Cataloguing the Archives
by Theresa McAvoy – Collections Assistant 2025 (Practicum Student)
Over the summer as a Collections Assistant at the AVRC, through the Young Canada Works in Heritage Organizations program, I had the opportunity to work firsthand with art objects and archival material. The two main collections I worked with were the xDX study collection and the Pierre du Prey 35mm Slide collection.
For both collections, I was tasked with learning the cataloguing process for artifact conservation and access. This encompassed creating catalogue entries, metadata cleanup, and metadata enrichment, among other tasks. This cataloguing system elucidated the meticulous work and minute details that go into catalogue creation.
Aspects that might seem banal to some, like proper punctuation, capitalization, and precise measurements and physical descriptions of objects change how easily accessible entries become to researchers going through this database.
With this attention to detail in mind, I also became familiar with the Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT). The AAT is a vocabulary database dedicated to the Art and Architecture disciplines which is headed by the Getty Research Institute. They consolidate and universalize language and definitions so that organizations who use their parameters can ensure that the language carries over. In this way, we avoid discrepancies across institutions. This reinforced how important precise language is in cataloguing.If multiple institutions are housing works from the same collection—as is the case for the former Design Exchange collection—there needs to be a universal language so that those researching these objects can find everything with ease and so that there is little to no disparity. Our goal is to make these collections publicly and widely accessible, eliminating any barriers that researchers might encounter, as well as making this kind of research more approachable to all.
The Design Exchange collection taught me how to work within those parameters as well as how to take advantage of them to their fullest potential. Industrial design is less commonly referred to in an art historical context, so by giving it a place within these collections as well as within this already solidified language, we are advocating for its legitimacy and also considering where this language needs to be broadened or modified to be more inclusive.
Pierre du Prey’s Slide Collection gave me the opportunity to consider materiality more closely, as I worked within the AAT’s framework to distinguish the vocabulary between a photograph of an architectural structure versus the architectural structure itself. This is where I would need to consider what kind of language would be most accessible to researchers without compromising accuracy in these entries. What would people think to research using our database, and how can we ensure the key terms they use will yield them the results they’re looking for?
My goal with these catalogue entries was to consolidate as much information as possible based on the physical objects at our disposal. This, however, led me to what might have been my favourite part of the task: the research and reading required for metadata enrichment. I got to dig deeper into the stories behind these objects, scouring hidden corners in old books and articles to bring life to these catalogue entries. It made me feel much more connected to the collection here and also made me recognize the wealth of information which we are working to consolidate for public accessibility. It reminded me of the importance of the work of archives and how this resource is indispensable. Not to mention, I got to flex my art historical research muscle further. There is nothing quite as rewarding as the feeling of skimming through an endless array of articles and finally finding a reference to a long-lost city which only one or two scholars have researched and being able to share that resource with others.
This placement at the AVRC as a Collections Assistant has furthered my love and appreciation for the arts and heritage conservation. I am proud to say that I will be able to take the skills I have learned here with me further into my career in heritage following my studies.