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Preface
Outline of the Categories of Information
Introduction
Building a Common Framework for Catalogue Entries
Implementing a Common Framework
Introduction
Organization of the Guidelines
Groups/Items
Subjects/Built Works
People/Corporate Bodies
Geographic Locations
Bibliographic Sources
Introduction
Group Entries
Volume (Sketchbook) Entry
Item Entries
Glossary
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
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A Guide to the Description of Architectural Drawings


Groups/Items Categories:

Document Classification


Catalogue Level
Group Type
Extent
Document Type

A catalogue record can correspond to many documents (as in archival groups), to a volume (album or sketchbook), or to an individual item (such as a drawing or photograph). Document Classification is a broad categorization that establishes the level of cataloguing and classifies the material according to its physical form, use, or intellectual content.

It must always be recorded whether an entry corresponds to a group of documents, a volume, or an item.

Groups are defined by repositories, and they often have several subgroups, established according to archival principles of provenance. A catalogue record will correspond to one level of a group, be it the group, subgroup, series, subseries, etc. This level is indicated in the category Group Type.

Volumes are albums or sketchbooks: bound volumes, with contents that may or may not vary in subjects and media. Only volumes that are currently bound are considered in this category, since levels of description in core cataloguing are delimited by the current status of items. Reconstructions of historical volumes are not included for this reason, except as part of a descriptive note (see also Related Items, one of the top level categories in Groups/Items).

Items are individual sheets, folios, or pages to which media have been applied to form images and/or texts. They may have overlays or ancillary supports affixed, and they may be part of a volume. The item level is the most specific level of core cataloguing.

The Catalogue Level category states whether a record is of a group, volume, or item. If it describes a group or volume, the quantity of documents it contains can be expressed under Extent. The broad physical form, function, use, and/or subjects of the document or documents (e.g., travel sketchbook, architectural drawings) are recorded in the category Document Type.



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Category: Catalogue Level

Definition:
Designation of the catalogue entry as corresponding to a group of documents, a volume, or an item.

Discussion:
This category makes it possible to distinguish among entries for different levels and establishes an entry's relative place within a hierarchy of groups, volumes, and items. Hierarchies reflect the relationships within groups of documents and may or may not correspond to administrative hierarchies within the originating organization or office.

As noted in the introductory discussion of Groups/Items, it is a matter of repository policy to decide whether holdings lend themselves to being arranged and catalogued in groups, and, if so, on which hierarchical levels those groups should be catalogued.

Terminology:
group, volume, or item

Implementation:
access point
vocabulary-controlled
core
single occurrence

It is important to relate records hierarchically, i.e., a group record to all its subgroup records, at the level of data structure. This category does not fulfill that need. It should therefore be supplemented by other mechanisms, depending on the type of system available.



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Category: Group Type

Definition:
Designation of the relative scope or hierarchical level chosen for a group catalogue record. (See the introductory discussion of Groups/Items.)

Discussion:
If the repository's policy allows for more than one level of group cataloguing across its collection, this category may be especially useful for retrieving all records of a certain level (e.g., all project- or series-level records). If, on the other hand, the repository intends to limit cataloguing to one level (e.g., series), this category may not be necessary.

Terminology:
Terminology for this category may be difficult to standardize. It is recommended, however, that terminology be defined and applied consistently within the various divisions of any repository [1]. Typical vocabulary includes record group, collection, project, fonds, series, subseries.

Implementation:
access point
vocabulary-controlled
optional
single occurrence



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Category: Extent

Definition:
A descriptive statement concerning the quantity, or volume, of documents in the group or volume to which the catalogue entry corresponds. Extent is usually expressed by the number and kind of units counted.


Examples:


273 folios
21 cubic feet
3 items, 8 sacks, and 25 boxes
14 pages and endpapers


Discussion:
This category gives researchers an approximate idea of the amount of material in the group or volume and thus allows the user to estimate the amount of time it may take to examine it. A group's or volume's bulk or size is the focus of this category. Contents, purpose, media, or document types are covered in other categories.

Implementation:
descriptive
optional
single occurrence



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Category: Document Type

Definition:
Classification of the document by any of the following characteristics:
  1. Broad physical form or method of production (e.g., albums, sketchbooks, sets, drawings, photographs, prints, coins, models).
  2. Broad function, purpose, or use for which the items were made (e.g., specifications, guidebooks, pattern books, administrative records, contract documents, bidding documents, land surveys, business records, church records, government records, personal papers).
  3. Broad class of subjects to which the items belong (e.g., architectural documents, maps). The focus of the Guide is architectural drawings and related documents. This class includes any medium that graphically depicts structures, parts of structures, or designs, whether built or unbuilt. That is, any depiction of any portion of the built or unbuilt environment can be considered an architectural document. Subjects include furniture, engineering designs, naval architecture, urban design, textiles, architectural ornaments, landscape designs, and stage designs.


Discussion:
The variety of concepts embraced by Document Type reflects the varied applications it may have in different repositories. Large collections are often classified, and sometimes physically arranged, by their subjects, genres, provenances, or media. A repository in this case will have its own classification lists. There is considerable latitude in these schemes. Retrieval will depend on how the concepts are related to one another through a thesaurus or other means. To increase the possibility for a more standardized approach, concepts deemed particularly important for retrieval are specified in other categories; see, for example, Technique, one of the top level categories in Groups/Items.

It is suggested that the term architectural drawings (or, more broadly, architectural documents) be included to facilitate retrieval. The ability to find all repositories with architectural documents, for example, would be reduced if that broad classification were not present. This is desirable even for a repository possessing only architectural documents, even though the classification may seem too broad to be useful. In this instance, the goal of sharing information may motivate repositories to enter basic information that otherwise seems obvious.


Examples of Repository Classifications by Document Type:

Deutsches Architektur-Museum:
1. Modell, Zeichnung, Pause, Druck, Collage
2. Skizze, Entwurfszeichnung, Ausf\xFChrungszeichnung, Lageplan
3. Einzelblatt, Konvolut, Buch

Royal Institute of British Architects (Drawings Collection):
drawings, sketchbooks, albums
prints
photographs
models
medals
architectural casts and fragments
drawing instruments
architects' office furniture


Terminology:
The definition of this category is meant to be consistent with the scope of the Information Forms (VW) hierarchy in the AAT. However, broad terms from the Visual Works (VC) hierarchy may also be appropriate [2].

Implementation:
access point
terminology-controlled
core
repeatable

In groups and volumes, there can be several broad document types. These may all be listed, since this category can be repeated.



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