Apologies in advance if this topic has
already been beaten into the ground...

We are trying to automate some of the
functions surrounding exhibition planning,
encorporating what we can into our already
existing computerized collections management
system [CMS].  We currently track most of
the information re. incoming and outgoing
loans in our CMS.

When incoming loans arrive, we assign the
non-collection objects loan numbers (which
take the same format as our accession
numbers, except they are preceded with an
"L.").  We are only beginning to organize
large scale (for us) exhibitions and are
trying to think through several issues.
Here, I thought, is where the first-hand
experience of other museum-l folk could come
into play:

During our first large scale exhibition
(~250 objects on loan), we used
system-assigned numbers throughout the
initial planning, then added the owner's
collection numbers.  When the objects
actually arrived, we assigned them all loan
numbers.  Later, everyone referred to them
by their catalogue numbers, (which were
constantly changing as the design of the
catalogue changed), so we added the second
set of numbers...  Three different number
changes on several hundred objects was *not*
fun!  Clearly, we do not wish to repeat this
experience.

When initially compiling lists of objects
from outside entities, do you assign a
special "exhibition" number to each obect?
Or perhaps a better question is, *when* do
you assign numbers to objects in an
exhibition?  What is the format of the
number, and how does it differ from the
format of other types of numbers you assign
to objects?

Many thanks in advance,

Brenda

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Brenda Podemski
Registrar's Office
The J. Paul Getty Museum
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    "I never utter the word ART unless
       referring to Mr. Linkletter."

                   -John Waters

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