Overview: the different publication types

The Navigating.art platform allows users to enter publication data in a structured and clear way. Choosing the correct publication type is the first step to do so.

Handling publication information can be tricky because different citation styles exist for the various types of publications. The publication type defines the way publication data is rendered within a reference and as part of a bibliography. Here’s an overview of publication types to help you choose the right one. 

Article

An article is a piece of writing included in a newspaper, magazine, or print or online publication. In the Navigating.art platform, you can link articles to other entries such as books, issues, or catalogs as parent publications to the article’s entry. When you enter article data, make sure to capture the title, author(s), page range, and parent publication. Further information like the publishing year and publisher is then entered in the parent publication.

Artist monograph

An artist monograph focuses on a single artist's life and work. This entry should be linked to the artist as a subject to allow finding such publications by topic for internal research and categorize them in the bibliography.

Book

A book is a medium to record images or written text and is typically composed of pages bound together. In the Navigating.art platform, all relevant contributors can be recorded such as the author(s), editor(s), publisher(s) as well as translator(s).

Book series

Book series may include a sequence of individual books that have certain characteristics in common. Often a publishing house or other institution will organize or host a book series to group publications about the same topic or research area.

Catalogue raisonné

A catalogue raisonné is a comprehensive inventory of all the works by one artist with the goal to be as complete as possible. Catalogues raisonnés may be divided into multiple volumes, each one focussing on a specific time frame or medium. Volumes are often published at the same time or separately over a longer period of time.

Collection catalogue

A collection catalogue is an index of cultural property, material, and artworks owned by an institution or individual, like a museum or collector. It typically features entries for each object of the collection including images, information, descriptions. Accompanying essays may be recorded as articles and linked to the collection catalogue as the parent publication.

Dissertation

A dissertation is a scholarly paper written for the completion of a terminal degree.

Exhibition catalogue

An exhibition catalogue accompanies an exhibition and provides documentation related to all the items displayed in a show at a museum or art gallery. It can contain academic essays or articles. A publication entry of this type can be linked to the corresponding exhibition entry.

For traveling exhibitions each or some of the venues may publish their own or a translated exhibition catalogue.

The actually exhibited artworks should be linked directly to the corresponding entry under the Exhibitions section and not to the exhibition catalogue itself. Only other referenced artworks should be connected to the publication entry to create a bibliographical note.

Issue

An issue is part of a periodical publication that usually appears at regular intervals like weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, etc. Issues may be numbered consecutively and will likely be republished in yearly volumes. Among the commonly recorded data are the publishing date, issue number and volume number. All issues of the same periodical publication should be linked to the same parent entry to be able to group them. Articles within issues are then recorded separately, but link back to the respective parent issue.

Periodical

A periodical is a journal, magazine or newspaper that publishes issues at regular intervals. Issue entries will link back to a periodical entry as its parent publication

Sales catalogue

A sales catalogue accompanies an auction or other sale event and list all the objects that are up for sale. 

For auction catalogs the offered artworks should be linked directly to the corresponding entry under the Auctions section and not to the sales catalogue itself. Only other referenced artworks should be connected to the publication entry to create a bibliographical note.

Web

This publication type can be used for any online resources that need to be cited, like websites and specific webpages, online media and blog articles. Make sure to capture permalinks whenever possible and screenshot or download websites as a PDF with a timestamp to be prepared in case the web source goes offline. 


Related articles:

How to create a publication record

How to structure multi-level publications