Dear Michelle,
At the Jefferson Library (serving staff, research fellows, and visitors to
Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello) we are cataloging auction catalogs
selectively when they contain object categories and/or specific lots of
relevance to TJ and his life & times. We classify together by auction house
and order by date/sale in two separate categories: art & decorative arts,
books & manuscripts. Individual catalogs are chosen for treatment when we
determine that a contents note or summary of one or more lots will assist
researchers to find information of particular value, including images. The
cataloging records are going into our online catalog, the Thomas Jefferson
Portal, http://tjportal.monticello.org/, so that users' searches will pull
these items up as well as all other types of cataloged resources. To
facilitate narrowed searches, we are adding series tracings for each auction
house, and we apply one or more of these LCSH:
Art--Auction catalogs
Decorative arts--Auction catalogs
Manuscripts--Auction catalogs
Rare books--Auction catalogs
Here are links to a few sample records
http://tjportal.monticello.org/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v2=14&ti=1,14&SEQ=20040
112131815&Search_Arg=sotheby%27s+christie%27s&CNT=10&Search_Code=FT*&DB=loca
l&SID=1
http://tjportal.monticello.org/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v2=15&ti=1,15&SEQ=20040
112131817&Search_Arg=sotheby%27s+christie%27s&CNT=10&Search_Code=FT*&DB=loca
l&SID=1
http://tjportal.monticello.org/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v2=16&ti=1,16&SEQ=20040
112132013&Search_Arg=sotheby%27s+christie%27s&CNT=10&Search_Code=FT*&DB=loca
l&SID=1
http://tjportal.monticello.org/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v2=17&ti=1,17&SEQ=20040
112132131&Search_Arg=sotheby%27s+christie%27s&CNT=10&Search_Code=FT*&DB=loca
l&SID=1
One last note: we have the luxury of doing this specialized cataloging
treatment because we receive only a few hundred auction catalogs per year
from which we select only a few dozen for full cataloging.
Cheers,
-- jack
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Jack Robertson. Foundation Librarian. Jefferson Library
Thomas Jefferson Foundation
P.O. Box 316. Charlottesville, VA 22902
434-984-7545 || 434-984-7546 fax
[log in to unmask] || www.monticello.org/library
-----Original Message-----
From: Michele Turner [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, January 12, 2004 12:30 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [ARLIS-L] auction catalogs
This is a question about auction catalogs and cataloging. How common is it
for museum libraries to actually catalog certain individual auction catalogs
which might be pertinent to the Museum's collection? Our library keeps
auction catalogs in order by auction house, and then by date. There is no
indexing by subject, etc.
So, for those librarians who also arrange their auction catalogs this way,
do you actually pull those certain catalogs out and catalog them, if you
feel it necessary? Or is there another recommended way?
Thanks for any help on this subject.
Michele Turner
Librarian
Currier Museum of Art
201 Myrtle Way
Manchester, NH 03104
(603) 669-6144 ext. 127
[log in to unmask]
www.currier.org
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__________________________________________________________________
Mail submissions to [log in to unmask]
For information about joining ARLIS/NA see:
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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]
