A number of word-based retrieval methods for pictorial databases have been proposed. The two indexing methods of H.C. Leung and S. Shatford are based on Panofsky's theory for image interpretation. There is another method based on AAT (Art and Architecture Thesaurus). Following these three methods, the authors developed and indexed a database comprising 117 Western works dating from the medieval to modern ages, using the database application ACCESS for Microsoft Windows. Using the database, retrieval experiment was conducted for the purpose of evaluating the three indexing methods. Overall, the index using AAT Thesaurus showed the best performance of the three, while the one following Leung's method was highly praised by operators.

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Founded in 1923, the Library of the Freer Gallery of Art serves the Smithsonian Institution's two Asian art museums' research activities. The other museum is the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, which was founded in 1987. The library collection, a half of which is in Far Eastern language materials, focuses on Asian art and culture.
In addition to the museum staff, the library also serves a wide range of outside users. They include scholars, students, picture researchers and individuals who are personally interested in Asian art and culture. The librarians assist users according to the level of their needs.
The American public in recent years has shown an increasing interest in Japanese art and culture. Accordingly, there is a growing demand for more detailed information on the subject, and currently available resources are no longer enough to fulfill the needs. It would be desirable, to establish, utilizing computer technologies, some communication lines between Japan and United States to provide access library users updated information in a timely manner.

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It was the author's experiences during researches into original materials that made him write this essay. The author hopes this report contains some suggestions helpful to Japanese museums conducting similar researches. For the purpose of preparing exhibitions, the author had been responsible for documentation of two groups of materials. One was compiled by Akitake Tokugawa who was the delegate of Japan's Tokugawa Shogunate government to the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1867 and included numerous photographs. The other was the legacy of teachers at the Tokyo Higher School of Arts and Technology founded in 1922, comprising works of art and other image materials. The number of materials totaled several thousands, inevitably calling for documentation using computers.
The author found that exclusively character-based databases are more practical for such purposes, leaving image-data retrieval to cardboards holding photographs. Properly appreciating the importance of secondary materials other than works of art, art museums should consider cataloging of such materials a minimum obligation, otherwise we will lose much of them.

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In April 1994, ARLIS/UK & Ireland 25th Anniversary Conference was held in London under the title of "Solid silver: art librarians working together". The author read a paper on JADS in the session of ARLIS International, and exchanged opinions with art librarians in UK & Ireland and from abroad. He also had a happy chance to visit several art libraries in London before and after the conference. He was deeply impressed with their high quality of the collection and its management as an art research library.

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Following two books are reviewed in this paper. 1) Michaelides, Chris ed., Problems of Art Documentation and Provision, Papers presented at a Seminar organised by the Standing Committee on Art Documentation at the British Library 21 June, 1990. London, British Library, 1991. 94p., British Library R & D Report 6047. 2) Hamber, Anthony; Miles, Jean; Vaughan, William eds., Computers and the History of Art. London, Mansell Publishing Limited, 1989, 213p., ISBN 0-7201-1980-4. The former book describes the art library world and the art documentation world in the U. K. from the viewpoints of art researchers, as well as instisutes and organizations on art documentation. The latter book shows us the trend of art computerization mainly in the U. K. from the viewpoints of computer users. Through these two books, we can understand the close relationship between art documentation and art computerization.

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