The Classification of Art Slides: A Survey and Recommendations.

The nature and variety of classification systems for museum and university art department slide collections are surveyed through a review of the literature on slide classification in the United States, Great Britain, and Australia, and through case studies of major slide collections at Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Wake Forest University. Specific classification systems in use at 14 museums and universities are also reviewed, as well as the literature on architecture and design collections, subject access, classification by title, and slide shelflists. A description of slide classification and cataloging at the four North Carolina universities is based on information collected in personal interviews with the slide curators. A great diversity among art slide classification systems is reported, and the nature of and reasons for this diversity and the prospects for standardization are discussed. Also outlined are conclusions as to the effectiveness of various approaches to slide classification, desiderata for a slide classification system, subject access considerations, and recommendations for further research. A list of case study sites and persons interviewed and a 55-item bibliography conclude the publication. (ESR)