Actually, the Library of Congress has standards for photographs (and
for 3-dimensional items as well--here in Special Collections we
used to contact the University Museum to pass on any 3-D items
that came in with manuscript collections, but we're now starting to
catalog them into our own collections, following the LC rules).
 
For photographs (and pictures in general), three publications tend to
be more or less standard (various outfits will use various other
guides as well; we depend mainly on these three):
 
    "Descriptive Terms for Graphic Materials:  Genre and Physical
Characteristic Headings," compiled & ed. by Helena Zinkham &
Elisabeth Betz Parker, Prints & Photographs Division, Lib. of
Congress (1986).
 
    "Graphic Materials:  Rules for Describing Original Items and
Historical Collections," compiled by Elisabeth W. Betz, Library of
Congress (1982).
 
    "LC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials:  Topical Terms for Subject
Access," compiled by Elisabeth Betz Parker, Prints & Photographs
Division... (1987).
 
    I do the cataloging of pictures here, working with a librarian,
who in turn works with one of the librarians in the cataloging dept.
The catalog is still on 3x5 cards (the library has automated, but
most Special Collections material has not gotten online yet, and the
pictures will probably be very low priority). Nevertheless, we've
been trying to do it up right.
 
 Nan Lawler, Special Collections
University of Arkansas Libraries
Fayetteville, AR  72701-1201
[log in to unmask]