Hi Kelly,
 
I don't know why, really, but we enter the ISBN as the Bibliography reference number. It's just always been done that way here (since before my Gugg time).
 
We use Object Type in concert with Classification - our usage actually being somewhat the opposite of CDWA in that for us Object Type is slightly more generic than Classification (this also has been this way since my Gugg time). An example would be: object type 'work on paper' = classification 'print'. That said, however, we have been discussing these fields off and on in Curatorial, Registrar, and Conservation meetings for the past couple of years and hope to eventually revise both object type and classification lists to better defined / standardized terms - with my personal dream of throwing thesaurus usage into the mix.
 
We've renamed Object Level to 'Special Collection' and have populated this drop-down list with major acquisitions (e.g., Founding Collection, Thannhauser Collection). This provides a quick search for these collections which in some cases require additional approvals for loan or exhibition.
 
Until you decide how they might be useful for your collections, you could close the fields off in security.
 
Regards,
Jeri

__________

Jeri L. Moxley-Rojas
Manager of Collection and Exhibition Information
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
o: (212) 423-3509
c: (646) 912-3365
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From: The Museum System (TMS) Users [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kelly Rushing
Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 10:35 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Bibliography module and object type/level

We have just started using the bibliography module in TMS and are wondering what to use as the reference number for each record.  Our first instinct was to use the catalog number that our library assigns to the book.  However, many times when I enter the record, the book won’t have been catalogued yet, so if we want to use their number, I would have to leave it blank and go back later.  The library uses the Dewey Decimal system, so I can’t find the number inside the book, as you often can with the Library of Congress number.  I’m wondering what other museums are using for this field: the library’s number, a sequential numbering system, or something else entirely?

 

I would also like to know how others are handling the object type and object level fields.  We aren’t currently using them, but it bugs me that I have to choose “not defined” if I click on those fields when I’m entering a new object.  Has anyone else found them to be useful, and if so, what options have you entered?  It is possible to rename them and use them for something else?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Kelly Rushing

Registrar

Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art

500 W. Washington St.

Indianapolis, IN  46204

Phone: 317-275-1359

Fax: 317-275-1459