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Many people both in the Prints and Photographs Division (P&P) of the Library of Congress and in other institutions were involved with the preparation of the second edition of the Thesaurus for Graphic Materials I: Subject Terms (TGM I). Elisabeth Betz Parker, Assistant Chief, and Helena Zinkham, Head, Processing Section, gave their experienced guidance and advice throughout the editing process. P&P Reference Librarian Barbara Orbach Natanson revised the introduction, reflecting new indexing practices as of January 1994. P&P Cataloger Karen Chittenden, with P&P Curators Ford Peatross and Cristina Carbone, developed new hierarchies of architectural terms. In addition to working on thesauri issues, Judith Terpstra, with BP Exploration (Alaska), edited the appendices, and P&P Cataloger Marcy Flynn proofread the thesaurus.
Other P&P catalogers and processing staff provided valuable input and advice on key questions, and reference and curatorial staff offered valuable consultation on terminology. Outside reviewers for the final draft included John Bye, North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, North Dakota State University Archives; Beth Delaney, Albany Institute of History and Art; Jackie Dooley, Getty Art History Information Program; Janet Murray, Photography Collection, Miriam & Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, New York Public Library. LEXICO software developers, Prasad Nair and Lyn Neal (Project Management, Inc.), provided an easy to use and flexible thesaurus maintenance system. The Library of Congress Information Technology Services and Automation Planning and Liaison Office also provided technical support. The Cataloging and Distribution Service arranged the publication and marketing of the thesaurus, in coordination with P&P Cataloger Sarah Rouse.
Barbara Orbach Natanson
Reference Librarian and editor for TGM I, 1989-1994
Arden Alexander
Cataloger (Pictorial Collections) and editor for TGM I, 1993-
November 1994
Demand for access to pictorial collections has increased dramatically over the last decade, as have opportunities to build automated catalogs and to share catalog records. In response to numerous requests from custodians of picture collections for a published list of terms to guide them in subject indexing and retrieval, I prepared Subject Headings Used in the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, a preliminary list issued in 1980. This list could not, however, translate readily into the environment of more sophisticated access and integrated systems. It was Jackie Dooley who convinced me in 1984 that it was time to revise and expand the preliminary list.
I would like most of all to thank the catalogers in the Prints and Photographs Division, who provided a steady supply of terms and questions about scope and application that led to the formulation of public and cataloger's notes, as well as the guidelines outlined in the introduction. For their stimulation and enthusiasm as I pursued this monumental task, I am grateful to Mary Goss, Marilyn Ibach, Jane Dunbar Johnson, Barbara C. Orbach, and Helena Zinkham. Helena Zinkham also helped by reading the entire thesaurus during final review.
The staff of the Chicago Historical Society, who have worked with draft copies of the thesaurus, also made comments which resulted in the addition of notes and guidelines.
I am greatly indebted to Jackie Dooley, who undertook the writing of the introduction, even after she moved from LC to the University of California at San Diego. It is not easy trying to explain in the abstract how pictures are subject cataloged. I wish also to thank Barbara Orbach for helping with the editing of the introduction.
Prasad Nair of Project Management, Inc., and the Library of Congress Automated Systems Office provided technical support for LEXICO, the software used to produce this thesaurus. Without automation, the task could never have been accomplished.
I am grateful to Henriette Avram, Lucia Rather, and Mary K. Pietris of the Library of Congress Processing Services Department for their support, which is of the utmost importance in such an endeavor. I also thank Stephen E. Ostrow, Renata V. Shaw, and the Prints and Photographs Division staff for their patience during this long process.
Elisabeth Betz Parker
Picture Cataloging Specialist
Prints and Photographs Division
March 1987
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