Thank you Diana.  This gives us a lot to think about.  We already have
complex rights assignments to the fields, but this will help as we plan the
management of exhibition-related materials.  The concept of democratization
of access is one I constantly work to spread here, and I like the idea of
each department contributing--sharing!--their materials via TMS.

When you get those policy guidelines written, I am sure that many members of
this listserv would like to see them.

Jenny Wilker

-----Original Message-----
From: Diana Lada ( [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Monday, May 23, 2005 1:31 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Exhibitions!


Hi Jenny,

Well that is the problem in a nutshell. We are still testing our theory
of democratizing our collection information, so I can't speak
conclusively yet.

We started by looking at the output from a variety of departments and
analyzing the benefit of having certain documents exist openly vs. those
that need not be shared. We had to approach it in two ways: 1)secure the
documents related to TMS and separate them by saving these files in
directories by department that could be accessed and attached to TMS
only by that department's staff members. For ex: Publications would have
sole access and ownership to the Publications folder and therefore no
other department would be able to delete or manipulate any original
documents in that folder. In this way, they could also save sensitive
documents that related to an exhibition without necessarily attaching it
to the database, but at the same time, keep all relevant files in one
spot. [We are working on writing policy...guidelines and standards for
everything, since we are asking that all departments [especially those
that have had no contact with the database in the past] share in
documenting the collection from their unique vantage point.]

2)on the viewing end, our TMS security access was redesigned by function
[not how it was originally]. This has been useful to us because it also
points to how departments have overlapping rights to
information/function within TMS. While curatorial and some members of
registration share the ability to create records, publication,
education, retail, communication have mostly view access but they can
add their documents in the media tab to support exhibition records, for
example. We are using 9.15 on our way to 9.2 so that we can grey out
fields that we think may not be appropriate for viewing per function.
For example, press releases are attached by our Communications
department but can be viewed by almost everyone. Even if the security
access permits editing, the original file can not be edited.
Publications adds invites, brochures, wall text, etc. But object values
and budgets are viewed only by curatorial and registration. At present,
we are really only dealing with documents that are not too sensitive but
enhance the overall record and put it into greater context.

Incidentally, at the Whitney, curatorial and registration staff have
access to creating object, loan and exhibition records. Since objects,
loans and exhibitions originate with curatorial, they are responsible
for creating the records and attaching pertinent information to get all
other departments started. Curatorial is used to the standards and
guidelines set by documentation. It is a little bit of a learning curve
with the other departments who had only view access to basic object
information in the past. This has required a lot of meetings, education,
sharing of TMS terminology, etc.

We haven't figured out all the kinks yet...and there are several that I
just thought about as I was replying to your email. We're still in the
early stages. The one thing that I can say with some assurance is that
departments other than curatorial and registration, are delighted to
know that their hard work is seen as important. I envision that one day,
we'll be able to pull up an exhibition record and see the inter-related
output of curatorial, registration, education, special events,
publications and retail. Aready we are beginning to see the value of
centralizing information. Not only does it benefit everyone but as a
whole it proves that the invaluable work performed by each department of
a museum is what makes for a successful exhibition or collection...in a
way, it tells the whole picture.

I don't know if that helped in any way, but I'll be happy to share as we
get further underway.

Diana Lada-L'Henaff
Documentation Manager

Whitney Museum of American Art
945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street
New York, NY  10021

t: 212.570.3671
f: 212.570.4171
e: [log in to unmask]


-----Original Message-----
From: The Museum System (TMS) Users [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Wilker, Jenny
Sent: Monday, May 23, 2005 8:17 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Exhibitions!


Many interesting replies so far.  Thanks.

I have a question for Diana at the Whitney, who says

"We are hoping to create an archive of the ephemera,
brochures, catalogues, the press kits, the programming, events, rights
info, etc. but also to make this information available and downloadable
to all APPROPRIATE museum staff via their desktop, when necessary!"

Diana, how do you set the security for the documents linked to the TMS
Exhibitions record?  And what departments do you consider "appropriate"
for having access to the documents?  These two remarks spoke to the
primary reason for my original query to the group.  Some of us are a bit
uneasy about letting everybody see all these documents.

Jenny Wilker
Philadelpia Museum of Art

-----Original Message-----
From: Diana Lada ( [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2005 11:32 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Exhibitions!


Hi Jenny,

At the Whitney we use our loan and exhibition modules religiously but
our registars do end up using ACCESS for all logistical data because of
the ease in manipulating information....we can't get them to consider
alternative ways. On the flip side, we have begun to consider ways to
integrate the output of other departments and relating their work back
to the exhibition record...we're still testing.

Our goal is to integrate exhibition and loan information, and each
departments' output as it relates to the exhibition, into the Exhibition
Record in TMS. We are hoping to create an archive of the ephemera,
brochures, catalogues, the press kits, the programming, events, rights
info, etc. but also to make this information available and downloadable
to all APPROPRIATE museum staff via their desktop, when necessary!

Some of the issues that have come up for us: 1)most importantly, server
space! Image related documents and hi-res images can be quite large and
we are looking at not only making them accessible via TMS [one example
that comes up are the wall labels] but also archiving on our server. A
terrabyte doesn't get you very far we have found! 2) security and
appropriate staff access 3) developing a protocol for who is responsible
for what to attach to each exhibition record, where to save it on the
server 4) how not to slow down the database and 5) reports! [always a
favourite for us!]...and I'm sure tomorrow a few more things will crop
up.

But we are quite excited at the possibilities...
Good luck!
Diana


Diana Lada-L'Henaff
Documentation Manager

Whitney Museum of American Art
945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street
New York, NY  10021

t: 212.570.3671
f: 212.570.4171
e: [log in to unmask]