Collections documentation standards

Browse museum collection documentation standards and best practices recommended by the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) and other organizations. Find standards for describing and cataloguing collections and learn how to define and structure your data.

Title Source
Adopting a Classification System for Collections of Cultural Objects: A Comparison of Nomenclature 4.0 and the Parks Canada Classification System Archived

Museums in Canada that are documenting their historical collections in English generally use either Nomenclature, or the Parks Canada Classification System. This paper will provide an overview and comparison of these two North American standards, and guide museums in their choice.

Standards Type: CHIN Core Standards (Type), Vocabulary and Classification (Type)
Vocabulary and Classification: Object Naming and Classification (Vocabulary)
Discipline: History and Ethnology (Discipline)
Canadian Heritage Information Network
Artefacts Canada

Browse the Artefacts Canada database, containing approximately 5 million object records and 1 million images from Canadian museums.

Standards Type: Vocabulary and Classification (Type)
Vocabulary and Classification: Artist/Maker (Vocabulary), Creator Role (Vocabulary), Culture (Vocabulary), Description (Vocabulary), Discipline (Vocabulary), Materials and Techniques (Vocabulary), Object Naming and Classification (Vocabulary), Place Names (Vocabulary), Subject (Vocabulary), Time Periods and Styles (Vocabulary)
Discipline: Archaeology (Discipline), Art and Visual Resources (Discipline), Digital and Media Art (Discipline), History and Ethnology (Discipline)
Canadian Heritage Information Network
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 and name variants. Available in English and French.

Standards Type: CHIN Core Standards (Type), Vocabulary and Classification (Type)
Vocabulary and Classification: Artist/Maker (Vocabulary)
Discipline: Art and Visual Resources (Discipline), History and Ethnology (Discipline)
Canadian Heritage Information Network
CAMDO – ODMAC Canadian Holocaust-Era Provenance Research and Best Practice Guidelines Project

The Canadian Holocaust-Era Provenance Research and Best Practice Guidelines Project (CHERP) is an initiative of the Canadian Art Museum Directors Organization (CAMDO–ODMAC). The guidelines have been developed with the goal to empower Canadian art institutions to understand and embrace their stewardship responsibilities in Holocaust-era provenance research and to undertake their own research in the coming years. In presenting these guidelines, CAMDO–ODMAC joins international research efforts to aid potential claimants worldwide in their pursuit of restitution and justice.

Standards Type: Procedural (Type)
Discipline: Art and Visual Resources (Discipline)

Other
CHIN data dictionaries

The Canadian Heritage Information Network's (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.

Standards Type: CHIN Core Standards (Type), Metadata (Type)
Discipline: Art and Visual Resources (Discipline), History and Ethnology (Discipline)
Canadian Heritage Information Network
CHIN Guide to Museum Standards

This guide contains basic information on why museum documentation standards are important, describes the main types of standards and how they are used in Canadian museums, and provides users with access to the standards. Users can learn about standards at a basic level or find detailed information as required. It includes standards that are required or recommended by CHIN for Artefacts Canada contribution, as well as other standards that are commonly used by Canadian museums. This Guide includes standards for metadata, vocabulary and classification, data content, data exchange and museum procedures. It includes standards from a wide variety of disciplines (Art & Visual Resources, History & Ethnology, Education) and includes both general standards (such as Dublin Core) and highly specialized standards (such as the ICOM Costume Classification). The following sections are included: Introduction, Metadata (Data Structure Standards), Vocabulary (Data Value Standards), Cataloguing Rules (Data Content Standards), Interchange (Data Format Standards) and Procedural Standards. Available in English and French.

Standards Type: Cataloguing Rules (Type), CHIN Core Standards (Type), Crosswalk (Type), Interchange (Type), Introduction to Standards (Type), Metadata (Type), Procedural (Type), Thesaurus Construction (Type), Vocabulary and Classification (Type)
Discipline: Multidisciplinary (Discipline)
Canadian Heritage Information Network
Museum Collections Documentation and Data Cleaning

This self-paced free online course is the first of its kind to be developed by the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN). The course covers a variety of topics related to documentation and data cleaning. The course consists of seven modules that cover a variety of topics, including introductions to documentation and data cleaning, documentation policies and plans, data entry, data cleanup, data migration and documentation problem solving. The first module updates and replaces the pre-existing Introduction to Documentation of Heritage Collections course.  Data cleaning is important knowledge for all staff and volunteers at an institution, and this course aims to provide introductory knowledge and tools on this important topic. Available in French and English.

Standards Type: Procedural (Type)
Discipline: Multidisciplinary (Discipline)
Canadian Heritage Information Network

Video – Introduction to museum collections documentation standards

This video provides basic information about museum collections documentation, including why it is important to document museum collections and which processes are recommended. This video was created by the Canadian Heritage Information Network.

Standards Type: Procedural (Type)
Discipline: Multidisciplinary (Discipline)

Canadian Heritage Information Network
Making Up the Rules: New Documentation Standards for Canadian Museums

Museums are managing their collections documentation in an increasingly networked environment, and are facing ever-changing user expectations for information access and interaction. In this context, the role and importance of museum documentation standards has grown, as data standardization and sharing become key. There are many recent developments in documentation standards for museums, and Canadian museums and the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) have contributed extensively to the development of these standards. This paper provides an overview of key museum documentation standards used in Canada, and describes some new developments. Originally published in French in the journal Documentation et bibliothèques 58,3 (July-September 2012), it has been published here with the authorization of the editor, the Association pour l’avancement des sciences techniques de la documentation (ASTED).

Standards Type: Introduction to Standards (Type)
Discipline: Libraries and Archives (Discipline), Multidisciplinary (Discipline)
Canadian Heritage Information Network
Media Art and Museums: Guidelines and Case Studies

Various international research groups have been formed to facilitate the acquisition and long-term management of media artworks. Based in Montreal, the DOCAM Research Alliance (Documentation and Conservation of the Media Arts Heritage) is made up of researchers in cultural organizations and universities. In collaboration with the DOCAM Research Alliance, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) has developed documentation and conservation methods adapted to media artworks in museums and identified the ethical issues associated with them.

Standards Type: Metadata (Type), Procedural (Type)
Discipline: Digital and Media Art (Discipline)
Canadian Heritage Information Network
Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging

Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging is a standard for classifying and naming objects in cultural collections. The Canadian Heritage Information Network (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.

Standards Type: Vocabulary and Classification (Type)
Vocabulary and Classification:
Object Naming and Classification (Vocabulary)
Discipline: Art and Visual Resources (Discipline), History and Ethnology (Discipline)

Canadian Heritage Information Network
Spectrum Digital Asset ManagementArchived

The aim of this document is to set out a proposed 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. This document 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.

Standards Type: CHIN Core Standards (Type), Procedural (Type)
Vocabulary and Classification: Object Naming and Classification (Vocabulary)
Discipline: Multidisciplinary (Discipline)
Other

Spectrum 5.0 standard

The Spectrum 5.0 standard published by Collections Trust gives museums trusted advice on managing their collections, whether it is related to daily activities, such as moving objects and updating location records, or occasional activities, such as updating insurance coverage. The standard includes 21 procedures as well as diagrams and steps to follow to facilitate collection management in museums. Thanks to a partnership agreement with Collections Trust, the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) had translated Spectrum 5.0 into French. CHIN recommends that Canadian museums use the Spectrum 5.0 standard. It is free to download on the Collections Trust website, or a hard copy can be purchased from their online shop.

Standards Type: Procedural (Type)
Discipline: Multidisciplinary (Discipline)
Canadian Heritage Information Network

User guidelines for the transition from the Parks Canada classification system to Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging

These guidelines will assist users of the Parks Canada classification system to transition to Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging. By harmonizing the content of Nomenclature 4.0 and the Parks DVD, the most recent complete version of the Parks Canada classification system, the strengths of both have been combined to become a single, bilingual, illustrated standard. Although there are many similarities between the two, the classification structures are slightly different. In addition, some terms have been changed, moved or deleted. These guidelines will help users to easily adopt the new harmonized standard.

Standards Type: Vocabulary and Classification (Type)
Vocabulary and Classification: Object Naming and Classification (Vocabulary)
Discipline: Art and Visual Resources (Discipline), History and Ethnology (Discipline)

Canadian Heritage Information Network

Video – Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging – Introduction

This video provides an introduction to Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging, a bilingual (English and French) standard for classifying and naming objects in heritage collections. The Nomenclature vocabulary and classification system was developed and is maintained by the Canadian Heritage Information Network, Parks Canada and the Nomenclature Committee appointed by the American Association for State and Local History, with input from the museum community. The video provides basic information about the Nomenclature system and how museums can use it to standardize their documentation and improve access to their collections. It also includes a tour of the search and browse features and the options for download and linked data integration that can be found on the Nomenclature site.

This video was created by the Canadian Heritage Information Network.

Standards Type: Vocabulary and Classification (Type)
Vocabulary and Classification: Object Naming and Classification (Vocabulary)
Discipline: Art and Visual Resources (Discipline), History and Ethnology (Discipline)

Canadian Heritage Information Network

Video - Classification and naming of objects in museum collections

This video will provide a basic introduction to Classification and naming of objects in museum collections. It is the second video in the “Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging series.

This video was created by the Canadian Heritage Information Network.

Standards Type: Vocabulary and Classification (Type)
Vocabulary and Classification: Object Naming and Classification (Vocabulary)
Discipline: Art and Visual Resources (Discipline), History and Ethnology (Discipline)

Canadian Heritage Information Network

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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