Object Entry Use Cases

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Last updated: Mar 01, 2010 by Kirsten Vittrup (Unlicensed)Version comment
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Museum of the Moving Image

Intake (for possible Acquisition)

Donor contacts museum about possible donation OR museum contacts donor with a request for a donation.

If deemed appropriate for the Museum's collection, the artifact(s) is delivered to the museum (donation lot). An artifact receipt is created from a template in Microsoft Word, and issued to donor as proof of transfer of the property to museum for consideration as a donation.

Once a donation is accepted, an intake record is created in the CMS which includes: donor information (managed by the name authority), an accession number, the extent of the donation, the credit line, method of donation, deed of gift date, notes (for valuation and rights). Documents (such as a PDF of the deed of gift) can be attached to this record. The artifacts in the donation lot are given individual number assignments (sometimes in the CMS, sometimes into the Excel inventory worksheet).

Object Entry (after Acquisition or Loan In)

Objects coming in to the Museum are generally inventoried using Microsoft Excel. These inventory sheets are attached to deeds of gift or incoming loan forms. Objects are listed on these inventory sheets at varying hierarchical levels: some in groups, others individually.

Once the donation or loan is formally accepted, the Registrar may assign object accession numbers (handwritten directly onto the Excel sheet) as the objects are processed, or the entire donation/loan may receive one number.

Accession numbers at the Museum are modeled: Year.Donation Number.Object Number, e.g. 1984.5.63. In the CMS, zeros are added to these numbers to ensure proper filing, e.g. 1984.005.0063. If the Registrar does not assign individual numbers to an object, each object is given just the first two parts (e.g. 1990.45). Loan numbers are modeled IL.Loan Number.Object Number, e.g. IL24.35. Again, for filing purposes, these numbers are entered into the system as IL0024.0035.

Objects are then given object records in the CMS. The Museum's current CMS allows the user to create a given number of new object records based on a generic template; this feature is not used. For inventory-level only records, the accession number, artifact title, classification, a brief description, extent, and location are added. Some descriptive elements, such as material, technique, or creation date may be added. Some authorities may be linked (e.g. production title, manufacturer, etc.) In the Museum's current CMS, authorities are all added on one screen, they are not added along with an object's basic information.

Statens Museum for Kunst

Procedure on arrival of  a “Visiting work of art”

A “Visiting work of art” is a work that can be found in the museum for a short period of time for photography, conservation, professional assessment etc.

For “Deposit”, “New acquisitions” and “Incoming loans”, please refer to the respective folders on the intranet under ’Procedures on arrival of a work’.

Before  the arrival of a work

  1. The Registry Office is informed about the case by SAFO.
  2. The Registrar of Incoming Loans makes an agreement with the owner or the responsible person of the work about the arrival of the work to the museum. The lender must be advised to send the work by a hauler, in bubble wrap or transport box, depending of the nature of the work. This assessment is obtained from KONS. The owner must be informed about insurance liability etc.
  3. The value of the work must be disclosed by the owner. The Registry Office communicates the value to Head of Security of SMK. Head of Security assesses if SMK can insure the work during its stay in the museum.
  4. The Registry Office may arrange the transport depending on the agreement with curator and owner.
  5. The Registry Office will reserve the gate and distribute a form regarding the arrival of the work. This is sent to: The Reception, Art Handling, Control Centre, the relevant curator, the conservator in charge, the relevant conservation unit (this secures backup in case of sickness absence) and, in specific cases Photography (which will appear from the arrival form from the Registry Office.

On arrival of a work

  1. The Reception checks the registration number and the names of the drivers, which are mentioned on the arrival note from The Registry Office.
  2. When a “Visiting work of art” is handed over to the museum, the hauler or owner and the museum sign for the delivery of the work on a form which is handed over by the Registry Office or found on the intranet under “Procedures for arrival of a work’. By signing, the lender agrees that the insurance liability rests with the lender. For other incoming loans, the transport note from the hauler is a valid form of documentation of the transfer. The receipt is handed over to the Registrar of Incoming Loans.
  3. The reception must always contact Art Handling, or outside normal working hours, the Out of hours Guard who, together with the hauler, arranges the placing of the work in M1.
  4. The Registrar of Incoming Loans assigns an EKS number to the work in Globus, and this number is referred to at the point of any movement of the work just as though it was a KMS number.
  5. Art Handling arranges a time for unpacking as soon as possible after the arrival by agreement with SAFO and KONS. This is (among other reasons) necessary for a potential insurance liability. (Usually a climate box can only be unpacked after 24 hours, unless otherwise agreed upon with the owner or responsible institution). At the time of unpacking KONS assesses the condition of the work and composes a status report  along with the courier if there is one.
  6. KONS instructs Art Handling regarding handling. Three representatives for SMK must be present at the unpacking (an art handler, the relevant curator and a conservator).
  7. Together SAFO and KONS plan a possible conservation/mounting/remounting. If time allows or if there is a need for conservation, transport to KONS is arranged with Art Handling. Conservation depends on what has been agreed on before the arrival of the work to the museum.
  8.  Art Handling arranges for storage if the work is not examined or dealt with immediately and communicates the placement to REG.
  9. All moves/placements are communicated to The Registry Office by form or e-mail with reference to the EKS number of the work.
  10. At the return/delivery of the work, the person who collects the work and the contact person from the museum sign a form for the return/delivery (cf. point 2).
Procedure on arrival of a “Deposit” to the museum

A “Deposit” is a work of art which stays in the museum for a longer period according to an agreement. The work will be registered with a DEP number in the museum’s database of works and will therefore form a part of the museum collection. However, it is not owned by the museum.

For “Visiting work of art”, “New acquisitions” and “Incoming loans”, please refer to the respective folders on the intranet under ’Procedures at arrival of a work’.

Before the arrival of a work

  1. The Registry Office is informed about the case by SAFO.
  2. The Registrar of Incoming Loans makes an agreement with the owner or the responsible person of the work about the arrival of the work to the museum.
  3. The Registrar of Incoming Loans can make an appointment and arrange the transport with a suitable hauler.
  4. If the transport is arranged by SMK, the registrar and possibly a conservator assess whether the work shall be transported in bubble wrap or transport box.
  5. The Registrar of Incoming Loans agrees on the insurance liability with the owner, Head of Security and SAFO. Therefore, before transportation, the value of the work will be disclosed to the Registrar of Incoming Loans who passes this information on to Head of Security of SMK.
  6. The Registry Office will reserve the gate and distribute a form regarding the arrival of the work. This is sent to: The Reception, Art Handling, Photography, Control Centre, the relevant curator, the conservator in charge and the relevant conservation unit (this secures backup in case of sickness absence).

On arrival of a work

  1. The Reception checks the registration number and the names of the drivers, which are mentioned on the arrival note from The Registry Office.
  2. When the “Deposit” is handed over to the museum, the hauler and the museum sign for the delivery of the work on a form which is handed over by the Registry Office or found on the intranet under “Procedures for arrival of a work’, This is the documentation of the arrival of the work to the museum. A transport agent’s transport note is also a valid form of documentation of the transfer. The receipt is handed over to the Registrar of Incoming Loans.
  3. The reception must always contact Art Handling, or outside normal working hours, the Out of hours Guard who, together with the hauler, arranges the placing of the work in M1.
  4. Preferably on the day of arrival, SAFO will do a preliminary registration of the work in Globus and the inventory register as well as notify REG, Art Handling and KONS. The curator in charge will assign a DEP number to the work. (creates a record in GLOBUS).
  5. Art Handling arranges a time for unpacking as soon as possible after the arrival by agreement with SAFO and KONS. This is (among other reasons) necessary for a potential insurance liability. (Usually a climate box can only be unpacked after 24 hours, unless otherwise agreed upon with the conservator). At the time of unpacking, SAFO takes measurements and carries out the final registration of the work, its composition, number of parts etc. KONS assesses the condition of the work and composes a status report. KONS instructs Art Handling regarding the mounting of the inventory no. (DEP), storage and handling. Three representatives for SMK must be present at the unpacking (an art handler, the relevant curator and a conservator).
  6. Together SAFO and KONS plan possible conservation/mounting/remounting.
    If time allows or if there is a need for conservation, transport between FOTO and KONS is arranged[TW1|#_msocom_1] (cf. Point 8). In cases where time does not permit, conservation will be taken care of later.
  7. The following will apply for works from KKS: KKS arranges for storage where the work will await mounting at PAPIRKONS; only after mounting will it be placed in KKS’ storage folders and made accessible to the public.
  8. Art Handling arranges photography in agreement with FOTO. The photographers notify Art Handling and SAFO when the work has been photographed. In cases of installation and works which can not be photographed immediately, SAFO will arrange for the procurement of photos, if possible.
  9. Art Handling arranges for storage space and communicates the location to REG
  10. All moves /placements are communicated to The Registry Office by form or e-mail with reference to the DEP number of the work.
  11. At the return/delivery of the work, the person who collects the work and the contact person from the museum sign a form for the return/delivery (cf. point 2).

University and Jepson Herbaria at UC Berkeley

Loan request (such as from a researcher), leading to Object Entry, Acquisition (question) , and Loan

(See also the last paragraph, about the handiness of bulk group or lot data, entered at a previous time during Object Intake, flowing into Object Entry screens for individual CollectionObjects)

November 19, 2008: Chris Hoffman and Jess Mitchell visited the University and Jepson Herbaria on the UC Berkeley campus.  Dick Moe, Manager of Collections Data and Informatics, gave us a tour of the  Herbaria collections and talked with us about various workflows and use cases.  Captured here are some notes especially about object entry:

As we came in to the museum main entry, Dick pointed to an open folio of dried plant specimens (collected in the late 1800s according to the label on one of the folio pages), saying these were probably about to go out on loan. These lacked bar codes or they had not yet been entered into the collection management system. Only something like 20% of Herbaria collections are catalogued in the database. Of importance to us, the first time an object is entered into the collection management system might be when it is about to be loaned out! The Herbaria only needs to collect a minimum amount of information as the specimen goes out on loan.

In other cases, initial data entry occurs when data entry resources have been acquired (e.g., via a grant to enter a specific collection into the database in order to make it available to other researchers and the public). In that case, the existing folio pages are gathered together, data entry from the physical labels is performed, and bar codes are then assigned and attached to the folio pages. So at this point, the folio pages will have annotations such as re-identifications. I don't know how much of that enriched data is entered into the collection management system.

Entering the collections area itself, Dick took us through the rows of cabinets, pointing out some of the different kinds of specimens they house (cones, fruits, seeds, as well as dried plants). One of the activities that is quite common in the Herbaria is taking samples (e.g., leaf cuttings) to send to other researchers and collections.

Here is a fairly typical workflow for object entry in the Herbaria:

  • A researcher brings in a set of specimens that have been partially prepared: They are dried, stored between sheets, and will have some varying amount of information on labels (where located, species included, date, collector).
  • Museum staff ties these into larger bunches that are sandwiched between heavy cardboard sheets into bunches that are up to about 5 inches thick. One collector's submission might end up as one or many of these bunches. Each bunch is assigned a lot number, and information is written into a physical register (the lot log). Dick said they are thinking of creating a digital lot log so there is some initial computerized information.
  • These lots are placed in storage cabinets (is the cabinet information then entered into the lot log?)
  • Due to a scarcity of data entry resources, these lots could sit in the storage cabinet for decades.
  • If there is justified reason to do further work on a lot (e.g., researcher interested in the species collected, is a specimen from a specific area), then it will be processed using a workflow that we didn't really discuss. I suspect that steps include further physical processing to produce proper folio pages, creation of a label that has the appropriate information, data entry into the collection management system, assignment of a barcode, and filing of the physical folio into the correct location. I imagine there is a lot of variability in timing and amount and quality of data, driven by research needs as much as anything.

Some general observations: This workflow reminded me of some of the archives. A group of materials comes in - perhaps a couple hundred specimens perhaps of different species from one collecting event or one donation event. That group is divided into an appropriate number of lots, basically to make them physically manageable. The core information (collector, date, location and such) is probably shared across the group. If there is funding or need, the group (a set of lots at this point) will be further divided, processed, identified and annotated. So the hierarchical splitting of an original grouping of objects seems to hold. Dick Moe and others talked about how nice it would be if the original information from the initial group would cascade into the data entry screens as they processed the objects into more granular groupings.

Additional notes on specimen collections from UC Berkeley workshop (Susan Stone, UCB)

Object (specimen) entry usually follows entry of a collecting event or expedition, including collector, date, and location

Objects may come as a donation

Before intake make sure accession is legal and required collecting permits have been obtained

Inventory related specimens from collecting event: bulk loading of related objects is desirable

Compile contextual information tied to specimens (e.g., recordings, images, field notes)

Specimens are accepted into the collection and assigned a barcoded collection number (“UC” plus number for the UC collection or “JEPS” plus number for the Jepson collection).  The specimen is usually dried, pressed, and mounted on a specimen sheet, but it can also be preserved in liquid, stored in a bag, etc. Specimens can come from collecting activity, the botanical garden, or other sources.

Accessions

  1. Single specimen that consists of a single object (e.g. mounted on a single sheet).  This is the most common situation.  A collector or collecting group collects a specimen during a collecting event.  The specimen is then accessioned into the collection whereby it can be used in a project or sent out on a loan.  The following kinds of data can be applied to a specimen:
    1. collecting event: Specimens are collected during collecting events.  Through this collecting event, one can establish the collection location (geography/locality), collection dates, collection agents, and collection method.
    2. agent: An agent is a single entity that can perform an action on the specimen.  The entity can be a person, a group of people, or an institution/organization.  In addition, agents can have multiple roles such as collector, annotator/determiner, author, loan requestor, institutional owner.
    3. annotation/identification/determination:  Specimens can be identified multiple times, but there must be one and only one accepted determination.  A history of annotations must be maintained.
    4. usage: Specimens can be cited in a publication, used in a project, loaned out to another institution, or sampled for DNA analysis.
    5. voucher (specimen characteristics):   Voucher data are bits of information related to specimen characteristics.  It can be culled from the specimen itself, as well as any notes or observations (physical or not).
      1. Examples of voucher types: type, habitat, color, phenology, reproductive biology, nomenclature, odor, cytology, anatomy, other label numbers (i.e. other identifiers assigned to the specimen by institutions or persons such as USDA number or garden number).
      2. Examples of voucher data sources: specimen, labels, notes, annotations, publications, drawings.
    6. other specimen/object characteristics (not voucher):  Some informational bits about the specimen or object are not stored as vouchers.  Examples:
      1. object type  (e.g. specimen, folder, exsiccata)
      2. original collector number
      3. preservation/storage type/method (e.g. dried and mounted on specimen sheet, preserved in liquid)
  2. Single specimen that consists of multiple objects (e.g. mounted on multiple sheets).  Specimens that consist of multiple objects require special handling  for data related to loans (tracking) and possibly vouchers (observations specific to one sheet).  In the example of a specimen with multiple sheets, each sheet would be a single object of an object type “Sheet” that makes up the object type “Specimen”. Data specific to object type “Sheet” can include dimensions, material type, mounter (person who mounted the specimen onto the sheet).
  3. Multiple specimens bound together in a volume (e.g. exsiccatae).  An exsiccata volume or fascicle consists of multiple specimens.  It can be considered another object type.  For example, the object type “Exsiccata” is made up of multiple objects of type “Specimen” which can consist of multiple objects of type “Sheet”.  As with Case II, these objects require special handling for data related to loans and loan tracking.  In addition, data concerning the object type must be maintained.  For example, exsiccata name/title, collectors, volume, pages.
  4. Multiple specimens mounted on a single sheet.   As in Case II, sheets that consist of multiple specimens require special handling for data related to loans (tracking) .  A loan request for one specimen should also tag all specimens on that sheet as part of the loan.  This example highlights the need for object tracking. One or many specimens are mounted on a sheet which is filed in a folder which is ordered in a cabinet.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Records for incoming objects: pre-accessions

Contact

Potential donor contacts curator to offer a work for the collection; or curator contacts potential donor to solicit a donation; or curator contacts vendor to negotiate a purchase.

Initial collections information record

If the contact is successful, the assistant curator creates an agent record for the donor (if none exists) and an object record in CMS, the collections management system. Initial records include contact information for the donor or vendor and all available object information, such as artist, title, date, medium, dimensions, insurance value, provenance, and reason for deposit.

Offer letter - gifts

The curator provides the donor with suggested text about the work for inclusion in the donor's official offer letter. Text about the work is derived from the new CMS object record.

Curatorial defense

The curator presents a justification supporting the purchase of a work to the accession committee. The justification is included in the work's hardcopy records and CMS record.

Accessions summary

Various staff may collaborate to develop an accessions summary for complex, multipart installations considered for acquisition. Summaries describe known requirements and costs associated with acquiring, displaying, preserving, and loaning the work. Summaries exist as Word documents and may be supplemented by images and diagrams, most if not all of which live outside CMS.

Pre-accessions borrowed for an exhibition

When a work proposed for acquisition is also to be included in an upcoming exhibition the assistant curator prints a loan form from CMS for signature by the donor/lender.

Delivery

The registrar creates a shipping record in CMS with information about the work's transportation and delivery. Receipts are printed from CMS and sent to the donor or vendor after the work arrives at the museum. Another receipt is issued if the work is not accessioned and returned to the potential donor or vendor.

Temporary ID number

Each incoming work is assigned a unique temporary identification number.

Tracking

Registrar records the location of the work in CMS once it is under SFMOMA's jurisdiction. Locations include on-site and off-site storage, and on-site or off-site exhibitions.

Condition report

Registrar completes a condition report upon receipt of the work. The condition report form is printed from CMS and filled out as a hardcopy. Works are occasionally condition checked off-site, making off-site access to the database a desirable feature.

Unpacking and installation notes

Registrar obtains necessary unpacking and installation instructions from the donor or vendor. Instructions may be added in whole or in part to the work's CMS record. The location of any comprehensive set of instructions, as well as any images of unpacking and installation, may be referenced in the CMS record.

Images

Staff capture and/or receive from the donor, vendor, or artist one or more digital images of the work before or after receipt. Images are linked to CMS records and added to DAM, the digital asset management system.

Accessions ballots

Ballots are prepared by administrative staff for meetings of the accessions committees and subcommittees of the museum's four curatorial departments. Ballots are printed from CMS.

Walker Art Center

Information regarding possible acquisitions and gifts is given to the registrar for the permanent collection from the curatorial staff or director. A record is created in a FileMaker Pro acquisition database, created for each acquisition meeting, for the work. A deed of gift is generated from the database and sent to the donors. 

The information collected to create a minimum acquisition record includes: object id, donor name, date, title of work, artist name, medium, credit line, value.

Upon receipt of the object, a blank condition report, including tombstone information and an image of the work is printed from the acquisition database, written and stored in a paper file. Additional, information regarding the object is input into the acquisition database.

A loan number is assigned, L2009.15.1-.5(L+year.object number.number of pieces, if more than one) and object information, artist, title, owner, purpose of loan, is entered into a FileMaker Pro Registration ledger, into which every artwork entering the building is recorded.

The loan number is entered into the acquisition database and a receipt is generated and sent to the donor/vendor.

Following formal accession, Offer of Gifts/Purchases are printed from the acquisition database for the Directors approval, accession numbers are assigned to the object, year.objectnumber.number of pieces, if more than one. An accession memo is produced from the database and stored in a paper file. Records for the acquisition database are then imported into the CMS FileMaker Pro database. Additional data is entered as needed.

Storage technicians then physically number the objects, program and attach RFID tags to the objects, which automates the recording of storage or exhibition location into the CMS.

As the work is further processed additional information regarding reproduction rights and digital image file location is added to the CMS record.