The recent and current version of Getty's Art & Architecture
Thesaurus, (AAT), is outstanding and should be considered as an
essential component of any museum information system. The cost is
modest when you consider how much time is spent cataloging
collections, (and here is the big win), the time spent getting
information about your collections into an online system is *nice*
for an organization, but if you use a controlled vocabulary that is
one of several standarized thesauri (AAT, LCTGM, LCSH), your records
will be of tremendous value when you hook that information up via the
Internet.


When researchers are looking for a particular class of item, using a
standardized term is essential. A museum administrator made a comment
of confusion in my presence once saying, "Is it a cuspidor or a
spitoon, who knows which term is correct." I was a greenhorn at the
time, but assumed that one had to be the correct term to use and sure
enough the LCTGM pointed out which one it was.

AAT is a great tool which is being improved at a feverish and
diligent pace. Standardized thesauri are critical for successful
global access which is now possible, making the knowledge about our
collections very useful. At CHS, we use AAT and I would heartily
endorse it to everyone---standardization of collection data is very
critical for success in the future.

Robert MacKimmie
California Historical Society, San Francisco
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