Documentation

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1. Documentation Dr. virag Sontakke

2. Introduction Most important duty of Museum Its an essential service for museum and for visitors Documentations help in quick access, categorization, identification, location etc. It is provide information about the objects within a museum collection. Documentation helps museums to manage their collection proper way. Properly managed museum collection can effectively locate their artifacts, maintain inventory, and provide safety and security for museum artifacts.

3. Documentation Academic Purpose : Research, source, dimension, size, weight, quality Absolute Identity : each item (ex. Coin) Quick Recovery : lost, stolen, smuggled To Maintain originality : difference from fake Help in preservation :

4. Why ? Museums acquire objects and create collections When an object is moved/stolen from its place, its identity rely upon the documentation. When an object arrives at a museum, it begins a “new life”: it will be studied, positioned, exhibited, restored, loaned and transferred It will thus be necessary to identify it in a unique way , and to facilitate the management of every aspect of this new life The value of a collection, its safety and its accessibility therefore depend to a large extent on the quality of the documentation .

5. IMPORTANCE OF Documentation When objects are not properly documented there is a huge difficulty to find and return objects to their rightful owners Stolen items can’t be investigated by the competent authorities due to the lack of identification documents According to the ICOM Code of Ethics: Documentation should include A full identification and description of each object, Its associations, Provenance, Condition, Treatment and Ownership.

6. How ? Detailed description of the object Supplementary useful information Authenticity Export or import information Exhibit or auction catalogues Loan and acquisition documents Related written materials (e.g. research and field collection notes) Documents informing about the origin of the object Photographs Period Size Historical significance

7. What to document? Object's physical characteristics: Identification, Size or dimensions, Technique, Colors , Shape, Decorative motifs, Materials, Inscriptions or description Scientific understanding of the object: Artist/manufacturer, Place of construction, Place of origin, Previous owner(s), Acquisition mode and date, use, Culture, etc. Information of an object or a collection is only complete when it is recorded properly, organized in a functional system, and becomes available and accessible, both within and outside the institution

8. Information and procedures The documentation must include evidence of the basis on which each object came into the museum. The documentation must define the acquisition method, date, source and any conditions . The date and source of the object. Record about the provenance. Its ownership and contextual details about its use The documentation should cite the source of this information.

9. Information and procedures Details of previous owner or a researcher, should be verified by the museum. Each object must be assigned a unique number or identifier (unique ID) Id should be recorded within the documentation system. The object should be marked or labelled with the number. The location of the object should be recorded within the documentation system. Publication: the results of research If an object is deaccessioned, its documentation should be retained by the museum. If the object is transferred to another museum, a copy of the documentation should be passed to that museum.

10. Documentation contains…….. Accession Number Object Material Description (Accurate) Dimension Weight Photograph number Drawing plans, sketch, section, elevation Approximate chronology Source of the object Date of Acquisition Price paid if any Location of the Museum Additional remark or observation

11. Documentation system Accession number Accession number is a unique one that has given for each artifact to identify independently. The number assigned one artifact is not given to identify another artifact. Each artifact is linked via accession number to the document which referring to it and it is attached to the artifact. Accession register Accession register where all the artifacts entered in chronological order of accession number. It produces the documentary proof of the museum artifacts. Each section can have separate register

12. Accession Card Accession Number Object Date Dimension Thickness or height Weight Dimeter Length Breadth Location Material Findspot Site District State Photo number Publish Reference

13. National Museum

14. Lucknow Museum

15. Staffing and systems The museum must employ staff with appropriate expertise in documentation. In a small museum, this principle may be fulfilled by a curator. Large museum need proper trained documentation specialists The museum must implement a unique and safe documentation system This system shall maintains the information about the objects It also shows the collections management procedures, such as accessioning, loans management and object location and movement control Physical : Some parts of the system may be paper-based, such as registers and object files. Electrical : Computer-based, such as the primary catalogue records and search facilities.

16. Documentations Steps Inventory Cataloguing

17. inventory Museums can employ modern technologies to documentation. Inventories can be used as a tool for management of museum artifacts. It can be physical inventory or computerized data base system. Inventories provide accurate identification of the museum artifacts and clearly express the values.

18. Digital Documentation versus Physical Documentation Digital Digital documentation can be easily deteriorated than the physical records. Many museums in the world using digital technologies for documentation Physical Physical documentation can readable at several stages of deterioration. Carlston (1998): the lifespan of the hardware used to store digital media can be as low as five years; paper and printed photographs can last as long as 100 years with minimal intervention.

19. Information access and user needs The museum provide services to researchers, teachers and students, learners and the general public. These services should include a research area where visitors can consult paper records and files. To provide Manual or online search facilities Providing access to catalogue records, images, contextual information and other resources. The search facilities should enable staff and users to find relevant information about the collection The system must enable the museum to restrict access to confidential information

20. Conclusion Documentation facilitates to the museums for legally protection of its artifacts. Documentation of the museum artifacts is essential for easy retrieval, preservation and protection, loans, transfers etc. Documentation can be defined as the organization of information about artifacts in a museum. Documentation system is used to manage/locate the artifacts of the museums. In museum documentation can be developed and maintain physically and digitally.