 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
 |
||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
Video Preservation - The Basics Cataloging
Importance of Compatible Cataloging
Those who support preservation activities are very concerned about providing access to collections they support. Intellectual access to media arts collections is extremely limited. There is often no compatible electronic information system in place that is easily accessed and allows users to share information about holdings. Many groups have no comprehensive paper records, coordinated paper catalogs, union lists, paper indexes or any other useful finding aids to allow researchers, programmers, educators, or other interested parties access to their collections. Access to the works themselves is also limited. Many of the tapes cannot be played back at this time. Until the tapes are identified and prioritized in importance, an organization can't make sensible decisions about which need to be preserved. Using a compatible electronic cataloging system would help groups with tape collections to:
History of the IMAP Cataloging Project
Further distribution of the template was carried on by Media Alliance, providing training and technical assistance to groups in upstate New York, with NAMID's assistance. This work is now being continued through the IMAP Cataloging Project, and the scope of the work is being expanded through an online component. For a copy of the template contact IMAP The template can be used by people without cataloging experiences but who have some familiarity with computer databases. FileMaker Pro is easy to use and operates on both Macintosh and IBM platforms. The data captured in the FileMaker Pro template can be exported to other databases. The template is in use by the Kitchen, the Experimental TV Center, Visual Studies Workshop, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, Paper Tiger Television, and Downtown Community Television Center, and is regularly requested by artists and organizations nationwide. The Online Cataloging Tutorial
While IMAP recognizes that an online tutorial cannot take the place of professional cataloging, most groups will devise a cataloging system of their own because they need to generate lists of titles in their collections. These systems often rely on a variety of word processing and database programs with no relationship to standard cataloging processes and procedures. They are frequently incompatible with other database systems. Often if a professional cataloger is brought in, the system is scrapped and the cataloging work begins again with a new template. The IMAP template provides a standard set of fields, and a standard way of entering data into the fields. Cataloging is usually done in stages. The stages range from an inventory level record which includes the title, name of maker and other information easily obtained from labels on the work and its container, to a full MARC record which requires viewing of the tape and completing Name and Subject Authority work. The cataloger also has the choice of a collection level record which describes a related group of works in a single record, or an item level record which describes each work in its own record. Through the tutorial, IMAP encourages the use of item level cataloging because it is more useful for research and preservation decision-making. The template is distributed with a set of instructions that explain each field and provides illustrative examples. The research and planning for the tutorial have addressed many important questions. Two reports were written, one by Jim Hubbard and one by C.B. Cooke of Glyph Media. Contact IMAP for copies of the reports. Planning for the implementation of the cataloging tutorial is on-going. Archival Moving Image Materials: A Cataloging Manual Revisions to Archival Moving Image Materials: A Cataloging Manual. Compiled by Wendy White-Henson. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, 1984. AMIA Cataloging and Documentation Committee Extensive information and links AMIA Compendium of Moving Image Cataloging Practice National Moving Image Database at the American Film Institute |
| contribute | search | resources | home | contact | about VHP | site map |
 |
