 |
 |
Vertical File Exhibition Catalog Retention Guidelines
May 28, 2008 - DAS, based on BR artist file document
The scholarly and documentary content of the catalog is important in determining what is retained gets cataloged. The number of pages is not a determining factor.
Criteria for retention and cataloging
Inclusion of the following features or characteristics:
Return to the vertical file (for artists)
Factors that speak to not retaining (for artists) — give to Bibliographer to review:
Discard (for group exhibitions)
Barbara E. Reed
Bibliographer/Acquisitions Librarian
Thomas J. Watson Library
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10028-0198
Voice: 212-650-2949
Fax: 212-570-3847
[log in to unmask]
****************************************************************************************
In our library, the primary vertical files that we have are on artists.
Any exhibition catalogue from a museum or dealer catalogue on one
artist that is over 100 pages automatically is fully cataloged and goes
into the open stacks. Smaller one-person catalogues go into the
vertical files and get full records if there is a signed essay,
hopefully an ISBN, and some substance to it. Otherwise, it gets
stamped, labeled, and filed.
Anne O. Morris
Head Librarian
*********************************************************************************************************************************
Our criteria is to usually make the decision at 35 pages--under 35, stays in the file--over 35 pages, gets cataloged. This isn't absolute since I will make exceptions for artists who have a local/regional reputation or for a pamphlet documenting a topic of unusually strong interest to our teaching/research programs.
Susan Craig
Art & Architecture Librarian
Univ. of
[log in to unmask]; 785-864-3020
*************************************************************************************************************
Here at the SBMA, we tend not to; however, if it is published by our museum and has already been cataloged in OCLC, we will probably add it to the online catalog, and shelve it in a pamphlet binder. All exhibition pamphlets which we publish do go into binders (in archival envelopes). Those from other museums are not cataloged unless of particular relevance to our collection and containing rare information (i.e. Qing Dynasty robes). If pamphlet is about a single artist, we might keep it in the vertical files under the artist’s name.
Time, cataloging skills, and space constraints influence the decisions.
Heather Brodhead
Librarian
Constance & George Fearing Library
Santa Barbara Museum of Art www.sbma.net
(805) 884-6451
****************************************************************************************************************
The rule here at LACMA used to be that pamphlets 8 pages or more would be cataloged. Now it’s more based on content: if it’s a significant artist or an artist in the collection, etc.
Alexis Curry/LACMA Research Library
Elizabeth Lilker at NYU passed on your query. We're doing a big grant-funded project right now cataloging 36,000 18th, 19th, and early 20th century pamphlets. We're doing item-level cataloging for everything except for the most ephemeral publications (i.e. small foldout brochures, or single sheets). For the ephemeral items, we try either to treat them as accompanying materials on the record for a larger item (for example a pamphlet accompanied by a membership form), or to group them into subject categories and create collection-level records.
Henry Raine
Head of Library Technical Services
The New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park
New York