> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 23, 2006
>
> Contact: Cyndi Bohlin, Communications Coordinator,
> 202-667-0441, ext. 17
>
> The Textile Museum Announces Publication of The
> Textile Museum Thesaurus
> March 23, 2006, Washington, DC - The Textile Museum
> is pleased to
> announce the publication of The Textile Museum
> Thesaurus, a scholarly
> compilation of the Museum's textile cataloging
> terminology. The
> Thesaurus was produced as part of the Lloyd Cotsen
> Textile Documentation
> Project, established at The Textile Museum in 1998
> to develop the
> collections database through documentation,
> cataloging and photography
> of the collections as well as standardization of the
> cataloging
> terminology. The Thesaurus is used as an electronic
> data management tool
> for controlling data entry and facilitating searches
> in the Museum's
> extensive collections database. As the first
> textile-specific vocabulary
> resource for electronic databases, the Thesaurus is
> a valuable reference
> for any institution or private collector involved in
> cataloging
> textiles.
>
> The Textile Museum Thesaurus was developed because
> no existing
> cataloging vocabulary met the Museum's need to
> describe handmade
> textiles worldwide using the detailed terminology
> necessary for textile
> specialists. As a vocabulary resource, The Textile
> Museum Thesaurus
> serves as both a reference and a useful model for
> curators, scholars,
> collections managers, conservators and catalogers
> working with textile
> collections elsewhere. This publication presents The
> Textile Museum's
> preferred textile terms and organization without
> definitions,
> illustrations or bibliographic references. The
> Textile Museum staff
> anticipates that colleagues at other institutions
> will adapt, expand and
> draw from the Thesaurus according to their own
> needs.
>
> Features of the Thesaurus include:
>
> - Terms used by The Textile Museum in cataloging its
> collections of
> primarily handmade textiles from Asia, Africa, the
> Middle East and the
> indigenous cultures of the Americas from 3000 B.C.E.
> to the present.=20
> - 2,263 preferred terms for the names of textile
> objects, their
> constituent materials, their physical structures and
> the techniques used
> to create them.
> - 685 alternate spellings, synonyms, obsolete and
> non-preferred terms
> linked to preferred terms for vocabulary control
> during data entry and
> to provide a broad access vocabulary to searchers.
> - Preferred terms organized hierarchically to
> facilitate searching by
> mapping generic terms to more specific instances.
>
> The Textile Museum Thesaurus was compiled by the
> Lloyd Cotsen Textile
> Documentation Project and curatorial staff at The
> Textile Museum, edited
> by Cecilia Gunzburger and funded by the Cotsen
> Family Foundation. The
> Thesaurus is available for $5 from The Textile
> Museum Shop and Shop
> Online. To order, visit www.textilemuseumshop.org or
> call (202)
> 667-0441, ext. 29.
>
> ###
>
> Founded in 1925 by George Hewitt Myers, The Textile
> Museum is an
> international center for the exhibition, study,
> collection and
> preservation of the textile arts. The Museum
> explores the role that
> textiles play in the daily and ceremonial life of
> individuals the world
> over. Special attention is given to textiles of the
> Near East, Asia,
> Africa and the indigenous cultures of the Americas.
> The Museum also
> presents exhibitions of historical and contemporary
> quilts, and fiber
> art. With a collection of more than 17,000 textiles
> and rugs and an
> unparalleled library, The Textile Museum is a unique
> and valuable
> resource for people locally, nationally and
> internationally.
>
> The Textile Museum is located at 2320 'S' Street, NW
> in Washington, DC.
> The Museum is open Monday - Saturday 10:00 am to
> 5:00 pm and Sunday 1:00
> pm to 5:00 pm. Admission is free; suggested donation
> is $5.00. For
> further information, call 202-667-0441.
>
> For more information or images, please contact Cyndi
> Bohlin at
> 202-667-0441, ext. 17, or by email at
> cbohlin@... or visit
> www.textilemuseum.org/about/pressroom.htm.
>
>
>



Edward A. Jolie, MA, RPA - PhD Student
Department of Anthropology, MSC01 1040
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
Cell Phone: (505)850-0551

Perishable Technology Research and Consulting
http://www.perishabletechnology.org

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