Colleagues,

Marni Welsch of the Judah L. Magnes Museum, Berkeley, CA, inquired about
integrating the registration and cataloging functions of archival and
artifact collections.  I've had the fortune of having done some work along
those lines.  Take a look at AASLH Technical Leaflet #179, "Archival
Materials in the History Museum: A Strategy for Their Management" (1992), by
Lisa Gavin and me.  Lisa and I experimented with an integrated collections
managment system at the Kansas City Museum (Kansas City, MO) with great
success.  We later found that other institutions were struggling with the
same dilemma.  And so they should:  The traditional rift between archives
and museum collections management techniques is based on a mutual
misunderstanding of the others' needs.  True, there ARE differences --
archival collections DO require arrangement and desciption, weeding,
preservation copying, etc., that museum artifacts do not.  But all the
differences kick in AFTER the basic collections management functions of
accessioning and cataloging (and here I'm using the museum definition of
"cataloging") take place.  After all, archival materials and artifacts are
collected from the same sources, according to the same mission statement,
are often interrelated, are stored and managed under the same conditions,
and are used by the collecting institution for its common outreach and
interpretive programs -- why shouldn't they come into the institution
through the same procedural door?  The traditional rift has no relevance any
longer, especially with automation at our disposal and the material
culturists telling us that objects can be "read" just like documents can.

Can you tell I'm a bit passionate about this?!  I'd welcome the chance to
kick ideas around with anyone.  And, Happy New Year!

Paul Eisloeffel
Curator of Manuscripts and Audio-Visual Collections
Nebraska State Historical Society
P.O. Box 82554
Lincoln, NE  68501
(402) 471-4750
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