Cataloguing artifacts and archives in a uniform, single database is one of
the serious issues facing collections management. Museums still haven't
settled on a standard set of fields (perhaps the Getty's ObjectID proposal
is the closest) and libraries/archives haven't decided whether to follow
MARC or Dublin Core. As a result, most institutions have thus created
separate databases for the archives and artifacts, with different fields and
authorities for each database. It does make life (apparently) easier for
cataloguers, but it certainly makes it more difficult for researchers, who
are left searching through different databases, each with different "rules".
I do encourage a single database for all collections, no matter the format,
but the goal has been elusive. You may wish to investigate the MARC-based
History Database by David Clark, which is designed to be used by museums and
archives.
Good luck!
Max A. van Balgooy,
Director of Interpretation and Education
Stewardship of Historic Sites
National Trust for Historic Preservation
1785 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Telephone (202) 588-6242
Fax (202) 588-6232
Email [log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Gardner, Carolyn [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, December 06, 2001 2:29 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: question about uniform cataloging for museums
Our library hopes to oversee a cataloging project for a new museum being
planned by our city. We wish to integrate the artifact and archival catalog
records with our system so that our patrons may access information about the
holdings of both.
I realize that there are many proprietary programs currently in use, such as
Re:discovery, that have been designed to integrate museum holdings. What
we're trying to find out is a bit more basic. Is there a standard format
for descriptions used by museums, similar to the MARC record/AACR2/ISBD
description standard for libraries? The way I understand AACR2, these rules
are flexible enough to cover artifacts and archival items as well as
standard print & other more common media types. So, are there museums out
there using the MARC record? Is there some similar standard that's fairly
prevalent?
I'd appreciate any help or suggestions of where to look for further
information. Thanks!
Lyn Gardner
Catalog Assistant
Hampton Public Library
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