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Pushing the Boundaries of Traditional
Standards to Better Serve Arts Library
Patrons
• “Avant-garde represents a pushing of the boundaries of what is accepted as the norm or the status quo,” …“The vanguard, a small troop of highly skilled soldiers, explores the terrain ahead of a large advancing army and plots a course for the army to follow. This concept is applied to the work done by small collectives of intellectuals and artists as they open pathways through new cultural or political terrain for society to follow.” –Wikipedia
• a term taken from the French which originally applied to the foremost part of an army, or vanguard, and was used in this sense in English from the 15th to 19th century. However, since the early 20th century it has been used to describe contemporary pioneers or innovators in any of the arts and also signifies work which challenges accepted standards. –Oxford Companion to Western Art (via Oxford Art Online)
What is
avant-garde?
• pushing of the
boundaries/ work which
challenges accepted
standards
• a small troop of highly
skilled soldiers/ small
collectives of intellectuals
and artists/ contemporary
pioneers or innovators
• explores the terrain ahead
and plots a course for the
army to follow/ open
pathways through new
cultural or political terrain for society to follow
What is the purpose of
cataloging?
FIND
IDENTIFY
SELECT
OBTAIN
What is the purpose of
cataloging?
There are several objectives that direct the construction of cataloguing codes.
The highest is the convenience of the user.
• 0.1. Convenience of the user of the catalogue. Decisions taken in the making of descriptions and controlled forms of names for access should be made with the user in mind.
Statement of International Cataloging Principles, April 10, 2008 version from the IFLA Meeting of Experts on an
International Cataloguing Code, http://www.ifla.org/VII/s13/icc/imeicc-statement_of_principles-2008.pdf
Cataloging is a user service.
• Librarianship is a service profession
• The highest objective is the
convenience of the user
• It is important that we support and
integrate known user behaviors into
our library catalogs, but how?
Research
Observation
Surveys
• User needs assessment
• 2010 is the Year of Cataloging
Research
What are artistic patrons looking
for, and how are they looking for it?
• Information needs
• Information seeking behavior
Surveys over time have identified five
areas of information that appear most
commonly sought by artists:
» Inspiration
» Specific visual image needs
» Technical knowledge (“how-to”)
» Marketing & career guidance
» Current trends and events
What are they looking for?
Hemming, W. S. (2008). The information-seeking behavior of visual artists: a literature review. Journal of
Documentation, (64)3, 343-362.
• visual and physical collection browsing
• visual information over textual formats
• human reference assistance rather than
self-navigated catalogs and indexes
How are they looking for it?
Joan M. Day and Elizabeth McDowell, “Information needs and use of art and design students,” Education
Libraries Bulletin, 28, No. 3 (1985): 31-41.
Where current cataloging falls short
• Disparate media and material types
• Unfamiliar classification and vocabulary
• Focus on text-based & known-item searching
• Failure to incorporate IFLA criteria
• Lacks of arts context, focus
Bridging the gap
Include all material typesInclude all material types
Support physical browsing
Classification for browse-based access
Alternative classification
Color
Tweaking Standard Classification
Support virtual browsing
Enhanced metadata
Improved subject access
Questions?
Rachel “Ivy” Clarkerclarke@fidm.com
archivy.netcatalogsofbabes.wordpress.com
Images from Veer, FIDM Library (Los Angeles)
or screenshots of respective websites.
Material for this presentation based on
“Cataloging and Classification for Art School
Libraries: Challenges and Considerations,” in Handbook of Art &Design School Librarianship,
forthcoming from Facet in May 2010
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