Spectrum 3.2 released, Revisiting Collections
September 9th, 2009 by Chris HoffmanCollections Trust, the organization behind Spectrum, has released version 3.2 of the UK Museum Documentation Standard. According to an announcement dated September 8, 2009, from Gordon McKenna (International Development Manager for Collections Trust),
The new version has been updated to include further support for Revisiting Collections, an innovative methodology to help museums create services and exhibitions for diverse audiences. Other changes in the new edition include the revision of the Sources of Help and Advice sections, which include updated links to websites and publications providing further information on aspects of Collections Management.
The Revisiting Collections methodology is worth looking at more closely. According to the web site
http://www.collectionslink.org.uk/increase_access/revisiting_collections/
Revisiting Collections … supports museums and archives to open up their collections for scrutiny by community groups and external experts and to reveal and capture histories hitherto hidden or ignored. A key strength of Revisiting Collections is that it provides a framework for embedding these new voices and their perspectives on objects and records directly within a museum or archive service’s catalogues and finding aids: ensuring that they become part of the story about the collections that is recorded and made accessible to all.
Collections Trust then has taken on the challenge of how to incorporate community (and other) annotations into the collection management system in a way that honors the contributor while protecting the information record of the museum. The Revisiting Collections site includes toolkits and guides for museums and archives to use in their own efforts to explore bringing in such content. While Spectrum is a documentation standard and not a specification for a collection management system, it is very refreshing to see an organization like this provide practical advice and tangible tools for the kinds of problems that museums, archives and libraries are facing on the ground today.