PDF Realising standards - Proceedings of the 20th Anniversary Conference

Some countries, e.g. The Netherlands (Netherlands Ministry of Welfare, Health and Cultural Affairs 1992) have responded by introducing plans to assess and improve the management of their cultural collections. SYNTHESYS will also publish an overview of the standards project undertaken by the Natural History Museum, London (Davis 2004).

Table 2. Breakdown of core sections and sub-sections of surveys.

PALEONTOLOGY COLLECTIONS THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF ‘‘MCGINLEY LEVELS’’

Perhaps 10% of the collection has been cataloged electronically, and the rest is in book registers. About 10% of the collection (including 100% of the species and ammonoid material) reaches level 5, the most desirable level.

Table 1. Summary of Curation Status Levels (McGinley 1989).

PROGRAM COLLECTION

PRESERVING OUTER SPACE IN MUSEUM SPACE

Initial sample processing is done either in a gloved nitrogen processing cabinet (not shown) or on a laminar flow bench (foreground left, A). Each year, virtually regardless of the total number of meteorites found, about 50 fall into this last category.

Figure 1. The MAC 02874 (L5 chondrite) meteorite as it was found in situ on a blue ice field at MacAlpine Hills, Antarctica, during the 2002–2003 field season

MAINTAINING STANDARDS IN THE CARE OF PETROLOGY AND MINERALOGY COLLECTIONS AT

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM WALES

The first stage in effective collections management begins prior to the formal acquisition of specimens with a Collection Impact Assessment (CIA). All specimens have been examined by John Black and the level of scientific information is high.

Figure 1. A composite example of a condition report constructed from several recent acquisitions.

INTEGRATED COLLECTION MANAGEMENT AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM WALES

Procedures for the collections of Performance indicator for the documentation of the collections Procedures for location and movement management of objects. The group's success was significantly aided by the fact that its policies and procedures were linked to museum registration.

Table 1. Natural Science collections at the NMW.

A STANDARD SYLLABUS FOR NATURAL HISTORY CONSERVATION TRAINING IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

The natural history conservation literature has grown enormously in the last ten years, but as Crowther and Collins (1987) stated, “the conservation of the UK's geological collections will not be helped by providing. This course includes a Natural History Museum where a lot of expertise in natural conservation is gained during practice. In Europe, a degree in natural sciences can be completed at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Natural Sciences.

We suggest that a standard formal curriculum is needed to cover the conservation requirements of a natural history collection. The recommendations in this paper are for discussion by the natural history museum community.

MINIMIZING THE RISKS FROM THE TEN AGENTS OF DETERIORATION IN TWO NEW WEST MIDLANDS

MUSEUM RESOURCE CENTRES, UK

The Canadian Conservation Institute wall chart (Costain 1994) identifies five stages to minimize and recover from the effects of the ten remedies: avoidance, blocking. Drawer and bay size were also an important factor in determining the size of the new store and the building itself. At one end of the building, the staff room with sink (on the first floor) and toilets (on the ground floor) are grouped above each other.

This was planned following the procedure adopted for the bulk freezing of Liverpool Museum Botany collections in 2001 (Young 2003). In Ludlow, the location of the air intake for the air conditioning system was carefully considered and is located in a protected level on the second floor.

UNCONTROLLABLE BUILDING

Previously, relative humidity and temperature were monitored using Casella T9420 thermohygrographs in a small number of rooms during the building's first years of operation. What is also visible on the graphs of the RH measurements is that the vibrations within the building become more extreme during the intervention period. Rooms with a relatively smaller volume tend to heat up quickly due to radiant heating on the outer wall of the building.

Keeping individual rooms isolated by closing all doors may not produce a predictable climate because the building is "leaky". The period in which the building is heated (from the end of October to the middle of May) corresponds to the seasonally decreasing phase of evapotranspiration in winter.

Figure 1. A generalised floor plan of the NMINH off-site collections storage building

LEVELS OF IPM CONTROL: MATCHING CONDITIONS TO PERFORMANCE AND EFFORT

Determining the relative position of the intermediate levels was more difficult, but was done based on the authors' previous experience. Aperture sizes that allow for pest infiltration are a dominant feature of level markings. The impact of changes made by examining incident data can then be assessed against this standard.

Especially to Jean Tetreault (CCI), who encouraged our thinking about the level approach. 1998. Proceedings of the 3rd Nordic Symposium on Insect Pest Control in Museums. Natur Historiska Riksmuseet.

SCIENCE SPECIMENS

pH neutral PVA is used in this context and binds strongly to the microfibrous surface of the tissue. The pH neutral PVA coated on both sides of the tissue filler dries to a fish skin like consistency. Washing a small amount of deionized water on the back of the tissue will help the feather regain its natural curvature (Fig. 2b).

The shell is almost repaired and the inner tissue coating is visible. The other half of the fabric is similarly coated with glue and painted in place.

Figure 2. a. Damaged kingfisher feathers, from a historic specimen, mounted, barb-by-barb, onto 9 gsm Gampi tissue

THE EFFECTS OF TANNING AND FIXING PROCESSES ON THE PROPERTIES OF TAXIDERMY SKINS

The cut was made on the underside of the skin where the Langer lines (tension lines within the animal's skin) are parallel to the length of the skin to standardize the tensile test results. Salt or potassium alum powder was applied to both sides of the skin in two separate treatments. Some background on skin structure is necessary to discuss the meaning of tensile test results.

The increase in flexibility of the skins with the addition of formalin may be due to chemical degradation. Kuckhan, to the President and Members of the Royal Society on the Preservation of Dead Birds.

Figure 1. Tensile test plot showing reversibility within the elastic region for squirrel skin fixed in 70% ethanol

ARSENIC IN TAXIDERMY COLLECTIONS: HISTORY, DETECTION, AND MANAGEMENT

Weber's test is commonly used in American museums (see for example Found and Helwig 1995, Hawks and Williams 1986, Sirois and Taylor 1989). Both tests gave a positive result with a stronger signal for the Weber's test than for the Arsenic test paper. Results of Weber's test and the arsenic paper test on the solutions at different arsenic concentrations and 200 ppm).

Les échantillons dont le test est positif à l'arsenic doivent clairement afficher « Arsenic Contaminé » sur l'étiquette (Knapp 2000). 2002. Histoire de la taxidermie en France, étude des facteurs de ses évolutions techniques et conceptuelles, et de ses relations avec l'exposition du spécimen naturalisé. Thèse de doctorat, Musée historique national naturel, Paris, France.

Figure 1. Rolling a cotton swab on a bird specimen for an Arsenic Spot Test at the Muse´um National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris.

A CONTRIBUTION TO STANDARDS FOR FREEZING AS A PEST CONTROL METHOD FOR MUSEUMS

Medium-sized larvae of the insects used in the tests were sent by surface mail from Copenhagen to Stockholm (duration: 48 hours). The vials were kept at room temperature for 24 hours until they were used in the experiments. Between checks for survival, the vials were kept at room temperature in the laboratory.

Further research into the biochemical processes that occur in insects during exposure to low temperatures could further elucidate this. In addition, it is extremely important that the items in the freezer are placed in such a way that air circulation is enabled.

Table 1. References describing investigations of exposure times required to kill insect pests in mu- mu-seums at ⫺ 20 ⬚ C.

AMERICAN ARTIFACTS

The artifacts selected for this loan represent some of the finest items in the Science Museum of Minnesota's Native American collection. After straps (see below) for the artifacts were pulled through the cardboard, a layer of corrugated polyethylene (Coroplast威) was attached to the bottom of the tray with double-sided tape. All this was done in the Conservation Laboratory, under the supervision of the Custodian.

For example, during the packaging process, the Conservator refined the attachment of the tissue paper strips under the ties. There was some confusion during the repacking process at the end of the exhibition.

Figure 1. A completed tray, ready for packing.

CALLING ON GOD: THE GALLERY OBJECT DATABASE AT THE ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM

While some of the fields were similar to those in the collection databases (catalog number, genus, and species), much of the information needed to design a gallery did not exist in all of the current ones. FunctionFieldDescriptionDataTypeSize SystemIDAuniquenumber automatically assigned to each record.AutoNumber5 SystemUserThelogousername of the last individual who changed this record.Text255 SystemRecordDateofChangeDate on which this record was changed.Date/Time8 Object-ReferenceDepartmentDepartment to which this subject belongs. Text255 Object-ReferenceDisciplineThe departmental discipline to which this object belongs.Text255 Object-ReferenceDisciplineID*ID for the departmental discipline to which this object belongsNumber2 Object-ReferenceDatabase The departmental database where this object is located.Text255 Object-ReferenceDatabaseIDTheID for the departmental database where this object is located.Number2 Object-ReferenceROMID*UniqueROMidentificationnumber assigned to this object.Text255 Object-ReferenceROMIDGroupTheROMidentificationnumber assignedorgroupofobjects.Text255 Object -ReferenceROMIDGroupCaptionRecordYes, the flag indicating this record is a title record in the ROMID record group.Text255 Object-ReferenceROMIDStatusAdministrativefield to check the ROMID number for this object against the registration origin table .Text255 Object-ReferenceDateROMIDChangedDate when the information in the ROMID field changed.Da te/Time8 Object-ReferenceCatalogueNumber The catalog number assigned to this object.Text255 Object-ReferencePreviousNumber The number previously assigned to this object.Text255 Object-ReferenceGenusThescientificgenustwichthitbelongs.Text255 Object-ReferenceSpeciesThescientificspecieswhichthis sobjectbelongs.Text255 Object-ReferenceObjectNatureDescription of the nature of this object, e.g. Object-ReferenceLocationDate Date on which the location of this object was changed. Text255 Object-ReferenceComments Curator comments related to this object. Text255 Object-ReferenceHierarchyInformation indicating the prioritization of objects for display. design of the temporary nature associated with this object.Memo65,535 Object -ReferenceLocalUse2Localfield to store information about the temporary nature associated with this object.Memo65,535 Object-ReferenceLocalUse3Localfield to store information about the temporary nature associated with this object.Memo65,535 Object-DimensionsHeightMaximum the height of this object.Text255. FunctionFieldDescriptionDataTypeSize Object-DimensionsLengthThemaximumlengtofthisobject.Text255 Object-DimensionsWidthThemaximumwidtthofthobject.Text255 Object-DimensionsDepthThemaximumdeptofthisObject.Text255 Object-DimensionsDiameterMaximum diameter of this bject.Text255 Object-DimensionsUnitUnit used to measure this object, e.g.cm.Text255 Object-DimensionsDimensionsAconcatenationmaximummeasurement metadata additional metrics.Text255 Object- DimensionsWeightAn approximation of the weight of this object.Text255 Object-StatusData teAddedDate when this object was added to the database. Date/Time8 Object-StatusDisplayStatusAnindicator ,Yes or Deleted, whether or not this object will be displayed. Text255 Object-StatusDateDeletedThe date this object was deleted from the displayDate/Time8 Object-StatusReasonDeletedThe reason why this object's display status was changed to deleted.Text255 Object-PhotographyImageThe image file name of this bject.Text255 Object-PhotographyHyperlinkImageA hyperlink to this object's image.Hyperlink2,048 Object-PhotographyMountImageThe name of the mountforthisobject's image file .Text255 Object-PhotographyMountObjectImageThe image file location of this objectmetamount.Text255 Object-PhotographyPhotoTypeThe type of photograph required for this object, used primarily for the ROM5000 project. Text 255 Object- PhotographyDateToPhotographyDate when this object was photographed.Date/Time8 Object-PhotographyDatePhotographedDate when this object was photographed.Date/Time8 Object-CaptionNarrativeLevel3Level3narrative associated with a group of objects including this object.Memo65,535 Object-CaptionGroup A narrative about a narrative associated with a group of objects, including this object. Memo65, 535 Object-CaptionGroupTitle The caption associated with a group of objects, including this object. Memo65, 535 Object-CaptionTitle The caption associated with this object. soft object, whether original, cast, replica, model or reproduction. Text255 Object-CaptionMakerArtist of this object.Text255 Object-CaptionDesignerDesigner of this object.Text255 Object-CaptionCultureAculturaldescriptionofthobject.Text255 Object-CaptionGeographyGeographicaldescriptionofthobject.Text255 Object-CaptionPeriodAperiod description of this object.Text255 Object-CaptionDateAdateddescriptionofthobject.Text255 Object-CaptionNarrativeObjectALlevel4narrativeassociated withthisobject.Memo65,535.

FunctionField DescriptionDataTypeSize Object-CaptionDateCaptionChangedThedate on which information in any of the caption fields was changed.Date/Time8 Object-CaptionDateCaptionSentThe date the caption was sent to HaleySharpe for editing.Date/Time8 RegistrationsourceTheacquisite Theacquisition. line associated with this object.Memo65,535 RegistrationReproduction rightsThere production rights of this object.Text255 RegistrationMoral RightsThe moral rights of this object.Text255 RegistrationExhibition rightsThe exhibition rights of this object.Text255details Registration5Co,3details Registration5Ko,355Details5Object. Conservator AssessorThe name of the conservator who assessed the conservation requirements of this object.Text255 Conservation TreatmentRequiredAn indication of whether conservation treatment is required by this objection is complete.Text255 conservationAssessorHourThe number of HL conservation optrumberor-hoursobservative. humidity level required by this object. Text255 ConservationLightLevel The light level required by this object. Text255 ConservationDuration of Display The duration of display for this object. Text255 ConservationEnclosure Description of the enclosure in which this object will be displayed. ConservationTakenThe date this object was taken to Conservation.Date/Time8 ConservationConservationReturnedThedate this object was returned fromConservation.Date/Time8 GalleryDesignGalleryThegallery where this object will be displayed.Text255 GalleryDesignClusterCodeisthegallery yclusternameassignedtothisobject.Text255 GalleryDesignExhibitModuleCodeThegalleryexhibitmodulecodeassignedtothisobject.Text255 GalleryDesignExhibitModuleNameThegallery exhibitmodulenameassignedtothisobject.Text255 GalleryDesignObjectyExhibit5ObjectGroupGroupCode. GroupName The gallery object group name assigned to this object.Text255 GalleryDesignObjectNumber A unique number assigned to this object for ordering and prioritization within the display.Text255 GalleryDesignDateCode Changed The date a change was made to any of theHaleySharpefields. Date/Time8 GalleryDesignHSDS sheet The HSD sheet number on which this object appears. Text255 GalleryDesignHSDKey The key number that treats this object on the layout drawing on the HSD sheet. Number4. FunctionFieldDescriptionDataTypeSizeGalleryDesignHSDDDisplayCase TheHSD instance or open display code assigned to this object.Text255 GalleryDesignHSDD DisplayAreaThe HSD display surface code assigned to this object.Text255 ProductionDisplayDisplayActionCuratorCommentPlay5objectdisplay. Preservation comments about the methods required to display or mount this object. Text255 Production Mount Display Comments Mountmakers' comments on object display considerations. Text255 Production Mount Comments Mount makers' production comments about this object. MountTakenThe date this object was taken to be mounted.Date/Time8 ProductionMountReturnedThe date this object was returned from mountmaking.Date/Time8 ProductionProduction on the date the amount manufacturer checked this object for mountmaking.Date/Time8 ProductionProduction-OutThe production date has on a production date/time of the production date is on the production date/date. The storage location of this object during the production of the mount. Text255 ProductionMount Maker The name of the mount maker assigned to make the mount for this object. Text255 ProductionMountComplete An indication of whether the mount is complete. Text255 ProductionMountCompleteDate The date on which the mount was completed. The date/time 8 Production mounts of the 5 location of the product 5 location on the location. MountLocationBoxThe storage cabinet location of the mount for this object.Text255ProductionMountTypeThe type of fixture used to display this object.Text255ProductionMountLightingThe type of display cabinet lighting needed to display this object sidemounting.Text255ProductionPlinthSizeofexhibit5frontexhibit. date this object was taken for installation in the gallery. Date/Time8 Production Installer The name of the individual who took this object for installation in the gallery.Text255 Production Installation Location The temporary storage location of this object prior to installation in the gallery.

Table 1. Selected multidisciplinary galleries in the RenROM project.

CENTURY DOCUMENTATION STANDARDS FOR THE COLLECTIONS OF THE NORTH CAROLINA STATE

MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCES

The data file contains all data tables and is installed on the server. The first query finds all the information to be placed in each tag. Another aspect of the database is that it allows for very simple imports and exports.

We strongly recommend that the database perform all, or as many, of the data management functions as possible. We would like to thank all the NCSM staff who were and continue to be involved in the various aspects of this project, Dr.

Table 1. Eight units of the Research and Collections Seciton of NCSM and their method of cataloging prior to this project.

DOCUMENTATION STANDARDS REVIEW: PROCEDURES FOR DATABASE UPGRADES

Care must be taken here to avoid confusion about the use of the word "standard". It can be used to describe a particular national or international standard or as a general term, for example, "all museum documentation must follow a script". set of standards.'' In this paper the expression. CHIN (2004a), ICOM-CIDOC Information Categories (ICOM-CIDOC 1995) and SPECTRUM (MDA 2005) all contain data vocabularies that can be used as models for design. It would be possible to be safer and add to this first statement something like "insert terms only from the authority of the site" or "use terms only from the Getty AAT". The data dictionary must include a field for the data type. .

When IT staff say data is “easily migrated,” they may only be considering easy data cleansing. Once the data is clean, it can be used to create pop-up or drop-down lists for the fields that require a simple, self-maintained authority list.