The edcat cataloguing system (0.2)
Preface
Art publications demand a special system of cataloguing. The library standards are good for bibliographic information, but they don’t include certain aspects that are specific and of importance for art related publications. In certain collections and museums, these are catalogued in art cataloguing systems, which are great for artworks, but make it difficult and time consuming to catalogue items like multiples, books or ephemera – publications and editions don’t need the overhead of details that for example a painting does. Because of their nature of existing in many copies, the information can be reused.
That’s why edcat developed a new cataloguing system that combines the best of both worlds with the benefits of state of the art technology: standardized library values, the option to include detailed object and artwork descriptions as well as keeping it open to special attributes. The cataloguing system is designed to be simple to apply, easy to understand and also to be compatible with different similar systems like library and museum catalogues. .
The edcat cataloguing system is heavily inspired by the Manual for Artists' Publications (MAP) published by the Research Centre for Artists' Publications at the Weserburg (Bremen), the Mednarodni grafični likovni center (MGLC) (Ljubljana) and CNEAI = Centre national de l'édition et l'art imprimé(Chatou) in 2010 – as well as by experienced researchers, collectors and producers.
The current version is edcat cataloguing system 0.2
Documentation
This documentation is incomplete and is updated and extended frequently.
1. Main Information
1.1 Artist
item_artist
The name of the artist(s) or artist group(s).
1.2 Main Title*
item_main_title
The main title of the item. Original Title without subtitle.
Notes: Titles should not be entered in ALL CAPS – even if it’s written in all caps on the title (e.g. ALL ART FOR ARTISTS > All Art for Artists)
1.3 Subtitle
item_subtitle
The original subtitle of the item, if a subtitle exists.
1.4 Category*
item_category
The category of the item. edcat provides a set of categories. Every item needs to be in at least one category and can have multiple categories. Documentation on the categories can be found on the edcat Categories page.
1.5 Collected Edition Title
main_title
The Title of the Collected Edition or the complete work. This applies if the item is part of a multipart work complex or an edition.
1.6.1 Series Title
series_title
The Title of the Series, if it’s a series or magazine.
1.6.2 Series Volume/Issue
series_volume
The Volume or Issue (e.g. Number, Issue, Volume, Month, Year, ), if it’s a series or magazine. The format should be according to the format used in the series, eg. "Volume 2" or "#13" or "Nr. 17" or just "59".
1.7 Notes
notes
All general notes about this item that don’t fit any other field. This could be used to describe the occasion of this edition or add notes about specialties of the object. For descriptions from sources like publishers, books or blogs, please use the field "5.1 Quotes"
1.8 Subform
subform
The subform of the item. A list of subforms for each category can be found on the edcat Categories page.
1.9 Genre / Content Form
style
Appropriate genres or content forms.
Examples: Photography, Conceptual Art, Performance, Documentary, Visual Narrative, Action, Sculpture, Digital Art, Land Art.
1.10 Style / Movement / Current
style
Appropriate Styles/Movements/Currents.
Examples: Pop Art, Concrete Poetry, Dadaism, Surrealism, Fluxus.
1.11 Subjects / Topics
subjects
Appropriate Subjects, Topics, Ideas, Persons, Places that the work is dealing with or appear in the work.
1.12 Themes
themes
The themes that appear in the work.
1.13 Artistic Methods
methods
Methods used in the artistic process before the printing. (For the printing method please see 4.6.8 Technique).
2. Images
More information about image regulations and instructions on how to edit them on edcat can be found on the Images on edcat page
2.1 Image File
image_file
A file that was uploaded to the platform, in the form of a address.
This will be created by the platform when uploading an image.
2.2 Main Image
main_image
This is a boolean value that can only be applied to one image per item, that means that each item can only have one image that is defined as the main image.
2.4 Image Description
main_image
2.6 Image Copyright
image_view
Documentation in preparation:
3. Release Info
4. Work Information
5. Contributions
6. Objects
7. References
