Cataloging for JSTOR

The Smith College Imaging Center Collection is hosted on JSTOR and managed through JSTOR Digital Stewardship Services.

Once you use your login to enter Stewardship, click on Manage Existing Projects. The project we do most of our work in is the Imaging Center Collection.

For most sculptural objects, places, and architectural structures, the 3D object represented in the photograph is what you’re describing. For example, list the date this plate was created rather than the date it was photographed.

For illustrations, maps, plans, and paintings, describe the 2D object. For example, list the date a map was created rather than the period or age of the structure it depicts.

Creator

Click Add links and Shared Shelf Names to search for the creator(s) of the work. In the pop-up menu, type the name of the artist/designer/agent and click Link & Append.

The result should read like this:

• Nolli, Giovanni Battista (Italian engraver and architect, 1701-1756)
• Rhie, Marylin M. (American photographer and scholar, 1937-2020)

Title

Enter a title for the work using camel case (e.g. Camel Case). If the object has alternate or other language titles, separate them using the pipe symbol “|” by clicking shift+backslash.

An example of a title might be:

• Vairocana Buddha | Pirosa Bul
• Plan of Rome, as in 1667

Culture

Click Add Links and select Shared Shelf Culture from the drop-down menu. Search for the culture of the primary creator, click the checkbox next to it, then click Done.

The culture will typically be a broad term, for example:

• Tibetan
• Italian
• Canadian

Image View Description

If applicable, enter a short description of the spatial, chronological, or contextual aspects of the work in the image.

For example:

• detail of lower left-hand corner
• view facing northwest
• interior view of third floor, west wall
• view of building at sunset

Date

Enter a date range or textual date information for the object. For dates before the Common Era use BCE, for estimate dates use a date range or “ca.”

For example:

• 1205 – 1225
• ca. 160 BCE
• 15th century

Artstor Earliest & Latest Date

Enter the numerical dates that represent your date range or estimate dates in the Date section. Use negative numbers for BCE dates. If there is only one date, put that date in both the earliest and latest date field.

For example:

• Earliest: 1205, Latest: 1225
• Earliest: -160, Latest -160
• Earliest: 1400, Latest: 1499

Style/Period

Click Add links to search the Art & Architecture Thesaurus. Type in a style or period for the object. Click Link & Append. This is also where more specific cultural information can be entered.

For example:

• Impressionism
• Five Dynasties
• Gupta

Materials/Techniques

Click Add links to search the Art & Architecture Thesaurus for the materials and techniques used when creating the object. Click Link & Append for each one.

For example:

• gouache (water-base paint)
• weaving; cotton (textile); wool (textile)
• engraving (printing process)

Measurements

Enter the full measurements of either the 2D or 3D object depicted.

The result should read like this:

• 73 x 81 inches
• 21.5 centimeters (height)

Artstor Classification

Click Add terms to choose a classification from the list. This classification will typically be a category that describes the Work Type.

Work Type

The work type describes what an object is.

Click Add links to use the Art & Architecture Thesaurus to search for the Work Type and click Link & Append. The AAT term will usually be written as plural.

For example:

• temples (building)
• paintings (visual works)
• sculpture (visual work)

Repository

If the work is an object housed in a museum, library, or larger building, list that location here.

Click Add links and search the Thesaurus of Geographic Information or Shared Shelf Names. If you find the Repository, click Link & Append. You may need to adjust the term to fit the typical format we use.

The result should read like this:

• Alchi Monastery (Ladakh, India)
• Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, New York, United States)
• Musée Guimet (Paris, France)

Repository Accession Number

If the object is a part of a library or museum collection, list its accession number here.

Location

Choose the current or most recently known location of the item or structure. If the object is held in a museum, this will be the geographical location of the museum.

Click Add links to search the Thesaurus of Geographic Information for place names and click Link & Append.

The result should read like this:

• Rome, Roma, Lazio, Italy
• Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts, United States

Creation/Discovery Site

Choose the location where the object was originally found or created. Leave this section blank if the creation site is the same as the current location.

Click Add links to search the Thesaurus of Geographic Information for place names and click Link & Append.

The result should read like this:

• Ostia, Roma, Lazio, Italy

Artstor Country

The country of the item typically reflects the culture of the creator or the country in which the object was created. For example, a Tibetan painting currently in a New York museum would still have the country listed as Tibet.

Click Add terms to search for and select the country.

Description

This is where you will add any additional contextual or descriptive information about the item. Always use full, punctuated sentences when writing a description.

For example:

• “This Buddha triad (National Treasure 84) consists of a Shakyamuni Buddha flanked by two bodhisattvas, one standing and the other seated in a meditation pose. The photograph is a gift from Marylin Rhie.”

If you have no addition information to add, you can leave it blank.