Indexing the visual arts in New Zealand : a survey

Abstract

Research in Australia, the UK and the US has shown that indexes are commonly developed in-house in visual arts libraries to provide access to the non-book material that is an essential part of visual arts research, such as ephemera files and image collections. However, these resources can be difficult to locate as many are not accessible through shared, centralised information access tools. This study looks at visual arts indexing in New Zealand art libraries. The objectives of this research were two-fold: (1) to describe and gain an understanding of current visual arts indexing and cataloguing practice in New Zealand art libraries, and (2) to determine the sharing potential of these resources. A set of characteristics was determined from the findings which describes the current nature of in-house indexing practice and those factors which contribute to and pose barriers to wider sharing. The 19 New Zealand institutional members of the Arts Libraries Society of Australia and New Zealand (ARLIS/ANZ) were surveyed with a self-administered questionnaire. A response rate of 68% was achieved, too low to generalise the findings which should only be viewed as indicative of the population rather than conclusive. The results indicated that New Zealand art libraries are a diverse group, with many holding significant collections of non-book material (or "guerilla resources"). The use of information technology is high, with most visual arts indexes maintained in electronic form. However, resource discovery largely depends on type of material; while book material is often catalogued using shared standards and available on internet accessible OPACs, "guerilla resources" tend to be unlisted or the indexes to them only available in-house. Nevertheless, there is a willingness to share information about visual arts collections, and New Zealand art librarians readily do so when the infrastructure and resources are available. This is demonstrated, for example, by the high level of reporting of book material by New Zealand art libraries to the National Library's bibliographic database (Te Puna). It is concluded that the ability to also report "guerilla resources" to Te Puna would be a significant first step in improving access to these collections.