The Logan
museum has a collection of over 300
objects, extensive field notes (hundreds
of pages in 5 very thick binders) and
(eventually we hope) up to 3000 images.
These are the life’s work of an
avocational
anthropologist. She collected textiles,
mostly from across Oaxaca,
between 1949 and the mid-1990s. We
have been discussing how to process this
collection into a unified, indexed
whole. All of the collection objects
have been photographed and each page of
the notebooks has been scanned. We would
like to create an index linking
specific pages in the notebooks to
specific objects in the collection. It
would
allow researchers to search for a
village name (for example) and get back
results relating that village to
specific objects and notebook pages. The
index
would eventually be launched on line
using our existing collections
management
software.
One idea is to
create a web portal and use the power of
social networking to allow people
interested in Oaxacan textiles do the
indexing for us. We would post the
materials on line, create a portal and
forms for linking key words and specific
objects to notebook pages, and manage
the online indexing by engaging with
affinity groups and interested
individuals in an environment that
allows
participants and museum staff to work
together in a social and collaborative
online environment.
My question is
whether anyone knows of similar indexing
projects done either in-person and
in-house, or by way of social networks
on line. In either case what were the
strengths and weaknesses of the
approach? What advice on setting up the
systems
can you give? Are we crazy to even
consider this? And thanks to Nina
Simon for the inspiration (or insanity,
whichever it is).
Dan
--
Dan Bartlett
Curator of Exhibits and Education
Instructor of Museum Studies
Logan Museum
of Anthropology
Beloit College