VRA Core Categories Visual Resources Association Data Standards Committee Project Presented by: Hilary Evart Dena Weigel Bell Joel Taylor Kelsey Smith American Library Association, New Monterey Hotel, Asbury Park, N.J., June 25, 1919

Visual Resources Association- History 1968: annual College Art Association (CAA) conferences began 1970’s: Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) was formed 1983: VRA’s first official meeting in Philadelphia Today: VRA has over 600 active members

Visual Resources Association- Philosophy “The Visual Resources Association is a multi- disciplinary community of image management professionals working in educational and cultural heritage environments. The Association is committed to providing leadership in the field, developing and advocating standards, and providing educational tools and opportunities for its members.”

VRA Core Categories V3.0- Introduction VRA Core is… A flexible, open-ended, metadata content standard Designed as an “element” set or database vocabulary terms Categories are intended to document: Works of visual culture The images that document those works

Who uses VRA Core Categories? Slide librarians Catalogers of images Museums Curators of visual materials collections The Albrecht-Kemper Museum

VRA Core Goals: To enable good descriptive cataloging To create a place for sharing documentation To improve access To aid in further research & education of visual resources To promote interoperability between image databases

VRA Core- Interoperability Examples Database Designer Records can be accessed by other VRA compliant programs Search Engine Designer Search engine designed with the ability to “read” VRA

VRA Core & Dublin Core- Compliance Compliant with Dublin Core Metadata Initiative specifications Uses Dublin Core vocabulary terms Ex: Subject, Creator, Date Follows the DCMI “1:1 principle” Only 1 object may by described within a single record

Bernhard Eversburg summarized the 1:1 principle: Make metadata one to one, just one per item, is the task. Rather less, more's a mess! "But what's an item", now you ask? If that's in doubt, do none. From “International Metadata Initiatives: Lessons in Bibliographic Control,” Priscilla Caplan Library of Congress

VRA Core Categories V3.0: How it Works Work entered in table Table linked to records through a database All categories need not be used No minimum amount of elements Elements are repeatable No specific order Flexible and customizable “The Line at the Butcher's Shop”- Edouard Manet

Use of controlled vocabulary is recommended Ex: Subject Category AAT TGM Iconclass Sears VRA Core Categories V3.0: How it Works “Night, the "L" Train”- Edward Hopper

All VRA categories and qualifiers are repeatable A record describing a woodcut print could have multiple Type entries Type = print Type = woodcut A record describing a WPA poster could have multiple Subject entries Subject = Libraries, Illinois- 1930’s to 40’s Subject = Screenprints, color- 1930’s to 40’s Images courtesy of Library of Congress

Record Type and Relation Record Type: Created to distinguish between a visual “work” and an “image.” Work: “A physical entity that exists, has existed at some time in the past, or that could exist in the future.” Image: “A visual representation of a work.”

Work Relationships: 2 Types Essential relationship: Described work contains referenced work Informative relationship: Works can stand independently Relationship is informative but not essential VRA recommends reciprocal links between two works

VRA Core Categories, Version 3.0 Record Type Type Title Measurements Material Technique Subject Relation Description Source Rights Creator Date Location ID Number Style/Period Culture

VRA Record: Example #1 Work Title: Farnsworth House, Plano, Illinois, United States Alternate: Edith Farnsworth House Classification: KX (Loeb Library, Harvard Design School) 182 P F (Harvard Fine Arts Library, Visual Collections - Slides and Digital Images) Work Type: houses Creator: Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig ( ) Germany, Germany, architect Production: Plano, Illinois, United States Date: Topics: glass; steel Surrogate 63 of 100 Title: Ext. Entrance facade Classification: 182 P F Work Type: color slide Repository: Harvard Fine Arts Library, Visual Collections - Slides and Digital Images Record Identifier: olvsite1178

VRA Record: Example #2 Work Title: Folly Item Identifier: S (Accession Number) Work Type: Print Creator: Pierre Alexandre Aveline ( ) Date: c State/Edition: R. 28 Dimensions: 30 cm x 34.4 cm plate Nationality/Culture: French; French Materials/Techniques: Etching & engraving Note: Anonymous Fund for the Acquisition of Prints Older than 150 Years Repository: Fogg Art Museum Harvard University Art Museums Record Identifier: HUAM229082

VRA Record: Example #3 Work Title: Menacing Head Item Identifier: BR34.28 (Accession Number) Work Type: Print Creator: Paul Klee (Münchenbuchsee near Bern, Switzerland , Muralto-Locarno, Switzerland) Date: 1905 State/Edition: Kornfeld 18 Dimensions: 20.6 cm x 15.4 cm plate Nationality/Culture: Swiss; Swiss Materials/Techniques: Ink Etching Note: Anonymous Gift Repository: Busch-Reisinger Museum, Harvard University Art Museums Record Identifier: HUAM90318

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