Writing Effective Wall Text by Helen Hales
TEXT & Slide show: MoMA: Writing Effective Label Text
Making Accessible Label Design
Natural History Museum in Paris
da·ta·base
ˈdadəˌbās,ˈdādəˌbās/
noun
- > a structured set of data held in a computer, especially one that is accessible in various ways.
Examples:
A database is a collection of information that is organized so that it can be easily accessed, managed and updated.
Thumbnail images from an art museum
with assigned #s:
Data is organized in rows, columns and tables, it is indexed to make it easier to find relevant information. Data gets updated, expanded and deleted as new information is added.
All pertinent information is kept in your Data base and should include the following:
Title of Art work in italics
Artist (birth - death dates and nationality)
Date of Art work
Media
Dimensions > H x W x D
Proper name of Collection
Insurance Value
Database ID# 2017.001a, etc.
Cultural objects and/or natural history, scientific items should include information in the illustration above and the following:
Title
Date Museum acquired it
Discovery date, inventor name's etc.
Location - geographical information, etc.
materials
Dimensions / weight
Proper name of Collection
Insurance Value
Database ID#
Source: http://collections.nmnh.si.edu/search/
A total of 7,957,722 specimen records are currently available from this facility.
Of these, approximately 292,000 represent all of the museum's available extant biological primary type specimen records. Approximately 139,000 are paleobiological type specimen records and 560 are mineral type specimen records. About 1.5 million of these specimen records are georeferenced.
Please note that these electronic data do not represent the museum's full collection or all electronic or currently digitized specimen records. We constantly add new data and correct information in records. If you see an error in these data please contact us with appropriate details.
Collections from National Museum of Natural History
The Smithsonian seeks to provide the widest possible dissemination of collections information consistent with the stewardship responsibilities for its collections, associated documentation, and intellectual property rights.
In keeping with the above statements, the National Museum of Natural History will make data in the following fields freely available on the “Natural History Web” for collections that have been electronically recorded, with certain exceptions (see below):
▪ Catalogue number (USNM number)
▪ Name (for biological and paleontological specimens this includes at least the scientific name (binomial) and author(s) and may also include year published, identifier and year identified; for rocks, minerals, gems, etc. the name(s) and sometimes the chemical composition; for anthropological specimens the object name)
▪ Original collection locality including:
▪ Country and/or Ocean
▪ State or equivalent primary political and/or geographical unit within country
▪ County or equivalent secondary political and/or geographical unit within country, if available
▪ Depth and/or Elevation (if available)
▪ Geographic coordinates (if available, and sometimes rounded to the nearest degree)
▪ Collector(s)
▪ Collector’s number (if available)
▪ Date collected
▪ Numbers of specimens (if appropriate)
▪ Type Status (if appropriate)
▪ Low resolution thumbnail photo (when available)
Collections from National Museum of Natural History. Photo by: Laurie Minor-Penland
Considerations:
In keeping with its stewardship responsibilities, the Smithsonian will control, monitor, and document all access to and use of its collections.
Requests for data from the Natural History Web will be tracked. (More information on how we track, will be coming in soon). Collections and database information not available on the Natural History Web may be available on a specific request and approval basis.
Access to collections and collections information may be restricted due to resource limitations, security, privacy, personal data, confidential proprietary information, object availability, intellectual property rights, applicable restrictions, and preservation constraints.
The provenance of acquired collection items is a matter of public record. Sensitive information involving privacy, collecting localities, intellectual property restrictions, security, privacy, personal data, confidential proprietary information, and restricted use may constrain access to collections information.
For the following reasons, the National Museum of Natural History may not make every record or all of the fields listed above available.
Some records or fields may be restricted for any of the following reasons:
▪ cultural sensitivity;
▪ restrictions agreed to by NMNH as part of accepting a collection (accession agreements), documented restrictions due to intellectual property rights, collecting permits, distribution agreements, or similar restrictions; or
▪ ongoing research (by NMNH staff and associated scientists, either by individuals or projects , may limit availability of some data for a period not to exceed five years, which may be extended in some cases after review by the museum’s director or designate(s)).
Some provenance data may be restricted for the following reasons:
▪ personal privacy of staff, collectors, donors or their families or
▪ personal safety and security of staff, collectors, donors or their families.
Some collection locality data may restricted for the following types of collections:
▪ collections of high monetary value
▪ commercially traded collections (especially those biological species regulated under CITES or other international conventions to which the U.S. is a party; anthropological, rock or mineral, and paleontological specimens);
▪ endangered or threatened species;
▪ cultural objects or information from archaeological sites and other culturally sensitive properties; or
▪ specimens or objects collected on private property.
For Online collections databases, Terms & Conditions for Use of Online Collections Databases, See: http://www.mnh.si.edu/rc/db/2data_access_policy.html
Source: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/about_the_database.aspx
The British Museum Database records:
The database is an inventory of the Museum’s collection and aims to record what is known about it. It is primarily designed to support curatorial and research work, and much of the text is specialised in nature and terminology.
The database is the result of 35 years work but is still in its early stages. We are continuing every day to improve the information recorded in it and changes are being fed through on a regular basis. In many cases it does not yet represent the best available knowledge about the objects. This is being added as fast as possible, but will take many years.
Information held on it, therefore, needs to be read with care. There may be mistakes and omissions and in some cases British Museum staff may not have checked an entry. In many cases they will have more information that they will add in the future.
Users are invited to use the feedback link on each record to help us improve the information.
Citation Use:
If you wish to cite any of the records in the British Museum database, please use the following format:
<Author>, <“object registration number”>, www.britishmuseum.org/collection. British Museum, <Date last modified>.Online. <Access date>.
Images in the database
- New images are being added to the database and made available here at the rate of about 2,000 each week.
- Images of some objects have been withheld for copyright reasons.
- Artists’ copyright lasts throughout their lifetimes and for 70 years from the date of death. We have made every effort not to infringe copyright, and only to display works in copyright if we have permission from artists or their estates. If we have made a mistake, please tell us and we will remove the image(s) from the site immediately.
- If you wish to use an image from this site on another website, please see our Terms of Use.
- Most images are available to order free of charge for non-commercial use through the individual object pages. There is also a facility, on the same pages, to commission new photography or order an image for commercial use, or of a larger file size.
