I. Introduction
This document describes and supports the work of the International Terminology Working Group, the task of which is to provide equivalents in several languages to the terminology in the Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT). Although the aim of the present document is to provide guidelines for forming equivalents between the AAT and existing controlled vocabularies in other languages, the principles outlined here may be useful to others seeking to link vocabularies in different languages. The guidelines are based on "residencies" (group working meetings of about a week in length) held at the AAT offices in Williamstown and elsewhere[1], and on national and international standards for thesaurus construction[2]. Further information about AAT methodology can be found in the Guide to Indexing and Cataloging with the Art & Architecture Thesaurus and the AAT Editorial Manual[3].
1. The first AAT methodology residency was held at the AAT offices in Williamstown in 1988. The participants were the Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione (ICCD), Rome; the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; the Bildarchiv Foto Marburg; and the Université de Montréal. The second residency was held in 1991; participants were the AAT and the Inventaire général des Monuments et des Richesses Artistiques de la France. Subsequent residencies have included the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Royal Commission of the Historic Monuments of England, the Textiles and Dress Department of the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Canada/France Accord, the Canadian Heritage Information Network, and the Multilingual Thesaurus of Religious Objects meetings held in Williamstown (February 1994; October-November 1995), Paris (October 1994), Rouen (January 1996), and Rome (May-June 1995; February 1996).
2. International Standards Organization (ISO), Guidelines for the Establishment and Development of Monolingual Thesauri, ISO 2788-08-15-1974 (E); National Information Standards Organization (NISO), Guidelines for the Construction, Format and Management of Monolingual Thesauri, ANSI/NISO Z39. 19-1993; British Standards Institution (BSI), Establishment and Development of Monolingual Thesauri, BS 5723-1987. For multilingual thesaurus construction: International Organization of Standardization (ISO), Guidelines for the Establishment and Development of Multilingual Thesauri, Geneva, 1st ed. , 1985 (ISO 5964-1985-02-15), intended for use with ISO 2788-08-15-1974, cited above. The chapter on multilingual thesaurus construction in Aitchison and Gilchrist, Thesaurus Construction: A Practical Manual, 2d. ed. (London: Aslib, 1987) is indispensable.
3. Petersen, Toni, and Patricia J. Barnett, eds. , Guide to Indexing and Cataloging with the Art & Architecture Thesaurus (New York: Oxford University Press on behalf of the Getty Art History Information Program, 1994); Art & Architecture Thesaurus Editorial Manual, draft (Williamstown, Massachusetts, 1994).
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