Mixed Media

In the course of a single day’s work here at the Jean Outland Chrysler Library, I may process and catalog anything from Victorian travelogues to independent films starring heroes of the American counter-culture movement. Such diversity speaks volumes about the library’s commitment to building a truly comprehensive collection and also makes my job a lot of fun!
One of my priorities this week was reviewing and cataloging audiovisual materials. Whether in VHS, DVD, or even CD-ROM form, these materials will soon find a new home in the A. Kempton d'Ossche Art Video Collection. While adding an officially released and professionally produced biography of Pablo Picasso to the collection is fairly straightforward, the library also offers footage of past museum events, artist interviews, and taped art-related segments from news programs such as CBS Sunday Morning. A substantial portion of the un-cataloged audiovisual material has come to us with limited or non-existent documentation and the first step is often popping in a tape to see what’s actually on it. Once the suspense has passed, the detective work begins again and (hopefully) a catalog record takes shape as the tape plays. It’s safe to say that, when it comes to audiovisual material, the Jean Outland Chrysler Library offers researchers the chance to go off the beaten path.

In the midst of my work with tapes and videodiscs, I was able to describe and catalog three photo albums from more than a century before families could document a trip to Europe on a camcorder. Found together in a box in the library stacks, the three leather-bound albums date from 1875 and 1878 and, in early forms of photography, document a tour of Western Europe. I found it fascinating that a contemporary tourist would take or buy many of the same photos as those in the album and felt a tangible link to the past while exploring this fantastic resource. The albums reside in the rare books room and now have individual catalog records; I also created an archival finding aid to describe the three albums as one collection. Unfortunately, there are few immediate clues as to the origin and custodial history of the collection, but the albums can certainly stand on their own as valuable primary sources.
--John Curtis, Jean Outland Chrysler Library Cataloging Fellow

Postcards, Periodicals, and Greetings from Estonia

Happy Fourth of July! Appropriately, the early 20th century postcard collection I’ve begun processing this week has its fair share from the US of A, along with what I’ve determined to be one postcard from what is now the capitol of Estonia. No I'm not spending the holiday weekend in Eastern Europe, but if I had sometime around the turn of the century, I could have sent a postcard much like the one in our collection. I’m putting my archives training to good use (hopefully) and creating a finding aid for a small postcard collection currently housed in the rare books room of the Jean Outland Chrysler Library. The origins of the collection are a bit mysterious, but that won’t keep us from arranging and describing it to provide access for researchers interested in late 19th and early 20th century postcards. The collection is truly a global one, with landscapes, cityscapes, art, and architecture from more than a dozen countries. Most of the postcards are blank, but represent a useful resource for both those interested in postcard manufacture and use and those interested in the scenes they depict. The bulk of the collection is art reproductions and scenic locales so I’m currently arranging the collection into series based on geography and, in the case of the art postcards, Library of Congress classification. The finding aid won’t describe individual postcards, but will provide an overview of the collection and valuable access points to what could otherwise be an overwhelming jumble.

This week I also worked on cataloging art periodicals. In addition to our diverse current periodical subscriptions, the library also holds donated and rare materials and specific issues related to museum collections and shows. More dynamic than single or even multi-volume monographs, periodicals present unique cataloging challenges. Periodicals often change names, absorb other serials, change the frequency of distribution, and shift the place of publication. Cataloger becomes detective!

Finally, a quick shout-out to our new glass door. Museum staff and visitors can now see the friendly faces waiting for them at the reference desk as they enter the reading room. What once appeared to be a particularly foreboding vault door is now a lot more inviting. It may seem like a small detail, but, especially in the case of museum visitors, the new door sends the message that they’re welcome at the library.

--John Curtis, Cataloging Fellow