the future of museum documentation
DESCRIPTION
Presentation to the 2014 CIDOC Documentation school in Sao Paulo, BrazilTRANSCRIPT
Documentation at the heart of the museum of the future
Nick PooleCEO, Collections Trust
Contents
• Introduction• What is a collection anyway...?• How our organisations are changing• What is Documentation?• Trust and Trustability• Strategic Collections Management• SPECTRUM, COPE and the CRM• The future of Documentation
Collections Trust
• Working with 25,000 museums in 18 countries worldwide
– Connecting people with collections– Supporting professional development– Building digital capacity– Demonstrating the value of Collections Management
• Our mission is to help ensure that our shared cultural heritage is enjoyed by current generations and passed on to future generations in better condition and greater abundance than we received it – the mission of the cultural commons.
• www.collectionstrust.org.uk
Introducing myself
• CEO of Collections Trust
• Former Chair of ICOM UK & Trustee of the Museums Association
• Working in museum documentation for 15 years
• Advising UK & European Governments on cultural policy
• Currently responsible for GBP15m in digital/documentation programmes in European museums
What is a Collection?
Physical Collections
Physical Collections
What is a Collection?
Administrative Information
Administrative Information
Physical Collections
Physical Collections
What is a Collection?
Administrative Information
Administrative Information
Collections-based
Knowledge
Collections-based
Knowledge
Physical Collections
Physical Collections
What is a Collection?
Administrative Information
Administrative Information
Collections-based
Knowledge
Collections-based
Knowledge
Physical Collections
Physical Collections
NarrativesNarratives
What is a Collection?
Administrative Information
Administrative Information
Digital AssetsDigital Assets
Collections-based
Knowledge
Collections-based
Knowledge
Physical Collections
Physical Collections
NarrativesNarratives
What is a Collection?
Administrative Information
Administrative Information
Digital AssetsDigital Assets
Collections-based
Knowledge
Collections-based
Knowledge
Physical Collections
Physical Collections
NarrativesNarratives
Physical surrogates (3D print)
Physical surrogates (3D print)
What is a Collection?
Administrative Information
Administrative Information
Digital AssetsDigital Assets
Collections-based
Knowledge
Collections-based
Knowledge
Physical Collections
Physical Collections
NarrativesNarratives
Physical surrogates (3D print)
Physical surrogates (3D print)
The nature of the material
which society trusts us to
collect, manage and care for
has changed beyond all
recognition...
The nature of the material
which society trusts us to
collect, manage and care for
has changed beyond all
recognition...
The changing role of museums
The role of museums has always been a balance between physical protection and facilitating public access
The changing role of museums
The role of museums has always been a balance between physical protection and facilitating access
We’re replacing access with activism, relevance, engagement & participation
The changing role of museums
The role of museums has always been a balance between physical protection and facilitating access
We’re replacing access with activism, relevance, engagement & participation
Delivering a relevant, exciting museum service depends on supporting an increased range of different types of collecting and an increased range of different types of use
The changing role of museums
The role of museums has always been a balance between physical protection and facilitating access
We’re replacing access with activism, relevance, engagement & participation
Delivering a relevant, exciting museum service depends on supporting an increased range of different types of collecting and an increased range of different types of use
To become relevant, the museum has to become responsive, which starts with collections & documentation.
The ‘traditional’ museum...
Most cultural organisations operate in ‘vertical’ silos
Education Management Collections Retail IT
The ‘traditional’ museum...
Most cultural organisations operate in ‘vertical’ silos
Education Management Collections Retail IT
User-centred design for museums
It’s about finding the fastest, simplest & most reproducible way of giving people meaningful, emotional experiences
Not about partitioning peoples’ lives, but about letting them express the kind of connection they want to make.
Not about creating knowledge for one particular group, but creating knowledge that can be repurposed for and extended by many different groups dynamically.
What is Documentation?
Documentation is the process by which we record a set of assertions about a given thing in our collections...
What is Documentation?
What is Documentation?
What is it?What is it?
Where is it?Where is it?
What is it made of?What is it made of?
Who owns it?Who owns it?
Why do we have it?
Why do we have it?
What is it connected to?
What is it connected to?
Who collected it?
Who collected it? Where was it
found?Where was it
found?
How big is it?How big is it?
How much is it worth?
How much is it worth?
What is Documentation?
What is it?What is it?
Where is it?Where is it?
What is it made of?What is it made of?
Who owns it?Who owns it?
Why do we have it?
Why do we have it?
What is it connected to?
What is it connected to?
Who collected it?
Who collected it? Where was it
found?Where was it
found?
How big is it?How big is it?
How much is it worth?
How much is it worth?
Why should I care?
Why should I care?
What does it mean?
What does it mean?
What story does it tell?What story does it tell?
What is its context?
What is its context?
How do I relate to it?How do I
relate to it?What makes
it unique?What makes
it unique?
What does it help me
understand?
What does it help me
understand?Is it ethical/
political/ moral?
Is it ethical/ political/ moral?
What is Documentation?
What is Documentation?
What is Documentation?
What is Documentation?
What is Documentation?
Our visitors must be free to wander the pathswe create, create their own, or tell us why a path is broken and should lead somewhere else...
What is Documentation?
The aim of documentation is not the creation of fixed points, but to facilitate the museum in reflecting the changing nature of knowledge & understanding about our collections.
What is Documentation?
In a connected world, knowledge flows freely between contexts and communities, becoming greater & more valuable as it travels.
In the real world, museums remain among the most trusted civic institutions, more than banks, politicians, broadcasters, teachers and the church.
In a world of hyper-connected information, trust is a currency
Museums are rich in trust because of professionalism and accountability – which are expressed through Documentation, Conservation & Collections Management
Strategic Collections Management
• Not about practice for its own sake, but about designing an organisation that works well & works together
• Making decisions about documentation and collections based on the needs of the audience and the organisation
• Ensuring effective management based on the right balance of skills, resources, systems and processes...
UsersUsers PoliticsPolitics FundingFunding CultureCulture
Organisation’s Mission StatementOrganisation’s Mission Statement
UsersUsers PoliticsPolitics FundingFunding CultureCulture
Organisation’s Mission StatementOrganisation’s Mission Statement
Collections Management PolicyCollections Management Policy
UsersUsers PoliticsPolitics FundingFunding CultureCulture
Organisation’s Mission StatementOrganisation’s Mission Statement
Collections Management PolicyCollections Management Policy
CareCare UseUse LearnLearn DevelopDevelop
UsersUsers PoliticsPolitics FundingFunding CultureCulture
Organisation’s Mission StatementOrganisation’s Mission Statement
Collections Management PolicyCollections Management Policy
CareCare UseUse LearnLearn DevelopDevelop
UsersUsers PoliticsPolitics FundingFunding CultureCulture
PeoplePeople ProcessesProcesses SystemsSystems InfoInfo
Organisation’s Mission StatementOrganisation’s Mission Statement
Collections Management PolicyCollections Management Policy
CareCare UseUse LearnLearn DevelopDevelop
UsersUsers PoliticsPolitics FundingFunding CultureCulture
PeoplePeople ProcessesProcesses SystemsSystems InfoInfo
Evaluation & improvementEvaluation & improvement
Organisation’s Mission StatementOrganisation’s Mission Statement
Collections Management PolicyCollections Management Policy
CareCare UseUse LearnLearn DevelopDevelop
UsersUsers PoliticsPolitics FundingFunding CultureCulture
PeoplePeople ProcessesProcesses SystemsSystems InfoInfo
Evaluation & improvementEvaluation & improvement
Rich, meaningful experiences for usersRich, meaningful experiences for users
Organisation’s Mission StatementOrganisation’s Mission Statement
Collections Management PolicyCollections Management Policy
CareCare UseUse LearnLearn DevelopDevelop
UsersUsers PoliticsPolitics FundingFunding CultureCulture
PeoplePeople ProcessesProcesses SystemsSystems InfoInfo
Evaluation & improvementEvaluation & improvement
Rich, meaningful experiences for usersRich, meaningful experiences for users
A continuous cycle of
improvement,
learning, review,
planning and
development
A continuous cycle of
improvement,
learning, review,
planning and
development
Organisation’s Mission StatementOrganisation’s Mission Statement
Collections Management PolicyCollections Management Policy
CareCare UseUse LearnLearn DevelopDevelop
UsersUsers PoliticsPolitics FundingFunding CultureCulture
PeoplePeople ProcessesProcesses SystemsSystems InfoInfo
Evaluation & improvementEvaluation & improvement
Rich, meaningful experiences for usersRich, meaningful experiences for users
The core elements of SPECTRUM
• SPECTRUM helps museums review their work with their collections, celebrate good practice and identify opportunities to improve!
• SPECTRUM Standard including translations/ localisations, SPECTRUM Digital Asset Management, the SPECTRUM Schema and the Archive of previous versions of SPECTRUM
• SPECTRUM Labs, including new ideas and potential applications of the SPECTRUM Standard
• SPECTRUM Resources which support the application of the standard
• SPECTRUM Community which includes anyone who uses the standard nationally or internationally
STANDARD
WORLDWIDE COMMUNITY (7,600)
COMPLIANCE(23,000)
GUIDANCEPDF/XML/PRINT+ SCHEMA
NEW IDEAS
Create Once, Publish Everywhere (COPE)
• If the standards, systems, processes and structures of museum documentation are to meet the current and future needs of our audiences, we need approaches that are adaptable and scalable
• Designing scalable information systems in museums means ‘no single-use information’ – information that can be discovered, re-used and adapted to different needs, channels or experiences
• Instead of designing information around one specific use (collections management, documentation, mobile apps, websites, catalogues), we design information so that it can flow dynamically across different uses.
COPE in practice
(From a presentation by Paul Rowe, CEO, Vernon Systems)
COPE in practice
(From a presentation by Paul Rowe, CEO, Vernon Systems)
COPE in practice
(From a presentation by Paul Rowe, CEO, Vernon Systems)
Sharing simple information
(From a presentation by Paul Rowe, CEO, Vernon Systems)
Title
Description
Media
Web address
Sewing bag and contents
Sewing bag and contents; a mottled blue, felt bag with two short, plaited felt handles. Each side of the bag is decorated with applied felt flowers in pink and yellow. The bag is dated 1938. The bag contains many scraps of fabric; a plastic shoe horn; a matchbox; a baby's shoe and socks;
http://nzgirlhistory.net/object/32498/
Sharing on social sites
(From a presentation by Paul Rowe, CEO, Vernon Systems)
COPE & the CIDOC CRM
CIDOC CRM
LIDO, ESE, ?
Abstraction layer
Collections management layer
Data interchange layer
CIDOC CRM opens up the potential to share rich narrative context using the COPE approach, rather than just simple object information
The future of Documentation?
There is a golden thread that connects the card-index cataloguing of the 1970’s with the world of linked open data & the delivery of dynamic, relevant, modern and accountable museum experiences (online and onsite)
Documentation is about much more than cataloguing objects, it is what allows those objects to tell and re-tell their stories
In a connected world, it is the professionalism and accountability of our documentation & collections care which give us our trusted status
Practical Guides
• A Practical Guide to Collections Management
• A Practical Guide to Documentation
• Both available from Collections Trust as books and e-books
• www.collectionstrust.org.uk/shop
Obrigado!
www.collectionstrust.org.uk@NickPoole1
These slides online at http://www.slideshare.net/collectionstrust