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The Collection Inventory Handbook for Museums and Historical Societies The Collection Inventory Handbook for Museums and Historical Societies Sandra Vanderwarf Bethany Romanowski Independent Collections Head Registrar Specialist National September 11 Memorial and Museum ARCS 2017 Conference Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Friday, November 3, 2017 National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Page 1 The Collection Inventory Handbook for Museums and Historical Societies Sandra Vanderwarf Bethany Romanowski, Head Registrar, Independent Collections Specialist National September 11 Memorial and Museum New York, NY New York, NY Inventory Background Inventory Background • Calvin Klein Fashion Archive • Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum • Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum • South Street Seaport Museum • Brooklyn Children’s Museum • Currently overseeing 9/11 museum’s first wall-to-wall • National Museum of Mongolia inventory About Us National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Page 2 The Collection Inventory Handbook for Museums and Historical Societies Presentation Outline I. Backstory on the Book II. Collections Inventory Survey III. Inventory Case Studies IV. Connecting Survey to Case Studies V. What’s Next? Sandra Vanderwarf Bethany Independent Collections Romanowski Specialist Head Registrar National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Page 3 The Collection Inventory Handbook for Museums and Historical Societies • Will be comprised of two parts Ø Part 1: Theory Ø Part 2: Case Studies • Emphasis on incorporating current technologies into inventory processes • Rowman & Littlefield, expected publication 2018 Sandra Vanderwarf Bethany Romanowski I. Backstory on the Book Independent Collections Head Registrar Specialist National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Page 4 The Collection Inventory Handbook for Museums and Historical Societies Survey Topics Ø Planning the inventory Ø Documenting the inventory Ø Conducting inventories in the digital age Question Format Ø Respondents rated topics in each category by level of interest Ø Space provided for questions and comments II. Collections Inventory Survey Sandra Vanderwarf Bethany Independent Collections Romanowski Specialist Head Registrar National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Page 5 Collections Inventory Survey (2016) Locations and Types of Institutional Affiliations Shared by 47 of 202 Respondents Sandra Vanderwarf Bethany II. Collections Inventory Survey Independent Collections Romanowski Specialist Head Registrar National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Page 6 Survey Results Topics In which the Most Respondents Were “Very Interested” Planning the Inventory Determining resources needed: 83% Documenting the Inventory Reconciling documentation discrepancies: 94% Conducting Inventories in the Digital Age Preparing your database to receive inventory data: 78% Sandra Vanderwarf Bethany Independent Collections Romanowski II. Collections Inventory Survey Specialist Head Registrar National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Page 7 CASE STUDY National Museum of Mongolia OBJECTIVE Make Inventories Faster by Barcoding rd Beads, 4,000-3,000 BCE Jade ornament, 3 c. Deer figurine, 7th c. BCE-1st c. CE Archery set, Flag,1910s Mongolian script typewriter, 11th-12th c. 1920s The collection features about 50,000 objects dating from prehistory to National Museum of Mongolia in the late 20th century. Ulaanbaatar. Sandra Vanderwarf III. Inventory Case Studies Independent Collections Specialist National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Page 8 CASE STUDY National Museum of Mongolia OBJECTIVE Make Inventories Faster by Barcoding Gilded Buddhist figures Silver & gold headdress Jade ritual objects embellished with gems These objects are among more than 1,000 that a curator stole and sold in the 2000s. This and other cases of unlawful possession and sale of Mongolian cultural heritage lent impetus to new laws requiring museums to inventory collections every two years. Inventory took two years using a pencil- and-paper methodology. Sandra Vanderwarf III. Inventory Case Studies Independent Collections Specialist National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Page 9 CASE STUDY National September 11 Memorial & Museum First Wall-to-Wall Inventory OBJECTIVES: • Capture baseline inventory documentation • Accurate location data for 100% of collection Bethany III. Inventory Case Studies Romanowski Head Registrar National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Page 10 Survey Topic 1: Planning An Inventory 83% Sandra Vanderwarf Bethany IV. Connecting Survey to Case Studies Independent Collections Romanowski Specialist Head Registrar National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Page 11 Case Study Time Barcoding at National Museum of Mongolia Issues Working from an Arbitrary Timeline Money & Equipment Knowing & Investing in Technology Needs An up-to-date laptop (left) supported a faster work flow and higher morale. An older desk top computer (right) was also used, but slowed work. Source: Amazon.com Sandra Vanderwarf Mongolian Cyrillic must be encoded as a QR code, IV. Connecting Survey to Case Studies Independent with Unicode text encoding. Scanners that support Collections Specialist Unicode are scarce and cost nearly double the budget National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Page 12 projection. Survey Topic 1: ü Estimating time through prototyping Planning Determining ü Creating a sound budget Resources Needed, ü Equipment checklists and vendors Such as Time, Money, and ü Synthesize data from case studies of high and low Equipment budget inventory projects Sandra Vanderwarf Bethany IV. Connecting Survey to Case Studies Independent Collections Romanowski Specialist Head Registrar National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Page 13 Survey Topic 2: Documenting the Inventory 94% Sandra Vanderwarf Bethany IV. Connecting Survey to Case Studies Independent Collections Romanowski Specialist Head Registrar National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Page 14 Most Common Documentation Discrepancies “NN” record generated • Objects with no for “Question the 9/11 documentation Investigation” flier found in storage • Objects from a known source, lacking database records • Numbering problems linked to component documentation IV. Connecting Survey to Case Studies Bethany Romanowski Head Registrar National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Page 15 Survey Topic 2: ü Anticipating Discrepancies Documenting An Inventory ü Resolving Discrepancies: How & When ü Legal Parameters Connected to Disposal, Missing Reconciling Objects, & Other Inventory Issues Documentation ü Case Studies Discrepancies Sandra Vanderwarf Bethany Romanowski IV. Connecting Survey to Case Studies Independent Collections Head Registrar Specialist National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Page 16 Survey Topic 3: Conducting Inventories In the Digital Age 78% Sandra Vanderwarf Bethany IV. Connecting Survey to Case Studies Independent Collections Romanowski Specialist Head Registrar National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Page 17 9/11 Museum Inventory Record: • Object Number • Object Name Minimum Inventory • Brief Description Documentation • Current Location • Date Inventory Information Recorded and Recorder’s Name • Object Type Additional Inventory • Medium Documentation • Dimensions Bethany IV. Connecting Survey to Case Studies Romanowski Head Registrar National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Page 18 Challenge Collective Access database not configured to: Record that an object was found during inventory, inventory recorder’s name, and date Track object components Record location history Bethany IV. Connecting Survey to Case Studies Romanowski Head Registrar National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Page 19 Inventory Log Feature Component tracking feature Location tracking feature Bethany National September 11 Memorial & Museum Romanowski IV. Connecting Survey to Case Studies Head Registrar Inventory Report Exported from Database IV. Connect Survey to Case Studies Bethany Romanowski Head Registrar National September 11 Memorial & Museum Case Study Issues Recording Inventory Data National Museum of Mongolia • Location • Inventory log • Multiple Components of the Same Object Storeroom No7, Row1.Column1.Shelf1.Box1 Agate snuff bottle with coral stopper. We were The database location feature impedes staff from tracking objects to the unable to record different locations for components desired standard. Nevertheless, scanning barcoded locations into the field of the same object, or that a component was not was faster and more accurate than typing the data. found during inventory. Sandra Vanderwarf Independent IV. Connecting Survey to Case Studies Collections Specialist National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Page 22 Survey Topic 3: ü Comparison of Inventory Features Across Inventories in the Databases Digital Age ü Linking Database Fields to Drop Down Lists and Standard Nomenclatures Preparing Your ü Creating Inventory Data Short Cut Screens Collections Database To Receive Inventory Data Sandra Vanderwarf Bethany Romanowski IV. Connecting Survey to Case Studies Independent Collections Head Registrar Specialist National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Page 23 What’s Next? Ø The Collection Inventory Handbook for Museums and Historical Societies (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018) Ø Share Your Inventory Story, Questions, or Feedback at: [email protected] Sandra Vanderwarf Bethany V. What’s Next? Independent Collections Romanowski Specialist Head Registrar National September 11 Memorial & Museum | Page 24.
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