I’d suggest treating each pedestal as an object and give it an individual
record. Having one record with multiple components accounting for each pedestal
seems fine, but you won’t be able to attach the individual pedestal (component)
records to exhibitions or create relationships between the pedestal and the
multiple object records it could be associated with.
Chad Petrovay |
Collections Database Administrator
MIM—Musical Instrument Museum |
8550 S. Priest Drive | Tempe, AZ 85284
480.481.2460 main | 480.353.2746 direct |
480.481.2459 fax | www.themim.org
From: The Museum System
(TMS) Users [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jennifer
Ritchie
Sent: Tuesday, July 07, 2009 9:05 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Tracking Pedestals
Hello everyone –
I have a very simple
question and wanted to know how others have approached the issue.
I have just taken
over the pedestal inventory from our Associate Curator who was previously
tracking them in an excel spreadsheet. We keep all of our pedestals in
off-site storage and reuse them for the display of other objects if the size is
right. I am currently tracking them as components of objects for which
they have been used in the past or for which they are currently used, so the
pedestals numbers may appear as components for many objects. Since the
components section is usually used for tracking individual pieces of an object
(not crates or peds, etc.), this has not been ideal for pedestals.
The location of each component is tracked in the objects module along
with the object itself, but if a pedestal is listed as being in a certain
gallery, then my location reports will list these pedestals as objects.
In addition, since we use pedestals for up to three or four objects in different
shows and installations, and if I change the location of the pedestal as a
component to an object, I have to repeat it for each object.
Do any of you track
pedestals in TMS? If so, how do you do this, especially if you are an
institution that may have pedestals that are used for the display of many
objects at different times? I considered attaching it as a crate in the
Container Assistant, but then there is no way to cross-reference the pedestal
to its object(s). My intern suggested we create an object in the objects
module called “Pedestals” and list ALL of our pedestals as components.
That way, we would have them in one place and be able to view a list that our
curator could use to identify pedestals he could use for future installations.
But again, we cannot attach it to a specific object.
I would like to hear
any other ideas some of you may have. Perhaps there is something in TMS
that I do not know about….
Thank you for your
help!
Jennifer Ritchie
Head of Registration
and Rights and Reproductions
Nasher Sculpture Center
2001 Flora Street
Dallas, TX 75201
(214)
242-5166 Fax (214) 242-5179