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National Survey of Bibliographic Access to Documentary Pictorial Collections, 1994


Introduction

This directory was originally published as Part B of the National Survey of Bibliographic Access to Documentary Pictorial Collections, conducted by Paul Hodgson of Informed Sources on behalf of the Working Group on High Priority Cross Sectoral Projects, during 1994.

1.1 Scope and Purpose of the Survey:

The survey covered 23 major collecting institutions in three categories:

  1. National and State Libraries
  2. National collecting institutions, eg National Film and Sound Archive
  3. State-level Museums

    Terms of reference for the survey were to:

    1. Describe the existing state of bibliographic access to pictorial collections, including the following aspects:

      - extent of the bibliographic data;
      - availability of data;
      - form of bibliographic access (including cards, directories, guides, listings, machine readable files and databases);
      - the level of bibliographic access (eg, access to collections of items, individual items or parts of items);
      - bibliographic standards which are used.
    2. Identify major shortcomings or gaps in bibliographic access.
    3. Collect sufficient information to support the option of producing a directory of bibliographic access to documentary pictorial collections.

    With the agreement of the Steering Committee and partly because of the existence of Jane Symons "Photographic resources of Australia 1990" (which provides an excellent guide to the content of photographic collections), the third term of reference was subtly changed in a manner reflected in this report. Part B of the report gives descriptions of present practices and future plans in the surveyed institutions (Term 3).

    It is hoped that Part B of the report will be of interest on two counts: (a) in supporting and detailing the observations made in Part A; and (b) as a "census" of bibliographic practices in the major institutions. A notable finding of the survey was the very high proportion of institutions in the process of evaluating and implementing new imaging technology and it is to be expected/hoped that the findings of Part B will soon be overtaken by events. Pictorial curators should find some interest in the experiences of other collections described in Part B. Part B does not, however, purport to be a document that would be of any particular interest to researchers or users of the collections.

    The survey methodology was influenced from the outset by perceptions that a mailed questionnaire would be unilluminating and that, in the constant state of bombardment by questionnaire experienced by the major collecting institutions, it would probably go largely unanswered. The other perception, which proved to be justified in many cases, was that pictorial sections were often under-staffed and that anything the consultants could do to help in the information gathering exercise would be welcomed.

    The survey consequently involved personal visits by the consultants to each institution during early 1994 supported by a questionnaire which, because of the time constraints on pictorial curators described in the previous paragraph, was sometimes completed by the consultants themselves and sometimes only partially completed.

    As part of the questionnaire, state and national libraries were asked to create specimen database records for six photographic items, some individual photographs and others albums or large collections. This was aimed at shedding light on specific differences in cataloguing practice. The state libraries of NSW, NT and SA complied with this but others who had not yet automated said that since they had not yet determined a database format, it would be misleading to comply. Part B of the report under State Library of New South Wales and State Library of South Australia shows examples of the specimen database records.

    Definition of Materials:

    The survey attempted to cover all pictorial materials - photographs, art works, posters, architectural and engineering plans and drawings and pictorial ephemera such as postcards and illuminated addresses.

    The covering instructions to the questionnaire defined "documentary pictorial material" as follows:

    The survey covers libraries, museums and archives and is not directed at art galleries. We adopt the simplifying definition that pictorial material in such institutions will almost by definition be "documentary", whether the pictorial material exists as a primary record in its own right or whether it exists as a secondary record to another collection (eg "photographs associated with the collection of fossil molluscs.")

    Another simplifying definition of "pictorial" might be as follows: If a user enquiry is unlikely to be satisfied except by looking at an illustration, then the enquiry is probably pictorial in nature. Collections of photographs, art works, posters, drawings, sketches, plans and diagrams are consequently likely to be "pictorial".

    A specific exclusion, however, for this particular survey is that cartographic material is not to be included. This includes maps as well as aerial photographs taken for mapping purposes.

    The survey is primarily concerned with Australiana. It is assumed, however, that the pictorial collections of the 23 participating institutions are overwhelmingly Australian. Significant exceptions should be discussed with the consultants.

    In practice, the survey took a somewhat utilitarian turn and concentrated on materials in the control of pictorial curators or other interviewees. In some cases, unknown and unestimable quantities of relevant material were held in manuscripts collections.

    The assumption that collections comprise overwhelmingly Australiana appears to have been correct if the definition is stretched to include some ethnographic and social history collections relating to Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific. Some of State Library of South Australia's maritime photograph collections are not limited geographically and National Film and Sound Archives holds some albums of tourist postcards collected by the singer Peter Dawson on his overseas tours. These are examples of minor exceptions to the general rule that collections are to all intents and purposes collections of Australiana.

    There is a strong emphasis in this survey on still photographs because they constitute the bulk of pictorial items held by the libraries and museums surveyed and because their bibliographic control presents unique challenges. Moving images were not included in the survey.

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