While the moving image archival field has devoted considerable attention to theorizing preservation practice for traditional narrative cinema, comparatively little emphasis has been placed on avant-garde film. By specifically considering hand-manipulated avant-garde film and expanded cinema, I argue for a malleable archival theory which represents contemporary efforts to preserve and exhibit these films in a manner philosophically, technically, and aesthetically appropriate to the work. Underwriting this archival theory is a model based on four central conceptions of "originality" which play a decisive role in the preservation of these films, namely Spectrum of Influence, Temporality, Degree of Translation, and Method. By illustrating these conceptions as two related model graphs, I am able to plot, along four axes, decision points which have informed a range of contemporary preservations. In so doing, I conclude that the proposed archival theory successfully represents avant-garde film preservation practice, and has practical applications in the field.

This thesis is a call to action for reparative work for Traditional Knowledge and Indigenous resources in libraries. The Library of Congress Classification (LCC) and Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) insufficiency describe and classify Indigenous resources. This project is a case study that focuses on UCLA’s American Indian Study Center (AISC) Library and surveys their collection to inform, create and implement a local classification scheme which centers Indigenous epistemologies, modes of knowledge transmission, and ontological practices. The project leverages preferred subject headings used by other institutions and Indigenous governments to implement alongside the local classification scheme. Its implementation and reorganization methods will highlight how Indigenous centered classification systems will increase discoverability of resources, combating the erasure and marginalization of Traditional Knowledge. The study emphasizes the need for collaboration with Indigenous communities and information professionals to maintain the integrity of the subject headings and foster meaningful relationships with the Indigenous communities the library serves.

The widespread adoption of video (and of film, to a lesser extent) by contemporary artists has forced curators to face the challenge of incorporating moving image projections and installations into the museum gallery. Limitations imposed by architectural layout, exhibition structure, available equipment and budget restrictions often lead to compromise. Although contemporary artists have the ability to define the essential components of their moving image works and to negotiate how they will be displayed currently and in the future, works by past artists are not always treated with the same respect. This thesis addresses technical concerns and conservation issues encountered in the exhibition of moving image works. Engaging with multiple perspectives, it builds upon direct observations of museum exhibitions, conversations with museum and moving image archive professionals, and analyses of existing best practices.

There are relatively few bibliometric or citation analysis historical studies of the scholarly literature of arts or humanities fields as compared with the science, technical, medical, or social science disciplines; many studies focus on the journal literature and use the formal works cited reference lists as captured by citation indexes as the basis for their conclusions. This study looks at aspects of the scholarship of the literary and media-based popular culture field of fantasy and science fiction (F&SF; aka: fantastic, fantastika) studies through the first 50 years of Extrapolation (December 1959-Fall 2009), the oldest continuing scholarly journal in the field, in three areas:

-- History and editorial purpose, types of contributions, and recognition by general-, literature-, and F&SF-focused indexing services;

-- Analyses of the 785 scholars published in the journal, by gender, co-authorship, affiliation and status (geographical, institutional, ranks, disciplines, awards), their referencing practices, and identification of the 55 most frequently published scholars; and,

-- Analyses of more than 15,000 references given to 2,035 primary (creative) authors and more than 8,000 individual creative works, including collaboratively authored media, religious, and other titles, by gender and national affiliation, and by types of works. publication sources, language, and ages/dates, as found in 937 articles by 656 different authors. The primary references analyzed come not only from the traditional bibliometric locations in Works Cited lists, but also from Notes, and the references found in the rarely if ever studied informal locations (implicit citations), primarily within the text of the articles. The most frequently referenced primary authors and works are identified: 118 authors (20-563 references), beginning with Ursula K. Le Guin (563 references; 105 different works), Robert A. Heinlein (519; 90), and H. G. Wells (328; 52); 182 primary (creative) works (10-191 references), starting with Star Trek: The Original Series (191 references), Star Trek: The Next Generation (106), George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (77), Wells’ The Time Machine (73), and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (71).

This study should interest historians of arts and humanities scholarship, F&SF scholars, and librarians and archivists responsible for collection development and collections management in the areas of literature and media.

Search log studies are widely used to gain an understanding of how users interact with an information resource. However, of the studies that examine image databases, the information systems studied are image sites, local collections or general web engines. Few if any studies examine the way users search within a general art and cultural heritage image database. This thesis seeks to discover the types of queries users submit, whether these change over time, and if these differ depending on the user's institution type. Samples from the ARTstor search log were coded for uniqueness, category, and type of art historical information they contained. The results suggest that the way users query ARTstor has shifted over time but that they maintain a large reliance on art historical information. In order to further research on image databases across cultural heritage institutions, this thesis makes recommendations for further research and transaction logging.

This thesis investigates Charles Fletcher Lummis' overarching legacy at the Los Angeles Public Library, where he served as City Librarian from 1905-1910. Although Lummis lacked any formal library school training and was also inexperienced in professional librarianship, he nevertheless managed to transform his institution into one of the nation's foremost research libraries, as he earned himself a reputation as a daring and innovative librarian. And yet, despite his many achievements as librarian, he also presided over a very tumultuous period, with many people against him from the start. While some were opposed to the radical ideas put forth by a man they perceived to be an untrained outsider, there were also many librarians who admired Lummis' creativity and passion for his work. Lummis had a grandiose vision for the future of the Los Angeles Public Library, as well as the future of the library profession as a whole.