Internet Resources

Cataloging

The Association of Moving Image Archivist’s Cataloging Committee http://www.amianet.org/committees/CoM/Cataloging/cataloging.html: provides a discussion forum on cataloging issues. This committee is also involved in developing national cataloging standards. The recent publication The AMIA Compendium of Moving Image Cataloging Practice is an invaluable resource that compiles the cataloging practices of over 27 institutions, offering diverse and wide-ranging solutions to cataloging problems specific to moving images. The Introduction and Appendices (Appendix A: Participating Organizations and Appendix E: Local Guidelines and Examples) are available on the web site. The publication can be ordered at: www.amianet.org/publication/resources/cataloging/compendium/main.html.
Digital Video Archives: Managing Through Metadata: www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub106/video.html: An examination from Carnegie Mellon University of how metadata can be produced and used with video archives. The report focuses on how automatic analysis of video can add metadata—such as details about action, topic, or event—and make cataloging more descriptive and precise.
Experimental Television Center—Video History Project’s Video Preservation—The Basics, www.experimentaltvcenter.org/history/index.html,: has specific information on cataloging collections, including a list of important questions to consider before adopting a cataloging strategy in the “Getting Started” section. More specific cataloging information can be found in the Resources section, which includes sections on the importance of compatible cataloging, the history of the IMAP Cataloging Project, an online cataloging tutorial, and additional resources.
Film and Video Preservation at Northern Region Film and Television Archive (NRFTA): NRFTA’s preservation policy, accessible at www.nrfta.org.uk/nrfta/downloads/pres_policy.pdf,: contains some interesting cataloging and assessment guidelines. Included in the cataloging section are guidelines for the status assessments of archived media. Items are either master status, copying status, viewing status, or surplus status. Cataloging of master status items (both film and videotape) is detailed as well.
IMAP MARC for FileMaker Cataloging Template: www.imappreserve.org: Designed to provide a standard way of cataloging video, film, and audio collections, this Template comes with a tutorial and online technical support. The information provided by standardized cataloging also enables the community to prioritize collection preservation. This Template is designed to make significant media-based collections available to a broad range of users, including students, curators, artists, and others.
IFLA’s (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) “Digital Libraries: Metadata Resources” gateway site: http://www.ifla.org/II/metadata.htm: An extremely thorough listing of web resources related to cataloging digital material.
Library of Congress MARC Standards : lcweb.loc.gov/marc/: Everything you’ve always wanted to know about Machine-Readable Cataloging (MARC)—a set of data standards for recording bibliographic information so that it can be exchanged between computer systems. In addition to specific MARC Formats and Codes, this site includes documentation of the development of MARC. “Understanding MARC Bibliographic: Machine-Readable Cataloging” at www.loc.gov/marc/umb/ is a helpful tutorial that outlines the basics and includes a bibliography for further study.
Moving Image Collections site: mic.imtc.gatech.edu: Housed at Rutgers University, the goal of the MIC is to provide an integrated, national online catalog of primarily science-related moving images. The site currently offers information on the MIC Directory Database, with evaluation results of initial implementation to be posted shortly, as well as downloadable databases and catalog utilities. Moving Image Collections grew out of the AMIA Moving Image Gateway Project, which sought to establish a national cataloging standard. A summary of this earlier initiative can be accessed on the AMIA web site.
Society of American Archivists (SAA) Visual Materials Section: www.lib.lsu.edu/SAA/VMhome.html: The Society of American Archivists is the largest professional archival association in North America. The Visual Materials Section of its web site includes a link to the SAA’s Visual Materials Cataloging & Access roundtable. Although this site has experienced service interruptions, the link to subscribe to the Visual Materials/Visual Materials Cataloging & Access listserv is viable.

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