Barcoding Project: Storage and Data

Meteorites and Data Work 

After meeting with the curator of the Meteorite Collection, it was agreed that this would be the second collection we would barcode. While the objects in the collection are all fairly uniform, they are of varying sizes and have been stored in different kinds of containers, and thus will pose different challenges. The collection is small but well-documented, and objects move with some frequency. It seems like it will make for a really great pilot collection

On another note, one of the things that never occurred to us at the onset of this project was the amount of fine-tuning the database would require to facilitate the addition of the Axiell Move application.  We ended up spending a few days refining object records by separating out records with multiple parts that had previously been grouped into a single record, making sure every object or part of an object that could potentially be moved had a specific location within the database, and so forth. A look at the Meteorite Collection’s database location records revealed that it would also require some updating before it was ready for this project. The database tweaking can be an immense task, but it means the location tracking project has the positive secondary effect of improving some aspects of the database as it’s realized.

There was also a lot of work done to get this blog up and active. This is the first blog to be created by this department, so it required careful thought to come up with a suitable layout, text, tone, and plan for launching the blog to the wider community.

Storage walkthroughs of both the selected museum collections are set to occur shortly, at which point the final decisions regarding labels and barcode styles can be made, locations can be confirmed and updated where necessary, and the first wave of supplies can be ordered.

Thinking About Storage Scenarios and Object Types

We were able to walk through the main storage spaces for both the Art and Meteorite collections over the past two weeks. The two storage situations are markedly different—Meteorites, on one hand, are primarily kept in a single “clean” room, designed and filtered to remove as many particulates and impurities from the space as possible. To enter, one must don protective gear to ensure one doesn’t contaminate either space or the specimens, which are contained in five small cabinets and amount to just slightly more than a hundred location records in the Mimsy database. Art, however, has more than ten times that amount of location records in the database. These storage locations are spread over many different buildings here at the University of Alberta, and this doesn’t include any of the public art or art that has been placed in offices or other spaces around campus. 

Beyond the storage locations themselves, the two collections also differ in how the items themselves are stored. Meteorites, again, are contained consistently—while the specimens themselves may be contained in a vial or a box, each one is bagged and then bagged again along with a label, which is nested in a smaller box with a secondary label. Art, though, varies significantly: paintings and prints may be matted or unmatted, framed or unframed, hung on racks, kept in drawers, or rested on shelves. Sculptures may be shelved in larger spaces, or they may be contained and resting on the floor. Smaller art pieces and artifacts might be shelved, in boxes alone or in multiples, or displayed in their own custom case. Textiles and scrolls may be stored flat or rolled.

Due to this varying nature of the storage situations here at the University of Alberta Museums and Collections Services (MACS), as well as the individualized needs of collections staff and conservation considerations, we have had to come up with a number of possible ways to attach or associate the barcode with each object. Where possible, we hope to incorporate the barcodes into existing labels or inventory sheets, but otherwise will have to affix barcode with hanging tags, or attach them directly onto frames, mats, or storage boxes (where appropriate). These approaches will ensure that barcodes are not directly attached to the object in a way that may compromise or permanently alter it. The final method of attachment for each storage scenario will depend on what we discover during the testing phase of the physical barcoding of the objects, and what collections staff determine is most useful for their own workflows.