Suzane, Thanks for responding directly to the list. I'd like to get more of a reaction from folks in the field. The initial questions were asked in preparation for a talk I've been asked to give at the AAM on the importance of standards in registration. Especially since you literally wrote the book on this, I'd like to plumb a little deeper:
>>Does your museum or museum division have a cataloger? If so, what is The name of the department this person is a part of? Who does he/she report to?<< >>sq - When fully staffed, yes, our library has a cataloger. But on the collections side, when I came to the Whitney, I changed the name of the collection cataloguer to Documentation Manager to differentiate from library cataloging activities, as well as to reflect the very different responsibilities inherent in the position as I defined it. The documentation area reports to the registrar (me).<< Is your library fully staffed now? Let's be provocative: which function tends to be more vulnerable, library cataloging or descriptive cataloging in the CM department? To elaborate a little, I'm hypothesizing that museums really "get it" about documenting transactions, collections care and management, but don't worry nearly as much about information discovery beyond their own staffs. >>If your museum does not have a position that is clearly labeled "cataloger," then where does descriptive cataloging take place? In the Collections Manager's/Registrar's office? In the curatorial departments? Somewhere else?<< >>sq - The Documentation Manager (DM) is responsible for all collection and exhibition paper files and records; the administration of the collections and exhibitions management system (upgrades, reports, statistics, staff training, system security, etc.); the legal aspect of the acquisition process (sending deeds of gift, processing purchases, preparation of lists of new acquisitions to the Board for ratification); basic cataloging and related data entry (marks, inscriptions, signatures, dimensions, media/materials, components, credit line, etc.). A bit of an aside: the curators begin the initial object record in the database as part of the proposal process (the proposal forms are printed from their initial record). They can change 'boiler plate' information in the record until the work is accessioned, after that if they want to change data - it goes through the reattribution process managed by the DM.<< What is the boiler-plate information? Is there a clear distinction in the roles of curator and DM vis-à-vis the creation of descriptive information? When a curator's term for something differs from, let's say, an accepted term in the AAT, which term gets used, i.e.: does local practice over-ride more generalized standards and if so, are the generally accepted terms maintained in addition to the local terms? Is there anything resembling thematic or subject categorization? >>sq - the Documentation Manager has a half time assistant who is largely devoted to cataloging and data entry. The DM also spends approximately 1/2 to 1/3 of her time cataloging the more complicated works.<< Thanks for responding. Let's hear from some other people! ___________________________________ Chuck Patch director of systems The Historic New Orleans Collection (504)523-4662 (504)598-7108 (fax) www.hnoc.org --- You are currently subscribed to mcn_mcn-l as: [email protected] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [email protected]
