Spring

Getty Publications Spring 2016
A revised and expanded edition of a key text for
librarians, scholars, and museum professionals
An informative guide to decoding these brief
but revealing ancient texts
Getty Publications New Titles
Introduction to Metadata
Third Edition
Edited by Murtha Baca
Latin Inscriptions
Ancient Scripts
Dirk Booms
Visitors to museums or ancient Roman sites are often confronted with Latin texts inscribed on objects or
buildings from classical antiquity. To the uninitiated such Latin inscriptions can appear daunting — a jumble
of letters seemingly without structure or meaning. However, since they were meant to be understood
by all levels of ancient Roman society, even those who couldn’t read, these ancient inscriptions followed
strict grammatical rules and standardized abbreviations that could be easily decoded.
This book will teach readers — even those with no knowledge of Latin — how to decipher these ancient
messages. Each illustrated inscription is accompanied by a transcription, a transliteration in which all
abbreviations are spelled out, a translation, and finally an interpretation of the text’s meaning and significance.
Even the smallest piece of information in an inscription can aid classicists in reconstructing the daily
lives of Romans, especially those less visible in the archaeological record: the poor, slaves, and women. In
conveying devastation at the death of a loved one, comradery among soldiers, or the key events in individual
lives, inscriptions can reveal much about ancient Roman history and culture.
Metadata provides a means of indexing, accessing, preserving, and discovering digital resources. The volume
of digital information available over electronic networks has created a pressing need for standards
that ensure correct and proper use and interpretation of the data by its owners and users. Well-crafted
metadata is needed more now than ever before and helps users to locate, retrieve, and manage information
in this vast and complex universe.
The third edition of Introduction to Metadata, first published in 1998, provides an overview of metadata,
including its types, roles, and characteristics; a discussion of metadata as it relates to Web resources;
and a description of methods, tools, standards, and protocols for publishing and disseminating digital collections.
This revised edition is an indispensable resource in the field, addressing advances in standards
such as Linked Open Data, changes in intellectual property law, and new computing technologies, and
offering an expanded glossary of essential terms.
Praise for the first edition:
“An excellent starting point for information professionals to gain a basic understanding of fundamental
concepts, then move ahead with a guided path for further research and study.”
—Art Documentation
DIRK BOOMS is curator of Roman archaeology at the British Museum, whose areas of specialty are Roman
architecture, sculpture, glass, and inscriptions.
MURTHA BACA is head of digital art history at the Getty Research Institute. She is the editor of Introduction
to Art Image Access: Issues, Tools, Standards, and Strategies (Getty Publications, 2002) and the
series editor of the Introduction To series from the Getty Research Institute.
Getty Research Institute
Introduction To series
96 pages, 7 x 9½ inches
11 b/w illustrations
ISBN 978-1-60606-479-5, paper
US $30.00 S [UK £20.00]
JUNE
REFERENCE
J. Paul Getty Museum
Ancient Scripts series
112 pages, 5¾ x 8¼ inches
30 line drawings
ISBN 978-1-60606-466-5, paper
US $18.95 X
16 15
JULY
N AO
ANCIENT HISTORY
Marble chest containing
the cremated bones of
Tiberius Claudius Lupercus,
freedman of Acte. The
inscription is set within a
wreath held by two Victories,
an adaptation of imperial
motifs for private use. Marble
lid with a curved pediment,
decorated with a basket
of fruit flanked by two birds
and palmette ornaments at
two corners. British Museum,
London.