[log in to unmask]">We are currently inventorying our collection and have discovered quite a few items have different numbers on the item from what is listed in PastPerfect.

Hi Robin,

Your case is very interesting.

For my liking, you are moving too quickly to the question of how to change that best way. In order to be able to answer you correctly, concrete examples would have been needed: it may well be that the person who wrote the object numbers on the objects was overworked and put a number dial on the object. Or the loosely attached label was simply exchanged. The most important thing for me would be to first determine the causes of this phenomenon before acting too hastily. This can be caused by serious system errors that you have to isolate before you change things. And one must be clear about the different character of object numbers.

All modern inventory programs can record several number systems for the object: e.g. old inventory numbers, new inventory numbers and the registration number. . However, this assumes that these numbers are all correct, that they are entered correctly with an alert mind and without errors. They are entered manually, but follow a generating, logically structured system. This can already be a source of error, because some inventory number systems are so complex that some people just think they have understood the system.

The generation of numbers can derive from a mentally extended list (another source of error in a stress situation) or it can be generated by the computer (source of error almost impossible). The registration number has a different legal character than the inventory number: it is a document and must not be changed (which would mean overpainting or erasing in the entry book, which is prohibited). The inventory number may, however, be changed (different system, elimination of an error, etc.).

It may well be that the entry number is recorded on the object, not the inventory number. That must be changed, because there must be the inventory number on it. It is possible that there is an old inventory number on the object and not the new one. This should not be changed as long as the old and new numbers are recorded in the inventory program.

Another reason why there are divergences between the computer program and the inventory number on the object can be that the object is not the object that is named in the inventory program. That means: Changing something here would be fatal, because a similar object still exists elsewhere in the museum and bears the correct number. To check this, you only need to look for the presumably wrong number on the object in the computer: if another object is then displayed, you have made a mistake in assuming that the object would have a wrong number.

If you search e.g. a comb and a cupboard is found, the inventory number system was applied incorrectly or misunderstood. Of course, that has to be corrected in the inventory program.

Researching the causes is so important because fraud and theft can also be behind it. This phenomenon is particularly known from libraries: the inventory number of the stolen object is given deliberately to a similar object so that the theft remains unnoticed. Another variant to consider could be that an object was handed over to an external conservator for months, who then kept the original, and returned a forgery to the museum with the original inventory number. In this case, the factually correct inventory number is on the counterfeit (i.e. the wrong object). An incorrect inventory number could also have been created in the inventory program in order to cover up a theft. Systematic thefts on a large scale from museums and libraries by external and internal parties, directors or guest scientists are a phenomenon that has always been an issue (and is often kept under the covers).

The source of the error can, however, also lie in an undetected faulty data import from an earlier data system (bug). In this case there are probably a lot of misnomeres whose systematics one has to recognize. In these cases the numbers are changed in the system, not on the object.

In many cases, museums use "speaking" inventory numbers instead of simple numbers. An example: KHC2099.2014 stands for ceramics, Haller Collection No. 2099, acquired in 2014. I've seen numbering systems which include also the eternal storage location (e.g. "D3" for depository 3). If the depot is closed, the inventory number and the location must be changed (usually there is a "location" field for the exact location, e.g. room 23, shelf 4, shelf c. "Speaking" inventory numbers are actually no longer necessary since the invention of good inventory programs, but are almost everywhere continued because it is so practical. However, if the processor in my example at some point realizes that the property was acquired in 2017 with a second tranche, the inventory number must be changed, otherwise it is incorrect.

One more remark: Especially when you change crucial facts in the inventory programs, it is important to record this: who, when, what and why. You cannot just overwrite and save here nowadays without a protocol. This protocol is automatically created in better modern programs, but only works properly if every authorized person logs in with different access data. For each correction, the true reasons are to be mentioned. Reasons matter also at that point.

Hope that helps


Christian

To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link:
https://HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1