INFORMATION STRUCTURES FOR VISUAL WORKS Jonathan Furner :: November 30, 2010

Information structures for resource use for resource access discovery, retrieval, search ... for resource description cataloging, classification, representation, arrangement, organization, documentation, registration ... resource-description (metadata) standards

Two kinds of standards universal, global, generic, one-size-fits-all vs. particular, local, specific: different standards for ... different kinds of resources and/or collections different kinds of collecting institutions different kinds of user communities etc.

Many kinds of resources library / bibliographic resources books, articles, documents archival resources records, manuscripts, papers museum resources objects, artifacts, specimens visual resources images, photographs, pictures moving-image resources motion pictures

Differences that make a difference So, what are the relevant differences among resource-types? And how do those differences translate into different requirements for metadata standards?

There is no WorldCat for objects the ideal museum/VR discovery service? a global database of images of visual works ... ... represented by records based on an “International Standard Object Description” ... ... identified by an “International Standard Object Number” ... ... and related to one another using a data model specified by some “Functional Requirements for Object Records” ... ... providing a one-stop-shop for searches for “Monet” we are some way from this but some standards exist and are useful, and it’s up to us (a) to promote their use, and (b) to develop some more

Categories of metadata standards structure standards: schemata MARC, EAD, Dublin Core, CDWA, CDWA Lite, VRA Core, LIDO ... content standards RDA, DACS, Spectrum, CCO, AMIM2, FIAF Cataloguing Rules ... value standards: vocabularies for names of: kinds of objects, activities, agents, materials, properties; individual people, places, events, subjects, works ... format/exchange standards: encodings MARC, XML ... model standards FRBR, CIDOC CRM, FRBRoo, CCO data model ...

References VRA Core 4.0: http://www.loc.gov/standards/vracore/ LIDO: Lightweight Information Describing Objects: http://www.lido-schema.org/ CCO: Cataloging Cultural Objects: http://www.vrafoundation.org/ccoweb/index.htm TGM: Thesaurus for Graphic Materials: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/tgm/ Getty Vocabularies: http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabularies/index.ht ml

Credits Evans, Walker. 1936. Alabama Tenant Farmer Wife. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/photographs/alabama _tenant_farmer_wife_walker_evans/objectview.aspx?page=1159&sort=0&sortdir=asc &keyword=&fp=1&dd1=19&dd2=0&vw=1&collID=19&OID=190037934&vT=1&hi= 0&ov=0 Levine, Sherrie. 1981. After Walker Evans: 4. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/photographs/after_wa lker_evans_4_sherrie_levine//objectview.aspx?OID=190019034&collID=19&dd1=19 Mandiberg, Michael. 2001. Untitled (AfterSherrieLevine.com/2.jpg). http://www.aftersherrielevine.com/images2.html