NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION National Museum ofAmerican ArtReview by: Milan R. HughstonArt Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America, Vol. 16, No. 2(Fall 1997), pp. 53-54Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Art Libraries Society of NorthAmericaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27948904 .

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ARCHITECTURE SOURCEBOOK: A GUIDE TO RE SOURCES ON THE PRACTICE OF ARCHITECTURE / by Kathryn M. Wayne.?(Design Reference Series, 2)?Detroit, Mich.: Omnigraphics), February 1997.?417 p.?ISBN 0-708

0024-9 (cl., alk, paper); LC 96-34505: $45.00.

Current comprehensive bibliographies on the study and practice of architecture are few. Kathryn Wayne has

compiled an immaculate, annotated bibliography on

publications of interest to architectural practitioners, his

torians, and the librarians who serve them. In her intro

duction, Wayne clearly outlines the purpose and content of the volume and affirms her belief in the importance of

thorough and systematic research. Part one includes en tries on building types, divided into the following groups: commercial office, cultural (including museums), edu

cational, government and public, health care, hospital ity, housing, industrial, justice, libraries, recreation and

sports, religions, retail, and transportation. Part two pro vides recommended sources for core collections, divided into the following categories: dictionaries and encyclo pedias, indexes, handbooks and manuals, and periodi cals. CD-ROM and online formats are cited, as are peri odical subscription prices (often critical information in

making decisions in favor of or against a subscription). Following these two sections are two appendices: a list of non-academic architecture collections in the United

States, and publication sources, including architectural book clubs, vendors, and out-of-print booksellers. Al

though limited primarily to English-language publica tions, the bibliography includes a few Japanese publica tions that have either English translations or particularly fine illustrations.

The chapters in part one, "Building Types," bring together introductory reference sources, associations, bib

liographies, books, and periodicals. Each chapters lists

Library of Congress subject headings, to assist the user in locating related works in libraries. The associations listed actively promote or manage the particular build

ing type. There is an unexplained deviation from only addressing building types in the individual entries for the United Nations Headquarters and for the United States Air Force Academy. Most of the bibliographies are from the Vance Bibliography Architecture Series, which

Wayne endorses for "identifying both historical and con

temporary overviews of a building type, or for tracing design trends." Each periodical citation includes a refer ence to its further description in "Core Collection: Peri odicals." "Core Collection: Handbooks and Manuals," a

parallel feature in part two, includes descriptions of tech nical sources, building codes, and documents for profes sional practice. World Wide Web sites and other Internet resources are excluded because they "change so rapidly."

Architecture Sourcebook follows in the tradition of ear lier bibliographies, most notably Frank J. Roos, Jr/s Writ

ings on Early American Architecture (Columbus, Oh.: Ohio State University Press, 1943), Henry-Russell Hitchcock's American Architectural Books (New York, N.Y.: Da Capo Press, 1976), Margaret Phillips's Guide to Architectural In

formation (Lansdale, Pa.: Design Data Center, 1971), Helen Park's A List of Architectural Books Available in America

Before the Revolution (Los Angeles, Cal.: Hennessey &

Ingalls, 1973), and Donald Ehresmann's Architecture: A

Bibliographie Guide to Basic Reference Works, Histories, and Handbooks (Littleton, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1984). But the strength of this volume rests in the expansive nature of the selections and their annotations; for ex

ample, Wayne includes Business Periodicals Index, thus

recognizing the user's need for relevant information out side the discipline of architecture. Wayne is also to be

congratulated for her intelligent selection of resources and her composition of concise, readable entries. The addi tion of established and reliable Internet sites would have been helpful, but their exclusion is a minor drawback.

The few inaccuracies I noted are also minor. Wayne indicates that the Official Museum Directory includes ac credited museums, though it includes both accredited and unaccredited. She cites an out-of-date address for the ArchiCenter Bookstore in Chicago. A rare omission is the title G A Houses, although G A Document and other Global

Architecture publications are cited.

Still, the Architecture Sourcebook may prove to be the

single most valuable resource for art and architecture li brarians who need to evaluate existing architecture col lections and establish guidelines for building and main

taining core collections. Purchase is recommended for all architecture libraries, and for all art libraries with a strong architecture component.

Paul Glassman Pratt Institute

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION / National Museum of American Art.?New York, N.Y.: Macmillan Digital USA; Wash

ington, D. C: National Museum of American Art, 1996.?1 CD

ROM.?ISBN 1-57595-013-8: $39.95.

System requirements:

PC: Microsoft Windows 3.1 or higher or Windows 95, 486/33 MHZ or better, 8 MB of RAM, SVGA card with 256 colors and 640 480 resolution, color monitor.

Macintosh: System 7.0.1 or higher, Performa or better, 8 MB of RAM, color monitor with 256 colors.

Collection catalogues published by museums in

printed volumes make ideal candidates for reformatting into machine-readable media. Often the result of many years work, these printed catalogues usually include all that is known at the time about the artists and objects in the museum's collection. The Smithsonian Institution's

National Museum of American Art (NMAA) has an en viable record of contributions to the literature of Ameri can art. Therefore, it seems appropriate that the museum decided to harness CD-ROM technology to provide new access to objects in its collection.

Museums are challenged today to provide enhanced access to collections beyond the front doors. Printed cata

logues and videos have been more traditional paths, but distributed learning through electronic access has cap tured our attention (and our budgets). Those of us in col lection development lamented the fact that there were

simply no good art-related CD-ROMs to purchase early on, but the proliferation of titles in the last couple of years has changed our tune. Some obviously have more merit than others, and experts are even questioning the viabil

Volume 16, Number 2 ? 1997 ? Art Documentotion 53

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ity of the CD-ROM format itself, noting that the Web is a better medium.

Those of us in art libraries are still evaluating the usefulness of available titles in our field. Our patrons tend to be research-oriented, and the superficial content of

many CD-ROM titles seem inappropriate for our collec tions. The NMAA's new title, however, has the built-in

advantage of being narrowly defined, i.e., it includes only American art from colonial times to the present. That may sound like quite a span, but the specialized nature of this CD-ROM keeps it from being just another flashy prod uct.

Although it does not include every object in the col

lection, the CD-ROM features 750 artworks that present a comprehensive view of American art, history, and cul ture. Several recent museum publications, including a Treasures volume and guides to donated collections of folk art, American abstraction, modern American realism, and African-American art, are the source for much of the tex tual content. Those of us who have come to depend on these catalogues in our book library appreciate their con tribution to the field. No two CD-ROMs seem to perform the same way, and this one is no exception, although the

searching conventions become apparent rather quickly. Although librarians will have to exercise judgment in

referring patrons to this product, there does seem to be

something for everyone. The CD-ROM is very handsomely designed, with

access through four categories: Overview, Galleries, Dis

covery, and Library. The Overview does precisely that,

giving hints on how to get around. The casual user will

enjoy the Galleries section, including a "Director's Choice" tour. I was impressed by the depth of the audio comments attached?a good bit of formal analysis was combined with background about the artist and subject. The Media Center in this section allows the patron to look at prepackaged, but thoughtful, presentations including a slide/audio show by NM A A curator Joann Moser on Blanche Lazzell's Provincetown, a video of Dale Chihuly discussing his work, Erich Fischi on "the art of memory," plus albums/images of groups of work such as Man Ray's 1926 Revolving Doors portfolio or George Catlin's Indian

Gallery. Maps and timelines are often found in art CD-ROMs,

and they are included here in the Discoveries section. Your curator will not find these bells and whistles particularly useful but some of your other patrons will. They do help provide a context for American art.

Serious researchers will want to head straight for the

Library section, appropriately named. The catalog of art work and artists biographies yield good, solid informa tion on the NMAA's collection, primarily taken from

NMAA publications. On accessing an artist's biography, the researcher is given a choice of reading the commen

tary or seeing a list of works. Highlighted titles indicate an image is nearby, but the entry also includes a list of works in the museum collection, but not illustrated on the CD-ROM.

CD-ROMs are judged by their searching capabilities, and I like the options presented here. Experienced pa trons will want to move quickly beyond the simple search

on to the advanced search (more Boolean), or the even better "category" search, which allows you to search by artist, artwork, collection, date, depiction, events, genre/ style, medium, movement/group, place, and subject/ theme. Once these are selected, the patron is prompted to fill in a set of pre-defined limits. For example, there is an option to look for quotations about or quotations by the artist; or to search artist by heritage. Other categories provide enjoyable paths to analyze the collection.

Response time on a Pentium was quick, and the im

ages were clear, including full-screen blowups and de tails. Critical reception for the CD-ROM has been good, and it won first prize in the "Art and Culture" category at the international multimedia conference, Milia. Art li braries will want to add this CD-ROM to their collections since it provides both broad and scholarly access to the

comprehensive collections of the NMAA. Milan R. Hughston

Amon Carter Museum

LES BOIS D'?B?NISTERIE DANS LE MOBILIER

FRAN?AIS / Jacqueline Viaux-Locquin.?Paris: L?once L?get, 1997.-226 p.: ill.-ISBN 2-85204-117-0: n.p.

Les bois d'eb?nisterie dans le mobilier fran?ais, a useful and well-executed French- language book, fills a specifi cally narrow niche. As is clear from the title, the scope of the volume is woods used for the fabrication of furniture in France, from the Middle Ages to the present. Thus

among evocations of tropical harvests and marquetry there is a place for meubles en kit (no translation neces

sary for those of us with an IKEA card). This work is not

comprehensive. Author Jacqueline Viaux-Locquin, former director of the celebrated Biblioth?que Forney in

Paris, chose instead to summarize and document the 100 most important woods used in historically-significant French furniture. Included are woods native to France, as well as some exotic and foreign examples. The book's intended audience is curators and conservators, who have the need to identify and document materials, but lack the scientific expertise of a botanist.

This handbook is arranged alphabetically by the com mon name of the wood, as opposed to its internationally recognized Latin nomenclature, though the botanical name is included in the entry. Thus, different species of

mahogany will be described under "Acajou." The de

scription of each wood includes "Appellations" or vari ant names, "Habitat" or geographic locale,

"Caract?ristiques' or physical features , and "Histoire" and "Utilisation" or history and use. The format is con

sistent, and the entries, though brief, are well-researched. For example, "Apellations" cites non-Western terms, a most helpful inclusion, and when a well-known term cannot be matched to a wood, the author includes a specu lative listing. Although this is not a history of decorative

styles, the factors that determined the use of a wood are mentioned. The provinces are well represented with ex

amples and statistics (the freeze of 1709 in the Cevennes is even cited!) and the furniture referenced is not limited to high culture, but extends to rural pieces. The book in cludes an index, endnotes, and a lengthy bibliography of

French-language sources.

54 Art Documentotion ? Volume 16, Number 2 ? 1997

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