discovering physical objects: meeting researchers’...

Discovering physical objects: Meeting researchers’ needsReport appendicies October 2008

www.rin.ac.uk

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Discovering physical objects: Meeting researchers needs

This document by the Research Information Network is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License

Cover pictures (left to right):

A Cretaceous pachydiscid ammonite. From Dinn Cliffs, James Ross Island, Antarctica © British Antarctic Survey

Dinant sur Muese 1839, Joseph Mallard William Turner, Laing Art Gallery ©Tyne & Wear Museums

Gold earrings from the Kyme Treasure. Greek, about 330-300 BC. From Kyme, Asia Minor (modern Turkey) © The Trustees of The British Museum

An examination of the material collected from the Neolithic site on the Island of Westray. From Behind The Scenes (1987) by Dr Lawrence Mound. © Natural History Museum, London

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Table of contents

APPENDIX 1: 4 Detailed methodology

APPENDIX 2: 12 International fi nding aids

APPENDIX 3: 13 Museum databases and library catalogues

APPENDIX 4: 14 List of website links

The full version of the Discovering physical objects: Meeting researchers’ needs report is available at www.rin.ac.uk/objects

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Methods of data gathering consisted of the following stages:

Desk research

Desk research was undertaken to investigate the range of fi nding aids and discovery services available to researchers, including national and regional collections and those specifi c to the four subject areas selected for detailed study.


Detailed methodologyAPPENDIX 1

Archaeology Data Services (ADS) Dr Stuart Jeffrey, User Services Manager

Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Julie Warrington, Research Awards Offi cer

Association of Independent Museums (AIM) Richard de Peyer, Director, Macclesfi eld Museums Trust

Collections Trust Nick Poole, Chief Executive

Council for British Archaeology (CBA) Dan Hull, Head of Information and Communications

Council for Museums, Libraries and Archives (MLA) David Dawson, Senior IT Adviser Hedley Swain, Head of Museums Policy Stephanie Lewis, Renaissance Programme Manager

Federation of Museums and Galleries in Wales Chris Delaney, Carmarthen County Museum

Historic Environment Records Offi ce Nick Boldrini, Historic Environment Records Offi cer, North Yorkshire

Institute of Historical Research Jane Winters, Head of Publications

MLA North East Penny Wilkinson, Chief Executive

MLA East of England Gordon Chancellor, Regional Development Manager

MLA North West Paul Fraser Webb, Development Offi cer – Standards

MLA Yorkshire Michael Turnpenny, Regional Museums Adviser

Museums Archives and Libraries Wales (CyMAL) Liz Bowerman, Collections Advisor Carol Whittaker, Museums Adviser Steven Ling, IT Adviser

Northern Ireland Museums Council Heather McGuicken, Development Offi cer

Scottish Museums Council Gill Findlay, Collections Development Offi cer

University Museums in Scotland (UMIS) Alan Knox, Manager, Historic Collections Division, University of Aberdeen and UMIS Convenor

Interviews with representatives from strategic organisations

Interviews were held with key individuals from the MLA and other relevant agencies identifi ed. This involved a mixture of face to face interviewing and telephone interviewing. The interviews sought to identify strategic aims with regard to services to the research community, perceived gaps in current provision and any future plans for extending catalogue and fi nding aid services. Contacts and agencies were identifi ed through desk research and the input of the RIN, the expert panel and the project team and collaborators. Interviews were conducted with the individuals below:

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The following is a list of the topics that were explored with this group of interviewees:

• What is your organisation’s involvement/interest in artefact fi nding aids/discovery services for higher education researchers?

• How do fi nding aids/discovery services for higher education researchers differ from those for members of the public (or other groups)?

• What is your opinion of the current scope of coverage of fi nding aids? Are there any gaps?

• What is your view of the quality of fi nding aids?

• How might fi nding aids and discovery services be improved to better meet the needs of higher education researchers?

• What hopes or plans does your organisation have regarding the future development of fi nding aids/discovery services?

• Any museums specifi cally working with higher education to provide fi nding aids for researchers?

Interviews with key offi cers in relevant collections

Either through personal visit or phone interview, contact was made with over 30 case study museums, covering national and university, small and large local authority and independent bodies. A full list of interviewees is provided below:

Museum Interviewee

National

British Museum JD Hill, Research Manager

Imperial War Museum (IWM) Amanda Mason, Collections Liaison Offi cer, IWM North

National Galleries Liverpool Liz Stewart, Archaeology

Jon Murden, Social History Curator & Head of Collections

National History Museum Neil Thomson, Head of Data (member of expert panel)

Sarah Long, Head of Palaeontology Department

National Museums Scotland Imogen Gibbon Senior Curator, Reference Section, Scottish

National Portrait Gallery

Jane Carmichael, Director of Collections, National Museums of

Scotland

National Museum of Wales Elizabeth Walker, Collection Manager & Curator of Palaeolithic

& Mesolithic Archaeology

Dylan Jones, Collections Manager, St Fagans

Tom Sharpe, Palaeontology Curator

People’s History Museum Manchester Jim Garretts, Keeper of Collections

Victoria and Albert Museum Mark Evans, Senior Curator, Paintings, Prints and Drawings

University museums and collections

Edinburgh University, Cockburn Geological Museum Sue Rigby, School of Geological Sciences

Liverpool University, Garstang Museum Liz Slater, Professor of Archaeology

Oxford University Museum of Natural History David Siveter, Acting Curator

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University of Aberdeen Historic Collections, including Alan Knox, Manager, Historic Collections

Marischal Museum (archaeology) and Geological Collections Neil Curtis, Senior Curator, Marischal Museum

University of Birmingham Museums and Collections John Clatworthy, Curator, Lapworth Museum of Geology

Paul Spencer Longhurst, Barber Institute of Fine Arts

Clare Mullett, Assistant Director, Birmingham University

Museums Service

University of Cambridge, including the Fitzwilliam Museum, David Scruton, Documentation and Access Manager,

Sedgewick Museum of Earth Sciences, Museum of Archaeology Fitzwilliam Museum

and Anthropology Michael Carpenter, Academic Curator, Petrology and Minerals

Collection, Sedgwick Museum

Robin Boast, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

University College London (UCL) Museums and Collections, Helen Chatterjee, Deputy Director

including the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, Rachael Sparks, Head of Archaeology Collections, UCL

the Art Collections, the Archaeology Collections and the

Geology Collections

University of Glasgow, Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery Dr JW Faithfull, Curator of Mineralogy and Petrology

Sally-Anne Coupar, Curator of Historical Collections

Peter Black, History of Art Department

University of Manchester, Manchester Museum and Professor Piotr Bienkowski, Deputy Director, Manchester

Whitworth Art Gallery Museum

University of Reading, Museums of English Rural Life Rhianedd Smith, Undergraduate Learning Offi cer, CETL-AURS,

Ure Museum of Classical Archaeology Museum of English Rural Life

Tim Phillips, Archaeology Department

Amy Smith, Curator, Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology

Large local authority

Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery Rachel Cocket, System Manager – Collection Management

Phil Watson, Head of Collections and Curator of Archaeology

Glasgow Museums Dr William Kilbride, Research Manager (member of expert panel)

Manchester Art Gallery Liz Mitchell, Senior Manager: Online Gallery

Potteries Museum & Art Gallery Katie Goodwin, (Acting) Collections Development Offi cer

Worcester City Museum Phillipa Tinsley, Collections Manager

Deborah Fox, Documentation Offi cer

Worcestershire County Council Museum Robin Hill, County Museums Offi cer

Anita Blythe, Curator Social History

David Hendricks, Curator Archaeology

Worcestershire Historic Environment Victoria Bryant, Historic Environment Record Manager

and Archaeology Service


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Small local authority

Carmarthen County Museum Chris Delaney, Town Clerk

East Lothian Peter Gray, Principle Museums Offi cer

Orkney Museums Anne Brundle, Curator

Perth Museum and Art Gallery Mark A Hall, History Offi cer

Independent

Bronte Parsonage Museum Ann Dinsdale, Collections Manager

Macclesfi eld Museums Trust Richard de Peyer, Director

Scottish Fisheries Museum Linda Fitzpatrick, Curator

Torquay Museum Barry Chandler, Curator of Collections


It should be noted that some researchers contacted were also

responsible for university museums or collections and were

interviewed in respect of both aspects of their work.Interview

topics with museum staff are shown below.

• What are the key collections?

• What fi nding aids and discovery services does your museum

provide, or participate in? Are any of these targeted at

academic researchers?

• What types of objects are included in these, e.g. whole

collection, key objects? (What is excluded?)

• What standards were used in the development of fi nding

aids you are responsible for?

• What are your key audiences for the fi nding aids?

• How did you decide on the level of detail provided about

collections/objects? Is it at an item level of collection level?

• What have you catalogued? Why did you choose to catalogue

this? How do you prioritise which things to catalogue?

• Do you have collections that are not catalogued at all?

If so how many?

• Have you undertaken any analysis of resource needed to

catalogue the collections?

• Do you have any policies governing this? How does the

museum integrate the knowledge of collections that may have

been produced through a researcher working with it? Were

are researchers involved in the development of fi nding aids?

• Are there links from the discovery services you are involved in

to information sources of interest to researchers?

• Is information about objects in the collection exposed to

web search engines?

• Have any steps been taken to integrate object or collection

data with other fi nding aids for objects or collections of

objects? Do the catalogue records link to any external fi nding

aids or discovery services? Are they available on the www?

• How do researchers fi nd out about physical access to

collections? What type of access is allowed? e.g. items in store,

handling, loan? Can they fi nd this out in advance?

• What support do you provide for researchers? (e.g. fi nding

aids, dissemination of information about objects and

collections, logistical support, e.g. research facilities and

services; retrieval, handling and usage of objects; intellectual

property rights guidance, research advice

• Do staff feel confi dent and skilled in providing support

for researchers? What skills do you think are important to

do this?

• How many researchers use objects in your collection?

• Do you have much contact with higher education researchers

as a result of their use of fi nding aids, e.g. phone, email

enquiries, requests to view objects?

• How would you like to see fi nding aids developed/improved

over the next 2-3 years? Do you have any plans to do this?

(specifi cally).

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Surveying researchers

Researchers were contacted using a variety of approaches. This

included approaching named contacts suggested by the expert

panel and posting requests to relevant networks. The main

method of approach consisted of posting emails to academic and

research staff in selected university departments and arranging

phone interviews with those who used objects in their research

and were willing to take part in the study.

The research method chosen to contact researchers was an in-

depth qualitative interview conducted by telephone. This method

was chosen as the most appropriate to obtain the level of detail

required in order to answer the detailed research questions

for this project. Because interviewees were from such different


subject areas and were working on such diverse projects, it was

diffi cult to devise a set of generic questions which would produce

meaningful responses. Interviews allowed the research team to

adapt the questions to the individual researcher’s work, follow up

points and to ask additional questions as appropriate.

The focus was on post doctoral level researchers in higher

education, although some PhD students were contacted to get a

different perspective from researchers who are less established in

their career.

The number of researcher interviews carried out is detailed

below:

Archaeology 19 researchers were interviewed including one PhD student

Art history 20 researchers were interviewed, including 4 PhD students

Earth sciences (including palaeontology) 14 researchers were interviewed

Social and economic history 16 researchers were interviewed, including 5 PhD students

The following shows the full list of university departments contacted:

University Name of department

Archaeology

Aberwystwyth Archaeology

Birmingham Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity

Bournemouth School of Conservation Science

Cambridge Archaeology

Durham Archaeology

Liverpool School of Archaeology, Classics & Egyptology

Manchester Archaeology

Oxford Archaeology

Reading Archaeology

Southampton Archaeology

UCL Institute of Archaeology

Art history

Birkbeck, University of London School of History of Art, Film and Visual Media

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Birmingham City University Birmingham Institute of Art and Design

Central St Martins (University of the Arts)

Loughborough University School of Art and Design

University of Birmingham Department of History of Art

University College London History of Art

University of Essex Department of Art History

University of Glasgow Department of History of Art

University of Manchester Art History and Visual Studies

University of Plymouth Faculty of Arts (Art History)

University of Southampton Textile Conservation Centre

University of St Andrews School of Art History

V&A

Earth sciences

Aberdeen Geology & Petroleum Geology

Bristol Department of Earth Sciences

Cambridge Earth Sciences

Cardiff School of Earth, Ocean and Interplanetary sciences

Edinburgh School of Geosciences

Kingston School of Earth Sciences & Geography

Oxford Earth Sciences

Portsmouth School of Earth and Environmental Sciences

UCL Department of Earth Sciences

Social & economic history

Cambridge University Faculty of History (Economic, Social and Cultural History Group)

Institute of Historical Research

London School of Economics Economic History Department

Liverpool University School of History

Queens University Belfast School of History and School of Irish Studies

University of Birmingham Department of Medieval History

and the Department of Modern History

University of Cambridge

University of Southampton School of Humanities (History)

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University of Warwick Department of History

University of Wolverhampton School of Humanities, Languages and Social Sciences

The topics for discussion with researchers are presented below.

• What research topic(s) have you investigated using objects?

• What type of research was this (e.g. PhD or other qualifi cation, funded project, area of personal interest)?

• What is your approach to the use of objects in research – why did you need objects?

• Which museums, or other collections, have you used?

• How did you fi nd out about the collections which were most relevant for your research? (e.g. Internet, printed catalogues, prior knowledge, colleagues/supervisor). Please give details (e.g. sites used, catalogues consulted).

• Did the sources you used give you suffi cient information about the collection? How could they have been improved? What additional information would have been useful?

• Is there any virtual surrogate for the object(s) that you wished to use? (e.g. a digitised surrogate). Did you consider using this?

• How did you fi nd out about the specifi c objects which would be useful to you (e.g. museum card catalogue, online catalogue, and curator)?

• Did the sources you used give you suffi cient information about the objects? How could they have been improved? What additional information would have been useful?

• How did you go about accessing the objects? Did you experience any problems in doing this?

• What support did you get from museum staff while you were doing your research (e.g. information about the collection, retrieving objects from store)? Would you have liked any more help from staff? What support did you expect?

• Did you need to supplement the actual use of the object with other information? For example have you used additional material associated with the object? Where did you access this material? How important was it?

• Has your research fed into developing the knowledge base

of the museum? If not, have you considered ways in which

it might?

• Have you had any further links with the museums/collections

you have used (e.g. providing a copy of your research)?

• Did you feel confi dent about undertaking object based

research? Did you feel you had the necessary skills? Have

you ever undertaken training to assist you with object

based research?

• If you were planning to use objects as part of your research in

the future, what would you do differently?

• If you were to start to research any areas you were less

familiar with and wanted to fi nd about what objects were

available what steps would you take?

• Are you aware of MICHAEL or Cornucopia as fi nding aids for

collections of objects? If not do you think that they would

be of use if you were planning a similar piece of activity in

the future?

• What would be the best way for a researcher to fi nd out about

new discovery services and fi nding aids?

• If you have any general comments about the nature, scope

and quality of the fi nding aids and discovery services available

to researchers, or access to objects, please let us know.

• Would you be able to recommend any other researchers

working in your area who we might contact?

Online discovery services and projects

In addition to fi nding aids and discovery services identifi ed in

interviews with museum curators and researchers, interviews

were carried out with representatives with responsibility for the

development of fi nding aids or projects to aid researchers identify

objects in museum collections. Details of discovery services and

projects included are below.

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Libraries with links to museums

Some consideration was given to where catalogues might combine both library stock and museums collections. An email to the university library directors’ list (LIS-SCONUL) asked for any examples of catalogues which combined both library stock and object collections, or any plans for such catalogues to be produced. Eleven replies were received, and among these were eight examples of museum databases that were planned to link either with library special collections websites or with library catalogues. Some examples were also found through interviews and web-searches of local authority web sites which combined library and museum information.

Project/discovery service

FENSCORE (earth sciences)

Portable Antiquities Scheme (archaeology)

Wellcome Library Uncover

Domestic Interiors Database

Stored Collections Project

National Inventory Research Project

Organisational and Service Relationships

Collections Link

Feasibility Study for a Sustainable Collections Research Network

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This appendix gives a few examples of museum fi nding aids now available in other countries.

Musei online (Italian museums online)

An online directory of over 3,500 museums in Italy. Its aim is

to promote Italian cultural heritage. Users can locate museums

either by an advanced search facility or by browsing by type

or region. Museums are divided into categories such as: art;

history; scientifi c; specialist; and archaeology. Information

such as opening times, contact details, and prices are given for

each museum, along with a brief summary of its key holdings.

Details about services offered by individual museums and links to

some museum websites are also included. The site also provides

information on temporary exhibitions and special events being

held in Italian museums. It is available in both Italian and English

and is maintained by ADNKronos-Cultura and supported by

the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities. It is of

value as a way of locating specifi c museums or of browsing for

resources.

Collections Australia Network (CAN)

The Collections Australia Network (CAN) portal is intended to

be the public gateway to collecting institutions across Australia

including the small to medium regional institutions. Users can

access summaries of maritime museums by a search according

to type. It is also possible to search or browse the site for

information about museums. Each museum has a brief entry

giving details of opening times, contact details, the scope of the

collection and descriptions of a selection of objects. Some entries

include images and, where applicable, link to the museum’s

website. A private, web-accessible area of the portal has been

created for CAN partners. Here they can access sector information

as well as tools to manage the content on their own institution’s

CAN-provided website.


Artefacts Canada The Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN)

A national centre of excellence that provides a visible face to Canada’s heritage through the world of networked information. CHIN’s vision is to connect Canadians and worldwide audiences to Canada’s heritage. Its mission is to promote the development, the presentation and preservation of Canada’s digital heritage content for current and future generations of Canadians. This fi nding aid contains more than three million object records and 580,000 images from hundreds of museums across the country from disciplines such as archaeology, decorative arts, fi ne arts, ethnology, and history.

International fi nding aidsAPPENDIX 2

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Museum databases and library cataloguesAPPENDIX 3

This appendix gives examples of catalogues either already set up or being planned which link up museum objects to library materials.

• Wellcome Library (see section 4.3).

• Sussex University library is responsible for the Barlow

Collection and plans to integrate its online database (funded

with an AHRC grant) into their Special Collections website.

• University of the Arts has some artefacts and artworks

catalogued on OPAC, but has recently purchased CALM

archive management system to give greater functionality to

artefact cataloguing. They are working with the University of

Southampton and the University College of the Creative Arts

to develop an institutional repository for creative arts with

digital images accessible by researchers.

• Exeter University library is planning to move to CALM for the

creation of an online database for its Bill Douglas Centre on

the history of fi lm. They hope to link this with their federated

search engine Innovative MetaFind and with the new Encore

product.

• Manchester Metropolitan University Library has a separate

database for its object collections using CALM, but hopes to

allow cross searching using the library catalogue’s TALIS

Prism service.

• Robert Gordon University is buying museum software and

hopes to link this with its institutional repository.

• Middlesex University’s Museum of Domestic Design and

Architecture has a separate database for its object collections

using CALM, but hopes to allow cross searching using the

library catalogue’s TALIS Prism service.

• The Women’s Library uses CALM and its museum collection

is integrated into its online Special Collections catalogue.

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24 Hour Museum www.24hourmuseum.org.uk

Accessing Virtual Egypt www.accessingvirtualegypt.ucl.ac.uk/index.php

ArchSearch http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/library/greylit/index.cfm

ARTstor www.artstor.org/index.shtml

BioCASE www.biocase.org

Biodiversity Collections Index www.biodiversitycollectionsindex.org/static/index.html

British Museum Research www.britishmuseum.org/research.aspx

British Museum Explore www.britishmuseum.org/explore/introduction.aspx

Buckinghamshire County Council - More to explore@museum www.buckscc.gov.uk/museum/m2e/modessearch.htm

Cataloguing Cultural Objects http://vraweb.org/ccoweb/cco/index.html

Categories for the Description of Works of Art www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/standards/cdwa/

Collections Gateway www.collectionsgateway.org.uk

Collections Link Subject Specialist Networks www.collectionslink.org.uk/fi nd_a_network/subject_specialists

Collections Trust www.mda.org.uk

Cotswold District Council – Corinium Museum Collections www.cotswold.gov.uk/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=293&tt=cotswold

CultureSampo www.seco.tkk.fi /applications/kulttuurisampo/

Domestic Interiors Database www.rca.ac.uk/csdi/didb

East Lothian Museums Behind the scenes www.eastlothianmuseums.org/wp

Europeana www.europeana.eu/

FENSCORE http://fenscore.man.ac.uk

Fitzwilliam Museum www.fi tzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/opac/index.html

GeoCASE portal www.geocase.e

Glasgow Museums Collections Navigator Project www.glasgowmuseums.com/

showProject.cfm?venueid=0&itemid=59

Global Biodiversity Information Facility www.gbif.org

Harvesting the Fitzwilliam www.fi tzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/projects/htf/

Imperial War Museum Collection Online www.iwmcollections.org.uk

InforM25 www.inform25.ac.uk

International Council of Museums (ICOM) http://icom.museum


List of website linksAPPENDIX 4

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Artwork by designisgoodland.com

Kultur http://kultur.eprints.org/index.htm

Lemur Project www.abdn.ac.uk/lemur

Manchester Museums Unwrapped www.museumsunwrapped.man.ac.uk

Mineral Gallery http://mineral.galleries.com/default.htm

MICHAEL www.michael-culture.org/en/home

MICHAEL-UK www.michael-culture.org.uk/mpf/pub-uk/index.html

MLA Accreditation Standard www.mla.gov.uk/

resources/assets/A/accreditation_standard_pdf_5640.pdf

MODES User Association www.modes.org.uk

National Museums Online Learning Project www.vam.ac.uk/about_va/online_learning/index.html

Natural History Museum – Collections Navigator www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/

collections/collections-management/collections-navigator/

NICE Paintings www.nicepaintings.org

OAICatMuseum www.oclc.org/research/software/oai/oaicatmuseum.htm

Paleonet www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/paleonet/

People’s Network Discover www.peoplesnetwork.gov.uk/discover

Portable Antiquities Scheme www.fi nds.org.uk

Powerhouse Museum www.powerhousemuseum.com/

collection/database/browsekeywords.php

Researchers and discovery services: www.rin.ac.uk/researchers-discovery-services

Behaviour, perceptions and needs (RIN report)

Social History and Industrial Classifi cation http://shop.collectionslink.org.uk/

product_info.php/products_id/42

SPECTRUM www.mda.org.uk/spectrum.htm

Strategic Content Alliance www.jisc.ac.uk/

whatwedo/themes/eresources/contentalliance.aspx

UK Museums and the Semantic Web http://culturalsemanticweb.wordpress.com

VADS/Artworld http://vads.ahds.ac.uk/collections/ARTWORLD.html

Wrexham Museum Catalogue http://museum.wrexham.gov.uk/dserve

Links active at time of going to print (October 2008).

Who we areThe Research Information Network has been established by the higher education funding councils, the research councils, and the national libraries in the UK. We investigate how effi cient and effective the information services provided for the UK research community are, how they are changing, and how they might be improved for the future. We help to ensure that researchers in the UK benefi t from world-leading information services, so that they can sustain their position as among the most successful and productive researchers in the world.

What we work onWe provide policy, guidance and support, focusing on the current environment in information research and looking at future trends. Our work focuses on fi ve key themes: search and discovery, access and use of information services, scholarly communications, digital content and e-research, collaborative collection management and storage.

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