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Getty Information Institute, Standards and Research Projects
Program records
IA40007
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Title: Standards and Research Projects Program records
Date (inclusive): 1979-1998 (bulk 1986-1998)
Number: IA40007
Creator/Collector:
Getty Information Institute. Standards
and Research Projects Program
Physical Description:
56.1 Linear Feet
(79 boxes)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Institutional Records and Archives
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles 90049-1688
reference@getty.edu
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10020/askref
(310) 440-7390
Abstract: Materials comprise
the records of the Standards and Research Projects Program (1993-1998) and its
predecessors the Scholarly Information Development Program (1983-1990) and the
Information Standards and Services Program (1990-1993), which were departments within
the Getty Information Institute (GII) and its predecessor the Getty Art History
Information Program (AHIP). Materials include seminal records on systems development
related to projects such as the Art and Architecture Thesaurus® (AAT), Foundation for
Documents of Architecture (FDA), the Avery Index, the Bibliography of the History of Art
(BHA), the Census of Antique Works of Art and Architecture Known in the Renaissance, the
Witt Library Index, the Thesaurus Artis Universalis (TAU), the Getty Provenance Index®,
the Répertoire international de la littérature de l'art (RILA), and others. Records
include the files of program managers, project managers, systems analysts, and
programmers, dating from 1979 to 1998, and include administrative files, correspondence,
memoranda, reports, proposals, meeting minutes, agreements, subject files, project
files, computer programmers' notes, printouts of computer data samples, digital
snapshots of databases, digital samples of various versions of software produced, and
video recordings demonstrating databases and systems.
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access to the material described in this inventory through its corresponding
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Administrative Information section of this finding aid for access restrictions specific
to the records described below. Please note, some of the records may be stored off site;
advanced notice is required for access to these materials.
Language: Collection material is in English
The Standards and Research Projects Program was a department within the Getty
Information Institute (GII). GII was the name given to the Getty Art History Information
Program (AHIP) when AHIP was renamed in 1996. During the 1980s, as personal computers
became tools for scholarly research, AHIP pioneered research on the informational needs
of art historians and was the driving force behind several collaborative projects
concerning art-related texts and images that provided unprecedented automation of,
digitization of, and access to these types of materials. During the 1990s, as the
Internet and the World Wide Web became accessible to an increasing number of people,
AHIP / GII played dynamic roles in several collaborative initiatives to standardize data
management practices and to establish electronic networks that would bring together the
resources of diverse cultural institutions.
The GII worked to enhance worldwide access to cultural information by means of computer
technology. The GII conducted advanced research, created electronic databases of
scholarly information, and undertook technical demonstration projects. The GII was a
bridge between the worlds of humanities scholarship and information technology. In
collaboration with institutes in the Americas and overseas, the Institute worked to
preserve cultural heritage information and ensure that it remained accessible on the
electronic networks of the future. The Standards and Research Projects Program and its
predecessors were responsible for the programming and production of AHIP / GII's
electronic projects and initiatives and the oversight of the Getty Vocabulary
Coordination Group.
The Scholarly Information Development Program (circa 1986-1990) was one of the original
departments of AHIP. The department was first renamed Information Standards and Services
(1990-1993) and ultimately renamed Standards and Research Projects (1993-1998). These
name changes reflect evolving trends in professional terminology and only a slight shift
in the department's focus; the responsibilities and function of the department remained
relatively constant and there was continuity of much of the staff through the program's
various iterations. Standards and Research Projects and its predecessors managed AHIP /
GII's projects, systems managers, analysts, and programmers; set timetables and oversaw
the preparation and dissemination of data from AHIP / GII standards projects; and
engaged in collaborative efforts with other institutions.
Some of the notable projects undertaken by Standards and Research Projects and its
predecessors include:
- The Répertoire international de la littérature de l'art (RILA), a bibliographical system that indexed and abstracted art historical literature that was first based at the Clark Art Institute in Massachusetts and was acquired by the Getty in 1982;
- The Avery Index of Architectural Periodicals, a bibliographical system that indexed periodical literature in the history of architecture, was originally based at the Avery Library of Columbia University, and was acquired by AHIP in 1984;
- The Architectural Drawings Advisory Group (ADAG), a consortium of some twelve worldwide repositories of architectural drawings that was based in Washington, D.C. at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of Arts and was charged with developing a standard format for cataloging architectural drawings;
- The Provenance Index, a database that was designed to trace the custodial history of western European works of art from the late 16th century to the early 20th century by indexing transcriptions of material from auction catalogs and archival inventories (it evolved into the Getty Provenance Index® databases);
- The Witt Library Index, a collaborative venture with the Courtauld Institute (London) that endeavored to electronically link images from the Witt Library with the descriptive information related to each item;
- The Census of Antique Art and Architecture Known to the Renaissance, which began in 1946 as a file of text and images in the Warburg Institute of London, was expanded by the Bibliotheca Hertziana (Rome) in 1982, and whose automation was sponsored by the Getty in 1984;
- The Art and Architecture Thesaurus® (AAT), a database of standardized vocabulary that was designed in the 1970s to merge redundant and contradictory subject headings from various controlled vocabularies related to the description of objects and monuments and was acquired by the Getty in 1983.
Chronology of managers represented in the records:
Program managers:
- circa 1986-1989 John Logan
- 1990-1993 Eleanor Fink
- 1993-1998 Joseph A. Busch
- circa 1983-1990 Marty Harris
- 1987-1993 Joseph A. Busch
- 1991-1993 Deborah Wilde
The records in accession 2008.IA.11, subject to review for permanently closed
information, are open to qualified researchers. Requests for access will be reviewed
on a case-by-case basis.
The following types of records are permanently closed: records containing personal
information, records that compromise security or operations, legal communications,
legal work product, and records related to donors. The J. Paul Getty Trust reserves
the right to restrict access to any records held by the Institutional Archives.
Contact
Rights and Reproductions at the Getty
Research Institute for copyright information and permission to publish.
[Cite the item and series (as appropriate)], Standards and Research Projects Program
Records, Getty Information Institute. Institutional Archives, Research Library, Getty
Research Institute, Finding aid no. IA40007.
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifaia40007
The materials were minimally processed by Cyndi Shein in 2010. To prepare this
inventory, the described materials were cursorily reviewed to roughly delineate
series, to create accurate contents lists, to provide an estimate of dates covered,
and to determine record types. Dissociated records were physically reunited when
evident. No other work has been performed on the materials.
To facilitate retrieval of folders, the creators' folder labels were generally
transcribed faithfully. Some acronyms and abbreviations found on the creator's
original folder labels have been spelled out in this guide.
During the consolidation of materials, some boxes were eliminated. Box 2, 15, and 23
no longer exist.
Related Archival Materials Note
The following materials are offered as possible sources of further
information on the agencies and subjects covered by the records. The listing is not
exhaustive.
Contributing Institution:
Getty Institutional Archives
Records of Director Michael Ester, 1983-1993. Art History and
Information Program, Director's Office. Institutional Records and Archives, Getty
Research Institute. Finding aid no. IA40003. (closed until 2028)
Records of Director Eleanor Fink, 1980-1998. Art History and
Information Program, Director's Office. Institutional Records and Archives, Getty
Research Institute. Finding aid no. IA40006. (closed until 2033)
Departments of Scholarly Coordination, Issues and Policy,
Network Initiatives, and Special Projects, 1979-1998. Getty Information Institute.
Institutional Records and Archives, Getty Research Institute. Finding aid no.
IA20036.
Scope and Content of Collection
Materials comprise the records of the Standards and Research Projects Program
(1993-1998) and its predecessors, the Information Standards and Services Program
(1990-1993) and the Scholarly Information Development Program (circa 1986-1990), which
were departments within the Getty Information Institute (GII) and its predecessor the
Getty Art History Information Program (AHIP). Records contain the files of program
managers, project managers, systems analysts, and programmers, dating from 1979 to 1998.
Materials also include audio recordings of meetings and video recordings that introduce
the program and demonstrate its software, systems, and databases.
Systems project manager records comprise administrative files, correspondence,
memoranda, reports, proposals, meeting minutes, agreements, subject files, project
files, computer programmers' notes, systems documentation and analyses, and printouts of
computer data samples.
The project files of the program managers and the systems project managers comprise
records on projects, initiatives, working groups, and other types of external
collaboration in which AHIP / GII played a significant role. A few of the files concern
projects or collaborations that were under consideration and may not have come to
fruition, but the majority of the records are related to projects that flourished and
evolved into valuable and lasting scholarly resources. The materials include seminal
records on systems development related to projects such as the Art and Architecture
Thesaurus® (AAT), Foundation for Documents of Architecture (FDA), the Avery Index, the
Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA), the Census of Antique Works of Art and
Architecture Known in the Renaissance, the Witt Library Index, the Thesaurus Artis
Universalis (TAU), the Getty Provenance Index®, the Répertoire international de la
littérature de l'art (RILA), and others. Materials include correspondence, meeting
notes, agreements, general notes, studies, and reports.
Program managers' records are listed first followed by records created by the systems
project managers. Persons are listed chronologically based on the date range of their
service in that position. Audio and video recordings are listed last. Materials are
arranged in seven series:
Materials are arranged in seven series:
Series I. Program manager records of John Logan, 1979-1990;
Series II. Program manager records of Eleanor Fink, 1980-1993;
Series III. Program manager records of Joseph A. Busch, 1982-1998;
Series IV. Systems project manager records of Marty Harris, 1983-1990;
Series V. Systems project manager records of Joseph A. Busch, 1982-1993;
Series VI. Systems project manager records of Deborah N. Wilde;
Series VII. Audio and video recordings, 1993-1995, undated.
Architectural Drawings Advisory Group
Getty Art History Information Program. Art and Architecture
Thesaurus
Census of Antique Works of Art and Architecture Known in the Renaissance
(Project)
Répertoire international de la littérature de l'art
Provenance Index of the Getty Art History Information Program
Getty Art History Information Program -- Archives
Database design
Art -- Computer network resources
Art -- History -- Databases
Information technology -- Management
Arts -- Information technology
Humanities -- Information technology
System analysis
Getty Art History Information Program.
Information Standards and Services Program
Getty Information Institute. Standards
and Research Projects Program
Getty Art History Information Program.
Scholarly Information Development Program
Fink, Eleanor E.
Wilde, Deborah N.
Logan, John
Harris, Marty
Busch, Joseph A.