Introduction to Standards
There are many types of standards used to manage museum collections
information. These "standards", which range from precise technical
standards to general guidelines, enable museum data to be efficiently
and consistently indexed, sorted, retrieved, and shared, both
in automated and paper-based systems.
Museums often use metadata standards
(also called data structure standards) to help them:
- define what types of information to record in their database
(or card catalogue)
- structure this information (the relationships between the
different types of information).
Following (or mapping data to) these standards makes it possible
for museums to move their data between computer systems, or share
their data with other organizations.
Museums can use cataloguing
standards (also called content standards) and value
standards (which include vocabulary standards and classification
schemes) to ensure consistent cataloguing (using a consistent
date format, or using a certain spelling of an artist's name,
etc.).
- Cataloguing standards determine how data are entered in fields
(rules for syntax, etc.);
- Value standards (such as thesauri or authority lists) determine
the terms used in the fields; they can help cataloguers select
the most appropriate term to describe an object, and to apply
that term consistently.
Consistency in cataloguing makes retrieval of the data easier and
more precise, both in computerized and card-based collections management
systems.
Cataloguing and value standards can also be used during the
retrieval process. For example, a researcher can consult an authority
file (also called an authority list) or a thesaurus
to find the best terms for which to search (possibly including
narrower terms, synonyms, or words in other languages) in order
to find all the relevant records. If integrated with the search
engine, the narrower terms, synonyms, and alternate language terms
of a thesaurus can automatically be included in a computer search
of museum data. The use of value standards such as thesauri or
authority lists in the retrieval process can, to a small extent,
compensate for a lack of standard vocabulary used during the cataloguing
process.
Interchange Standards,
which enable computer systems to communicate with each other,
also are essential for the interchange of automated museum collections
information. For example, commercial collections management systems
usually conform to established standards for data import and export.
Museums often want to use their collections data for many purposes,
(exhibition catalogues, Web access for the public, and curatorial
research, etc.), and they may want to share their data with other
museums, archives, and libraries in an automated way. This level
of interoperability between systems requires cataloguing
standards, value standards,
metadata standards, and interchange
standards to work together. Standards enable the interchange
of data between cataloguer and searcher, between organizations,
and between computer systems.
Museums also must follow procedural
standards in their work to ensure that all museum operations
are performed and managed appropriately. For example, procedural
standards can include loan policies, the process by which objects
become part of the museum's collection, collection use policies,
etc.
CHIN is involved in the promotion, production, and analysis
of standards for museum information. The CHIN Guide to Museum
Documentation Standards includes information on: