betz Parker. 1986. Descriptive terms for graphic materials: genre and physical characteristics headings. Washington: Library of Congress (Prints and Photos Division).