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 [log in to unmask]