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I'd like to thank everyone who responded to my questions about auction catalog collections from a couple of weeks ago. The replies were very helpful and since a number of people showed interest in a summarized report (many seeming to be in the same boat), here goes: Collections of auction catalogs varied between 1,000 and 50,000. There were those who felt that inadequate indexing was a major problem. Some libraries have created databases for the catalogs using FileMaker Pro or Access; some create serial records; most do not have the time or resources to catalog them or provide finding aids, etc., although most attempt to at least shelve them by auction house, date, place, etc. Some librarians find that the auction catalogs are not used much; others find that they are used a lot (predominantly by curators, as price guides, for provenance information, and for illustrations, although the very old catalogs do not provide as much useful information). They are also used a lot by art dealers. And, as might be expected, the more easily accessible they are, the more they are used and asked for. Many librarians who are 'allowed' to weed at their own discretion, strongly recommend keeping only those catalogs which are relevant to the museum/institution's collection. One suggestion was to share the collection with another larger library in the region. Some indicated that it is not that difficult to obtain the needed information (from auction catalogs) from other institutions, so that heavy weeding did not have to seem like such a drastic measure, after all. There were also some respondents interested in buying or being donated any auction catalogs our library might decide to weed out. I think that covers the major points. As far as what I will do here, most likely, if museum staff are agreeable, I will probably weed out the older catalogs and those which don't have a lot of relevance to our museum collections. So, thank you again for taking the time to send me your thoughts, recommendations, and suggestions! Michele Turner Librarian Currier Museum of Art 201 Myrtle Way Manchester, NH 03104 (603) 669-6144 127 [log in to unmask] __________________________________________________________________ Mail submissions to [log in to unmask] For information about joining ARLIS/NA see: http://www.arlisna.org//membership.html Send administrative matters (file requests, subscription requests, etc) to [log in to unmask] ARLIS-L Archives and subscription maintenance: http://lsv.uky.edu/archives/arlis-l.html Questions may be addressed to list owner (Kerri Scannell) at: [log in to unmask]