Code4 lib 2015
- 2. What is CollectionSpace? CollectionSpace is a free, web-based, open-source collections information management system. From cataloging and loans to inventory and media handling, CollectionSpace is used to manage many of the day-to-day activities of museum professionals and others who work with objects, artifacts, specimens, and other types of collections.
- 3. A Tough Environment Through the 2000s, the museum collections information management landscape was dominated by several large, commercial vendors. Consequent to initial installation costs, licensing fees, and mandatory service contracts, the systems provided by these vendors were out of reach for most small and midsize institutions. Many museums chose to stay out of the market altogether, jury- rigging general purpose DBs such as FileMaker or Access to support their collections management activities.
- 4. We Can Do Better! A group of museums and universities saw a different path. In 2008 the CollectionSpace project was launched, with a mission to design, develop, and share a platform for collections information management which would: support traditional collections management activities; enable the integration of emergent and dynamic new technologies into the information ecologies of museums; and would be an effective and affordable alternative to one-off applications developed in-house and proprietary offerings.
- 5. Museum Data is a Little Different Though libraries, museums, and archives all look like similar repositories housing cultural resources, there are some fundamental differences in mission, in what is collected, in how works are organized, and in how the institution relates to its users. The traditional library is based upon the individual item, but it is generally not unique. Archives manage groups of works and focus on maintaining a particular context for the overall collection. Museums collect specific objects and provide curatorial context for each of them. These distinctions of the fundamental unit that is collected and why affect each institutions acquisition policy, cataloging, preservation, and presentation to the public. Both libraries and museums are repositories, but libraries are user-driven. The role of the library is to provide access to a vast amount of material through which the user freely roams, making his/her own connections between works. The user chooses which items to look at. Museums, on the other hand, are curator-driven. Historically, they have only provided access to limited holdings, usually exhibited through a particular interpretation or context, as provided by curatorial and educational staff. The museum provides a framework of context and interpretation, and the user can navigate within that smaller body. HOWARD BESSER, 2004
- 6. What is it? Who made it? How tall is it? Where is it stored? Has it been restored? Where did it come from? What is it made out of? Who owned it first? How much did it cost? Is it on exhibit? When did we get it? Do we have a photo of it? Have we lent it out? How much does it weigh? Is it complete? Is that plastic? Was it made in China?Whats the ID number? How much is it worth? Is it insured? Can I play with it? Why do we have it? Who is that? Who cataloged this? Can we photograph it? Do people like it? Is it secure? How is it stored? Wheres the blister pack? Is that Mark Hamill?
- 7. Harry Ransom Humanities Center University of Calgary New York University Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology National September 11th Memorial and Museum George Mason University, Center for History and New Media American Association of Museums Morgan Library and Museum Gemeentemuseum den Haag Durst Organization Walker Art Center Institute for Museum and Library Services Albright-Knox Art Gallery Princeton University Art Museum The New York Public Library York University Art Gallery of Ontario The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Deutsche Kinemathek Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art American Museum of Natural History University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology Art Institute of Chicago Indianapolis Museum of Art Universite Libre de Bruxelles Blithewold Mansion, Gardens, and Arboretum Jewish Womens Archive Tridentino Museo di Scienze Naturali Cultural Heritage Netherlands SUNY Albany Statens Museums for Kunst San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Canadian Heritage Information Network Fitzwilliam Museum
- 8. The core CollectionSpace data model is based on the Spectrum Standard, created and maintained by the UKs Collections Trust. The core CollectionSpace data model was designed to be as domain-agnostic as possible, focusing on those things common to all museums. CollectionSpaces architecture allows users to select the common installation, choose a template that includes extensions specific to a particular domain (e.g. stratigraphy for an anthropology museum or migration and emulation data for a new media collection), or create schema extensions specific to their institution. Common Entity Schema (common semantics) Domain-specific Extensions (common across many institutions) Deployment-specific Extensions (specific to one deployment or workflow) Different Domains / Different Solutions
- 9. Things in Common CollectionSpace Fine Art Botanical Garden Variable Media Identification number Accession number Accession number Accession number Production entity Artist Collector Publisher Object name Prints Tulipa Video game Location Gallery 7 Northwest perennial bed Main Storage, Shelf 12 Reason for deaccession Duplicate Dead Obsolete
- 10. Things that are Different Extension Fine Art Botanical Garden Variable media Fine art State identification Commission cost Botanical garden Propagation date Propagation medium Variable media Programing language Playback hardware
- 11. Common