Museums Explained: Definitions

Museums Explained

Sections:

Definitions

Accessioning is a process used to accept, by purchase, gift or trade, artworks for the museum's collection. The museum may accept the artwork through custody or title. Accessioning also includes the creating a record of the artwork indicating its source. At the end of captions identifying artworks in catalogues or labels identifying the objects on exhibition walls there are accession numbers. These numbers often are grouped by year and the number in series assigned to each object in a particular year. For example the accession number "46.11" for an artwork may mean that the object was the 11th item acquired by the museum in 1946.

Archives are non-current records of individuals, organizations or institutions preserved because of their continuing value.

Catalogue usually means a book or large pamphlet created to accompany an exhibition. The catalogue may contain a table of contents, one or more essays, photos of artworks in the exhibit plus other photos, a checklist of the artworks in the exhibition and an index.

Catalogue raisonné is a complete, annotated catalogue of the works of a deceased artist. It contains photos and information such as title, medium, size of each work. It also provides details of the present condition, and provenance of each work.

Cataloging is the creation of a full record of information about an object, cross-referenced to other records and files, and includes the process of identifying and documenting these objects in detail. Curators often prepare and keep up the information about the artwork. Some of the information recorded includes the name of the artist, name of the object, provenance of the object, the dimensions, media, photos of the object, the source of the object, a record of the exhibits in which the object was placed, loans made of the object, plus other data as needed.

Checklist means a list of artworks in an exhibit.

Collecting is the process of accessioning objects for the museum.

Collection means a group of artworks with characteristics reflecting the mission and purpose of the museum. A collection may be based on themes such as geographic area, ethnicity, time period or style. A collection may also mean an organizational unit within a larger institution or a group of artworks owned by an individual.

Conservation is the application of science to the examination, care and treatment of museum objects. Conservation also includes the study of the environments in which they are placed. Preventive conservation includes actions taken to minimize or slow the rate of deterioration and to prevent damage to collections. Preventive conservation also includes activities such as risk assessment, development and implementation of guidelines for continuing use and care, appropriate environmental conditions for storage and exhibition, and proper procedures for handling, packing, transport and use. See TFAO's section on Conservation for more information.

Curation is a process of identification and organization of artworks in order to further knowledge. Curation includes verification and additions to the existing documentation for objects. Curators, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics web page "...direct the acquisition, storage, and exhibition of collections, including negotiating and authorizing the purchase, sale, exchange, or loan of collections. They are also responsible for authenticating, evaluating, and categorizing the specimens in a collection. Curators oversee and help conduct the institution's research projects and related educational programs. However, an increasing part of a curator's duties involves fund raising and promotion, which may include the writing and reviewing of grant proposals, journal articles, and publicity materials, as well as attendance at meetings, conventions, and civic events."

Deaccessioning is the process used to remove an artwork permanently from the collection, including transfer of title. In a 6/14/07 article in the Wall Street Journal on storage of art objects, author Daniel Grant says: "Museums certainly have the longest experience with the problem of too much art. It has become axiomatic that great art, or art by great artists, will end up in museums; the storage problem of collectors eventually becomes that of an institution. Unlike private collectors, however, who can simply stop acquiring more things or just sell off what they no longer want, these institutions have boxed themselves in with a rule their associations have established: All money earned from deaccessioning must go toward acquisitions."

Labels are identifying text for an artwork placed in a museum room containing an exhibition. Label information may include the name of the artist who created the artwork, the title and dimensions of the object, its media, date of creation, owner, accession number and in some cases a block of text interpreting the artwork.

Permanent collection is a term describing art owned by the museum. A museum's web site usually has a page describing the collection, often with images of selected art works, or in some cases, the entire collection.

Provenance is the history of the ownership and exhibition of an artwork.

Registration is the process of assigning identification and documentation of an artwork for which a museum has permanently or temporarily assumed responsibility; one facet of documentation. A Registrar is a person who has overall responsibility for all functions of the registration or collections management department. According to a City of Mesa, AZ web page "A Museum Registrar is responsible for developing collection policies and supervises the centralized care of the museum collections in accordance with the Museum's mission statement and professional standards set by the American Association of Museums. The Museum Registrar performs a full range of professional duties involved with the management and coordination of the Museum's Collections Area. Serving as a member of the management team, the Museum Registrar resolves issues and works together to form short and long-range goals for the Museum. The person in this position serves along with the Museum Administrator and Curators as one of the members of the Accessions Committee, deciding which objects will be added to the permanent collections."

Special exhibitions, also named temporary exhibitions, are available for viewing for a limited time. A museum's web site has one or more pages describing present, future and past special exhibitions.

Wall panels are blocks of text explaining an exhibition that are placed on the walls of a museum room containing the exhibition.

The Museum Association of New York on its 2003 web page concerning "Standards and Best Practices for Museums and Historical Societies Receiving Absolute Charters in New York State and Resource List" lists in Part VII "Useful Definitions" 25 terms. Same of the definitions here are derived from the MANY definitions. [accessed 10/28/04]