BE - Fine Arts

1997

BE -- Fine Arts

97-1/2-166

Marburger-Index-Datenbank: Wegweiser zur Kunst in Deutschland = Marburger Index Database. Published for the Bildarchiv Foto Marburg and Computer & Letteren Utrecht. München [et al.]: Saur

2d ed. (1996). 1 CD-ROM + user's manual to the 1^st ed., 1995. ISBN 3-598-40340-2: DM 2,480.00, DM 1,580.00 (for subscribers)

The Marburger Index (MI), a vast image collection on microfiche, was reviewed in depth in RREO 94-1-060 through 94-1-062. The Marburger Index Datenbank (MID) is a CD-ROM database with roots in electronic database initiatives dating back to 1991. Its immediate parent is the DISKUS (Digitales Informationssystem für Kunst- und Sozialgeschichte) database. This 1996 edition of MID, in contrast to other CD-ROM products, is not merely a transfer of previously collected data onto a new medium. It is designed as an independent project which takes full advantage of the newer medium and which aims to provide comprehensive information on art in Germany through a uniform database. The emphasis now is on "moveable" art works and not only architectural objects (the emphasis of the microfiche collection). The current edition of the MID includes listings to 150,000 works of art and covers painting, sculpture, drawing, book illustration, graphic arts and photography; large numbers of digitized images are being added directly into the database as well. Entries include fiche and field numbers for the corresponding entry in the microfiche edition. This allows the MID (which also includes the holdings of the Witt Library in London, see RREO 94-1-069) to function as an index to those portions of the microfiche edition which have not yet been digitized onto MID, as well as to the architectural images not covered at all by the CD-ROM.

The search capability of the MID CD-ROM follows the conventions of the DISKUS databases of German museum holdings. Those already familiar with the ICONCLASS search terminology and the MI index will find the search engine easy to use, and this CD-ROM may make these search conventions more widely accepted beyond a small group of experts. Help menus are available in German and English. Objects are described in German, but the ICONCLASS search terminology is in English. Users may view search results in several formats, the most extensive of which includes artist, work title, date, technical or physical details, size, and either an illustration or a reference to an illustration in the microfiche edition. Full entries also include ownership or holdings information, and bibliographical references. System requirements are 386 or faster processor (486 recommended), 4 MB of RAM (8 recommended), 27 MB of hard disk space for fastest performance, DOS 3.3 or higher or Windows 3.1 or higher operating systems, and a DIN/ISO 9660 4X (or faster) CD-ROM player.

MID is a comprehensive reference tool for art in Germany and will prove indispensable in research libraries, especially as it is updated. The microfiche edition with its index is, however, still far from obsolete. Content and structure of MID leave little to criticize, and users will quickly learn its straightforward method of data presentation. Since the other CD-ROMs in the DISKUS series include individual museum holdings incorporated into MID, subscribers could very well pass on the other DISKUS CD-ROMs. In an era when budgets are tight, this is not an insignificant point. [ak/sbd]

97-1/2-167

International Directory of Arts = Internationales Kunst-Adressbuch = Annuaire international des beaux-arts. München: Saur. 25 cm. Previously published by Art-Address-Verlag Müller, Frankfurt/Main

23d ed., 1997/98 (1997). ISBN 3-598-23075-3: DM 448.00

97-1/2-168

Kunstadreßbuch: Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz = Art Directory: [Germany, Austria, Switzerland]. München [et al.]: Saur. 24 cm. Until 1992/93 (1991) published by Art-Adreß-Verlag, Frankfurt

10^th ed. 1996/97 (1996). 518 p. ISBN 3-598-23074-5: DM 98.00

The International Directory of Arts (IDA) continues to make changes since K.G. Saur took over publication of the work with the 21st edition (see RREO 94-1-075). Added to the 22d edition was a listing of educational institutions, which previously had been dropped, and the complete listing of addresses for U.S. museums, taken from Bowker's Official Museum Directory. This newest, 23rd edition retains the chapter divisions of the previous edition, and is now served by both a personal name index and an institution/corporate body index, which are bound in a separate volume. Entries in this edition are numbered consecutively, and index listings reference these entry numbers. This is a significant improvement. Consultation of the main text is made easier by the addition of head words which include not only chapter title and country, but also city and entry number range of each double page. The data contained in the IDA is also available through Genios, T-online and the Internet. Descriptions of Internet access are available at http://www.genios.de/sheets/arte.htm and http://www.artlibrary.com/IDA.htm.

The Kunstadreßbuch also appears in a two-year cycle, and is essentially an excerpt of the IDA, with coverage limited to German-speaking countries, supplemented by a chapter listing materials suppliers and a bibliography. The Kunstadreßbuch is a less expensive alternative to the IDA for those interested only in information on the German-speaking countries. Similarly, French museums are covered by L'art et ses adresses en France (see RREO 96-1-046). The corresponding volumes for Italy and the United Kingdom, announced in 1994, have yet to appear. [sah/sbd]

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