In article <[log in to unmask]>, Pat Reynolds <[log in to unmask]> writes >In article <[log in to unmask]>, Kerridwen Harvey ><[log in to unmask]> writes >>Is anyone out there using the Social History and Industrial >>Classification (SHIC) in their museums to do subject classification of ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >>objects? The main misunderstanding to avoid is the one that Pat Reynolds explains in the following comment: >* it's process-driven. Take that box of matches - it would have a >different number (or more than one number) depending on whether it was >used in a display stand by a shop, or in a trade exhibition, by Mr Jones >to light his pipe, or by Mrs Jones to light the aga. SHIC is primarily a classification of activities, not of objects. If you want to group your objects by the areas of activity in which they were used, then SHIC may well be appropriate. In most museums you will also want to index objects by form and function, so that knives fall in the broader category of "cutting tools" and have the narrower category of "bread knives". These two approaches are complementary and can well be used together, but they are not alternatives, because they do different things. You can read a lot more about SHIC on Stuart Holm's Web site at http://www.holm.demon.co.uk/shic.htm and a brief description on the MDA Web site at http://www.open.gov.uk/mdocassn/descbib.htm#shic Leonard Will -- Willpower Information (Partners: Dr Leonard D Will, Sheena E Will) Information Management Consultants Tel: +44 181 372 0092 27 Calshot Way, Enfield, Middlesex, EN2 7BQ, UK Fax: +44 181 372 0094 [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask] ------------------ http://www.willpower.demon.co.uk/ -------------------