Have any railroad museums devised their own subject headings for cataloguing railroad artifacts in accordance with Chenault's Nomenclature for Museum Cataloguing (published by AAM)? The current list in the Chenault book is thin on entries for railroad objects. We are devising an expanded version for our institution's needs and if any of you have done work in this area and might be willing to share your list of terms I would appreciate hearing from you off-line.

K.R. Bell
Railroad Museum of PA

c-kbell@state.pa.us

> Have any railroad museums devised their own
> subject headings for cataloguing railroad
> artifacts in accordance with Chenault's
> Nomenclature for Museum Cataloguing
> (published by AAM)? The current list in the
> Chenault book is thin on entries for
> railroad objects. We are devising an
> expanded version for our institution's needs
> and if any of you have done work in this
> area and might be willing to share your list
> of terms I would appreciate hearing from you
> off-line.

> K.R. Bell
> Railroad Museum of PA

This has been a known problem. The Nomenclature for Museum Cataloguing was never intended to be the all inclusive answer to nomenclature. Several other railroad museums and/or railroad museum professionals have sought to address this from time to time.

I would like to propose that if Mr. Bell or anyone else to works to help fullfill this need to consider having the Association of Railroad Museums help disseminate the information.

Brian Norden
Member, Board of Directors
Association of Railway Museums

Association of Railway Museums
bnorden49@earthlink.net

Dear Brian,

I would be very happy to work with ARM on defining nomenclature for cataloguing railroad artifacts. When RRMPA's draft is finished I will send it along for review. Perhaps ARM could assemble a committee of railway museum archivists and curators to draft up a more formal list. Much like "Reccommended Practices," it could be disseminated to the ARM community as a stand-alone reference document. Always an idea to bat around!

K.R. Bell
RR Museum of PA

> This has been a known problem. The
> Nomenclature for Museum Cataloguing was
> never intended to be the all inclusive
> answer to nomenclature. Several other
> railroad museums and/or railroad museum
> professionals have sought to address this
> from time to time.

> I would like to propose that if Mr. Bell or
> anyone else to works to help fullfill this
> need to consider having the Association of
> Railroad Museums help disseminate the
> information.

> Brian Norden
> Member, Board of Directors
> Association of Railway Museums


c-kbell@state.pa.us