What do you mean by "museum documentation"?

Documentation is an essential element in the management of museum collections. Information about objects needs to be recorded and stored in such a way that it can be retrieved and amended as necessary. This recording process is called documentation.

Why should I document my collection?

Information about the collections is one of any museum's most important assets. Without a record of what you have, it is impossible to manage a collection. Information associated with the objects, such as where they came from, who owned them, etc. will be lost if it is not recorded at, or very soon after, acquisition.

A typical museum store

Any audit of the collection will be very unsatisfactory unless you can demonstrate that you know where the objects are. With any reasonable size of collection, this will not be possible without keeping careful records. If you are seeking any funding from the public sector for any aspect of your museum's activities, you will have to show that you are managing the collection adequately. This includes keeping basic records to nationally agreed standards. These standards are incorporated in the Registration scheme of Re:source, the Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries further details of which are available from the Scottish Museums Council.

All right, you've convinced me. How should I document my collection?

According to agreed standards. These standards need to be set by your institution, and should incorporate relevant parts of Spectrum, the UK Museum Documentation Standard. Spectrum is published and maintained by the mda, and has been developed by a process of consultation with a large number of people, incorporating much experience in the field. The second edition of Spectrum was published in the summer of 1997. A third edition is currently in preparation. Advice is available free of charge through the Spectrum Advisers' Network, which covers the whole UK (see mda website for contact details).

Summerlee - an industrial museum at Coatbridge, Lanarkshire

Basic advice and information is available from a number of sources, including myself (formerly the Scottish Museums Documentation Officer) and the mda. The mda Fact Sheets are particularly helpful, and mda have also published an invaluable survey of museums collections management software. All of these resources are available on the mda website.

I have developed a simple software package, the Museum Inventory System, which is available completely free of charge from myself. Just click on the link above, phone me on Livingston 416462 or e-mail me at iomorrison@yahoo.co.uk. A much more sophisticated Windows-based system which is also available free of charge is AdLib Museum Lite.

Some commercial software packages are listed here.

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