Core standards for Canadian museums

Alternative format

CHIN Guide to Museum Standards (PDF, 544 KB)

The standards listed here are those most commonly used by Canadian museums, and recommended by CHIN, both for collections documentation and management within museums and for collections records contributed to Artefacts Canada.

Core standards for art and historical collections

Metadata

Most museums in Canada use the CHIN Humanities Data Dictionary (or some fully compatible derivation of it) as their metadata standard (defining the units of information to record about their collections). In the 1970s and 1980s, many museums across Canada used a common collections management system, based on the CHIN data dictionaries and maintained on a central mainframe at CHIN. As a result, there is much commonality in metadata across Canada, even though collections management is now decentralized. As the CHIN Humanities Data Dictionary was one of the earliest museum metadata standards, it was consulted during the development of other standards (and is easily mapped to them), such as the CIDOC Information Categories.

  • CHIN data dictionaries

    The Canadian Heritage Information Network's data dictionaries for the humanities and natural sciences have proven to be valuable reference tools for the management of museum and gallery collections information. A data dictionary defines all the categories or types of information in a database. The CHIN data dictionaries are not a data structure for use in a collections management system, but they can be used as the basis for such a structure. They can be used by a wide range of museums to help them to identify their institution's information needs and standardize their documentation. Each data field in the CHIN data dictionaries is described by a field label, a mnemonic and a name. Fields include a definition, entry rules, related fields, a data type, examples, a discipline, authority lists, a source and other information. The CHIN data dictionaries are used as the standard for Canadian institutions that contribute collections data to CHIN's Artefacts Canada, as guidelines for institutions which are developing or modifying a collections management system and to promote the consistent recording of information by cataloguers or to provide users of collections databases with search strategies.

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Vocabulary and classification

For classification of their collections, most museums in Canada use some variation of Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging – including the bilingual Parks Canada Descriptive and Visual Dictionary of Objects (now discontinued) and the Info-Muse classification system for ethnology, history and historical archaeology museums (bilingual), by the Société des musées québécois (SMQ).

Vocabulary needs are diverse. Some of the most commonly-used sources are listed here.

Multi-faceted vocabularies

  • Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT)

    Created by the J. Paul Getty Trust, the AAT is a thesaurus of terms used in the cataloguing and indexing of art, architecture, artifactual and archival materials. In addition to broader, narrower and related terms, it contains cross-references, alternative terms, French equivalent terms, UK English equivalent terms, source information, and history and scope notes in a thesaurus format. The AAT was developed from numerous existing terminologies and includes the vocabulary from The Revised Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging, which is widely used in Canadian museums. CHIN has contributed approximately 2600 French terms to the AAT; these are now visible within the AAT as French language equivalents for the most common terms. CHIN recommends the use of the AAT for museums with broad humanities collections. Terminology found within the AAT would be appropriate for use in multiple fields of the Artefacts Canada: Humanities database. The AAT includes some French terminology, but the database interface is available only in English.

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Classification and object naming

  • Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging

    Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging is a standard for classifying and naming objects in cultural collections. It is free for download in a number of formats. It has been released under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence and is available as linked open data (LOD). The CHIN, Parks Canada and the Nomenclature Task Force appointed by the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) have collaborated to produce an online version which includes the entire Nomenclature 4.0 (published in 2015); terminology, definitions, illustrations and bibliographic references from the Parks Canada Descriptive and Visual Dictionary of Objects (Parks DVD); a complete French version; and Canadian variants of Nomenclature concepts, where warranted. Nomenclature is continuously updated by the Nomenclature Task Force. Many Canadian museums use Nomenclature to assist with vocabulary control for object naming and classification (for example, the CHIN fields Object Name, Category). Nomenclature is the basis for the Parks Canada DVD (now discontinued), as well as the Objects Facet of the Getty's Art & Architecture Thesaurus and the Info-Muse classification system for ethnology, history and historical archaeology museums. Available in English and French.

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Classification systems

  • The Info-Muse classification system for ethnology, history and historical archaeology museums

    The Info-Muse classification system for ethnology, history and historical archaeology museums is based on the Parks Canada classification system, which is itself based on Chenhall's Revised Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging. This system is the result of a collaboration between Parks Canada, the Musée de la civilisation and the Société des musées québécois. The definitions of terms are drawn mainly from the Parks Canada classification system. Like the Parks and Nomenclature systems, the Info-Muse classification groups objects by their original function. Hierarchical organization is by Category and Sub-Category. This classification system is appropriate for use in the Category and Class fields of Artefacts Canada: Humanities database. Available in English and French

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  • The Info-Muse classification system for fine arts and decorative arts museums

    The Info-Muse classification system for fine arts and decorative arts museums is based on the Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) and research by Thérèse Labbé. Representatives from a broad range of museums and associations also contributed to the development of this work. The two subdivisions of the AAT's "Art" subgroup, namely "Fine Arts" and "Decorative Arts," correspond to the categories in the Info-Muse classification system. This classification system is appropriate for use in the Category and Class fields of Artefacts Canada: Humanities database. Available in English and French.
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Object naming

  • Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) Objects Facet

    Created by the J. Paul Getty Trust, the Art and Architecture Thesauraus (AAT) is a thesaurus of terms used in the cataloguing and indexing of art, architecture, artifactual and archival materials. The Objects Facet of the AAT is based on terminology from Chenhall's Revised Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging, which is widely used in Canadian museums. The Objects Facet contains terminology for "tangible or visual things that are inanimate and produced by human endeavor," arranged according to the "item's original purpose or origin or its primary context of development." CHIN recommends the use of the AAT for museums with broad humanities collections. The terminology found in the AAT Objects Facet is appropriate for use in the Object Name and Object Type fields of Artefacts Canada: Humanities database.

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  • Thésaurus de la désignation (œuvres architecturales et mobilières), Service des musées de France

    A hierarchical thesaurus of 1135 terms used for the designation of architectural works and of 2529 terms used for the designation of furnishings. Browse Edifices or Mobilier, hierarchically or alphabetically (Description translated from the website). Available in French only. Available at http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/inventai/patrimoine/ (select "vocabularies").

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Materials and techniques terminology

  • Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) Materials Facet

    Created by the J. Paul Getty Trust, the AAT is a thesaurus of terms used in the cataloguing and indexing of art, architecture, artifactual and archival materials. The Materials Facet of the AAT contains terminology for "physical substances, whether naturally or synthetically derived. These range from specific materials to types of material designated by their function, such as colorants, and from raw materials to those that have been formed or processed into products that are used in fabricating structures or objects." CHIN recommends the use of the AAT for museums with broad humanities collections. The terminology found in the AAT Materials Facet is appropriate for use in the Materials, Medium and Support fields of the Artefacts Canada: Humanities database.

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  • Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) Processes and Techniques Hierarchy

    Created by the J. Paul Getty Trust, the AAT is a thesaurus of terms used in the cataloguing and indexing of art, architecture, artifactual and archival materials. The Processes and Techniques Hierarchy of the AAT contains terminology for "actions and methods performed physically on or with materials and objects, and for processes occurring in materials and objects." CHIN recommends the use of the AAT for museums with broad humanities collections. The terminology found in the AAT Processes and Techniques Hierarchy is appropriate for use in the Technique and Decorative Technique fields of the Artefacts Canada: Humanities database, as well as some Condition fields within museum collections management systems.

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Disciplines terminology

  • Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) Disciplines Hierarchy

    Created by the J. Paul Getty Trust, the AAT is a thesaurus of terms used in the cataloguing and indexing of art, architecture, artifactual and archival materials. The AAT Disciplines Hierarchy (a section of the Activities Hierarchy) contains terminology for "branches of learning, areas of specialization, and professions and professional specialties." CHIN recommends the use of the AAT for museums with broad humanities collections. The terminology found in the AAT Disciplines Hierarchy is appropriate for use in the Discipline field of the Artefacts Canada: Humanities database.

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Styles, periods, and cultures terminology

  • Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) Styles and Periods Facet

    Created by the J. Paul Getty Trust, the AAT is a thesaurus of terms used in the cataloguing and indexing of art, architecture, artifactual and archival materials. The Styles and Periods Facet of the AAT "encompasses styles, chronological periods, nationalities and cultures." CHIN recommends the use of the AAT for museums with broad humanities collections. The terminology found in the AAT Styles and Periods Facet is appropriate for use School/Style, Culture and Period fields of the Artefacts Canada: Humanities database.

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Geographical locations terminology

  • Thesaurus of Geographic Names (TGN)

    Created by the J. Paul Getty Trust, the TGN is a structured vocabulary containing "names and associated information about places. Places in TGN include administrative political entities (such as cities and nations) and physical features (such as mountains and rivers). Current and historical places are included." Geographical coordinates are also included. The terms in the TGN are multilingual, but the database interface is available only in English.

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  • Canadian Geographical Names Database

    The Canadian Geographical Names Database is maintained by Natural Resources Canada to store names for Canadian geographical features, including populated places, administrative areas, and water and terrain features (such as lakes, mountains). Museums may use the database to help with the consistent naming of Canadian geographical names in their collections databases. It sometimes provides Canadian place names to a more detailed level than Thesaurus of Geographic Names (TGN); museums may wish to use it in parallel with TGN. Available online, in English and French.

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Artist names

  • Artists in Canada

    Artists in Canada, compiled and maintained by the National Gallery of Canada Library, is a bilingual union list that identifies the location of documentation files on Canadian artists. Libraries and art galleries across Canada have contributed biographical information and lists of their documentation files to create this resource which contains information for more than 55,000 artists. Each record includes biographical information on the artist, artist technique, name variants and file location. Available in English and French.

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  • Union List of Artist Names (ULAN)

    Created by the J. Paul Getty Trust, the ULAN is a structured vocabulary that "includes proper names and associated information about artists. Artists may be either individuals (persons) or groups of individuals working together (corporate bodies). Artists in the ULAN generally represent creators involved in the conception or production of visual arts and architecture." The coverage of the ULAN is from antiquity to the present, and it has a global scope. ULAN includes names, relationships, locations (for birth, death and activity), important dates and notes. The ULAN can include the vernacular, English, other languages, natural order, inverted order or nicknames. There is no "preferred" name identified in the ULAN; instead, many variants of the name are provided. The artist names in ULAN are multilingual, but the database interface is available only in English.

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Cataloguing rules (data content standards)

Most museums in Canada are using locally defined cataloguing rules that are based on the entry rules found in the CHIN Humanities Data Dictionary. In many cases, cataloguing rules are dictated to some extent by the collections management system in use by the museum. CHIN Humanities Data Dictionary was updated in 2008 by a CHIN Standards Working Group to bring it in line with developments in international standards, specifically the Cataloging Cultural Objects standard.

  • CHIN data dictionaries

    The CHIN data dictionaries for the humanities and natural sciences have proven to be valuable reference tools for the management of museum and gallery collections information. A data dictionary defines all the categories or types of information in a database. The CHIN data dictionaries are not a data structure for use in a collections management system, but they can be used as the basis for such a structure. They can be used by a wide range of museums to help them to identify their institution's information needs and standardize their documentation. Each data field in the CHIN data dictionaries is described by a field label, a mnemonic and a name. Fields include a definition, entry rules, related fields, a data type, examples, a discipline, authority lists, a source and other information. The CHIN data dictionaries are used as the standard for Canadian institutions that contribute collections data to CHIN's Artefacts Canada, as guidelines for institutions which are developing or modifying a collections management system, and to promote the consistent recording of information by cataloguers, or to provide users of collections databases with search strategies.

    Go to "CHIN data dictionaries"

  • Cataloging Cultural Objects: A Guide to Describing Cultural Works and Their Images

    Cataloging Cultural Objects (COO) is a data content standard which is designed for cataloguing works of art, cultural artifacts and their visual surrogates; cataloguing original objects may require some additional, specialized guidelines. CCO helps control the choice of terms and defines order, syntax and form for data values for cataloguing cultural objects. It can be used in the development of in-house cataloguing rules. The primary emphasis of CCO is on descriptive metadata; it excludes administrative and technical metadata. Controlled vocabularies and thesauri are recommended. CCO is a "manual for describing, documenting and cataloging cultural works and their visual surrogates. The primary focus of CCO is art and architecture, including but not limited to paintings, sculpture, prints, manuscripts, photographs, built works, installations and other visual media. CCO also covers many other types of cultural works, including archaeological sites, artifacts and functional objects from the realm of material culture." CHIN's CCO Assessment Working Group (one of CHIN's Standards Working Groups) completed a project in 2008 to assess the CCO for use in Canadian museums. After examining the implications of using CCO within their own institutions, developing a set of sample records and completing a test using CCO rules to catalogue a new collection, they have recommended CCO for use within Canadian museums with humanities collections. CHIN has added CCO rules to the main sections of its CHIN Humanities Data Dictionary. CCO is a project of the Visual Resources Association (VRA). Available in English only.

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  • Documenting Your Collections – Info-Muse Network Documentation Guide

    The Info-Muse Network documentation system is based on museum practices in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada. It was developed in close collaboration with various bodies and museums in Quebec and the rest of Canada and with many experts from the different scientific validation committees for the tools designed by the Network. The standards proposed by CHIN since the 1970s served as the starting point for developing the system, meaning that it is in line with the main national and international standards for documenting museum collections.

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  • Comment gérer vos collections? Le guide de gestion du Réseau Info-Muse – Deuxième édition

    This guide developed by the Réseau Info-Muse of the Société des musées québécois (SMQ) includes a description of museum processes such as acquisition, loans in and out, and deaccessioning, and the fields required to document these processes. Includes fields for documentation of photographic reproductions, digital images and rights. Available in French only. This document is currently out of print, but it may be available through a library or bookstore.

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Procedural standards

  • Spectrum

    Created by Collections Trust, Spectrum is a guide to "good practice for museum documentation, established in partnership with the museum community. It contains procedures for documenting objects and the processes they undergo, as well as identifying and describing the information which needs to be recorded to support the procedures." As such, it is both a metadata standard for museum collections documentation and a procedural standard. It includes information on the minimum UK standard for museum documentation. The primary Spectrum procedures, which refer to 9 of the 21 procedures, are considered essential for managing collections effectively and making them accessible. Spectrum is a well-respected standard internationally and is increasingly used as the basis for international interchange of museum data. An XML DTD has been produced for Spectrum which serves as a system-neutral interchange format for museum data that is based on Spectrum. An XML DTD has been produced for Spectrum which serves as a system-neutral interchange format for museum data that is based on Spectrum. CHIN collaborated with Collections Trust in 2019 to offer a French version on the Collections Trust website.

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  • Spectrum Digital Asset Management

    Sets out a methodology by which digital asset management can be integrated alongside the existing curatorial and management functions of the organization to ensure that they are widely adopted and sustained as a core element of practice. Provides information and guidance on the development of a digital asset management strategy (DAM Strategy), associated DAM Policies, the implementation of a digital asset management system (DAMS) and the integration of digital asset management workflows (DAM Workflows) alongside the existing Spectrum collections management processes. (Description taken from the website.)

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Contact information for this web page

This resource was published by the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN). For comments or questions regarding this content, please contact CHIN directly. To find other online resources for museum professionals, visit the CHIN homepage or the Museology and conservation topic page on Canada.ca.

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