CIDOC and ICOM Georgia reach out to the ICOM community to discuss and to gather experiences of best practice in the field. On the last Friday of the month, documentation experts will present the tools and systems to tackle these questions and engage with museum professionals.

Series: Documentation of images

Documentation of museum collections may seem forward when considering physical characteristics of the object such as size and material. Yet documentation also includes contextual information as well as information to position the object within a knowledge framework where the museum operates. One object may have two different documentation cards depending on the nature of the museum housing it. In addition, a layer of complexity emerges when these objects depict an image, as the object becomes the carrier of the content displayed.

This webinar series looked at the documentation of photographs and videos to explore the various layers of documentation, as well as the tools and standards available. In each of the 3 sessions, documentation experts presented cases to explain the solutions to tackle these complexities.

Photographs and Videos

What?

Certain collection items depict images. How to approach documentation to capture the object, the depicted image on a physical carrier (an information object), and the actual image within the object (the subject)?

Original or copy?

For collection items that have multiples, where copies are inherent in the medium, how can the issue of copy and original be documented?

How/What to preserve?

When objects carry images, such as film or negatives, the medium may decay but the image may be migrated, or emulated, in a different carrier. How can documentation reflect this transfer, making the images available yet still documenting the information about the original carrier?

Digital preservation?

Documentation is key in the process of preservation. What type of information is helpful to document to support the preservation of digital collections, as emerging new carriers used to preserve past images?

 

With all these above-mentioned questions, CIDOC and ICOM Georgia reach out to the ICOM community to discuss and to gather experiences of best practice in the field. On the last Friday of the month, documentation experts presented the tools and systems to tackle these questions and engage with museum professionals around 3 main topics:

• General issues of documenting images
• Tools and standards available
• Digital challenges

Webinars took place via Zoom from 17.00 to 18.00 CET. View all sessions.

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22.03.2024 – General introduction to image documentation

Dominic Oldman
Director Kartography CIC

Before documenting photos and videos, it is crucial to heed the old adage: “Measure twice, cut once.” In other words, careful consideration and planning beforehand can prevent errors and ensure accurate documentation.

In our seminar, we have dvelved into the fundamentals of documenting audiovisual materials, addressing questions that arise in the process. One such question concerns the essence of what constitutes the object in visual mediums: is it the physical carrier or the content it holds? Should our focus be on documenting the image portrayed or the tangible form such as the photograph, glass slide, and so forth? How do we deal with defining whether the object is original or the copy? And how can documentation support answer all these questions?

 

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26.04.2024 – Tools and standards available

Jonathan Ward
Senior Editor, J.P. Getty Trust

Emmanuelle Delmas-Glass
Head of Collections Information Access,
Yale Centre for British Art

When questions arise regarding the documentation of audiovisual materials, where do museum professionals turn for concise and effective guidance?

This was the opportunity to join two experts from the Getty and Yale Centre for British Art share the most essential resources to assist you in your documentation endeavours. Participants gained access to the shortest and most effective tools available, equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the complexities of audiovisual material documentation with confidence.

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31.05.2024 – Digital challenges: 3D, AR, VR, AI, digital copies… Legal, authenticity, and other issues

Diane Zorich

Director
Digitization Program Office at Smithsonian Institution

Frank von Hagel

Research Assistant,
Institute for Museum Research SPK

In today’s digital age, museums are increasingly embracing the digital realm within their collections. With the proliferation of digital objects in their repositories, museums are confronted with unique challenges, particularly regarding large-sized materials, storage solutions, and long-term archiving.

In this seminar, we have explored strategies for effectively managing and preserving digital assets. Specifically, the complexities of documenting 3D digital images, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) have been adressed, and we have also tried to seek the solution when it comes to AI. Together, we were seeking to define these challenges and identify the most promising avenues for solutions in the landscape of digital museum collections.