(Excerpt from “Introduction,” Nomenclature 3.0 for Museum Cataloging, by Paul Bourcier, Ruby Rogers and the Nomenclature Committee, 2010)
The Definition of Nomenclature
What Is Nomenclature and Why Should I Use It?
Nomenclature 3.0 for Museum Cataloging is a structured and controlled list of object terms organized in a classification system to provide a basis for indexing and cataloging collections of human-made artifacts. It was developed for people responsible for the creation and management of museum collection records and is based on three fundamental assumptions relating to the usefulness of catalog records for research, collection management, and exhibition planning:
- Catalog records are most useful if objects are named consistently;
- Creating functionally defined groupings of catalog records in a hierarchical format makes it easier to work with record groups; and
- Consistently cataloged records facilitate the sharing of data with researchers, other museums, and the public at large.
Nomenclature is built into the lexicons of many vendor-supported museum collections management systems, but it can also be a useful tool for museums with homemade databases and even for museums without computerized cataloging systems.
What Does Nomenclature Do?
Nomenclature 3.0 provides an extensive list of object terms based on the collections of many museums, and it relates each object term to others within a hierarchical taxonomy based on the object’s functional context.
Nomenclature 3.0 includes thousands of terms, and it is greatly expanded from the last edition, The Revised Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging, published in 1988. However, it does not and should not include all possible names for all possible museum artifacts. It is important to recognize that Nomenclature will not include all the terms any given museum needs, and that it will not be suitable for all purposes. Instead, Nomenclature provides a practical, flexible framework that has been used successfully by thousands of museums for more than three decades.
Because Nomenclature does not include all possible terms, some museums may need to expand the list of terms in order to express the finer points of distinction among similar but subtly different objects. Nomenclature is flexible, and the Nomenclature Committee encourages museums with similar specialized collections to collaborate in compiling lists of specialized terms as the need arises. As long as new terms are added within the Nomenclature framework, the reasons for adding the terms are documented, and the additions are made only after careful consideration, Nomenclature will function just fine.
Bear in mind that Nomenclature establishes a convention for object names only. It is important to consider other standardized vocabularies for other useful pieces of data about museum objects and their characteristics, including materials, styles, design elements, geographic origins, manufacturing techniques, personal and corporate names, and related subjects and concepts. When considering new object terms, it is important to avoid using words that may belong in other fields of an object’s catalog record such as “plastic,” “wrought,” “Civil War,” or “suffrage.” Computerized databases allow users to query multiple fields to narrow searches for artifacts that meet specific criteria.
Object terms in Nomenclature are indexing terms intended to facilitate data retrieval. They are not substitutes for fuller descriptions that may be useful for inventories, exhibition labels, catalog captions, or other applications. “Chair, Rocking” is a legitimate object term for Nomenclature, but “Chair, Victorian, walnut, with green needlework cushion” is not.
There are many useful books and online resources for learning more about data standards that apply to museum collections, including material developed and distributed by the Museum Computer Network, the Canadian Heritage Information Network, and the American Library Association (particularly its manual, Cataloging Cultural Objects: A Guide to Describing Cultural Works and Their Images).
(Table of Contents for “Introduction,” Nomenclature 3.0 for Museum Cataloging, by Paul Bourcier, Ruby Rogers and the Nomenclature Committee, 2010)
The Definition of Nomenclature
What Is Nomenclature and Why Should I Use It?
What Does Nomenclature Do?
The Format of Nomenclature Terms
Inverted Word Order
Singular Form
The Structure of Nomenclature 3.0
Alphabetical Listing of Terms
Hierarchical Listing of Terms
Categories, Classifications, and Sub-Classifications
Three Hierarchical Levels of Object Terms
Using Nomenclature 3.0
Finding a Term
Unknown Objects
Adding Object Terms
Terms for Specialized Collections
Regional/Ethnic Terms
Terms for Natural History Collections
Terms for Archaeological and Ethnographic Collections
Terms for Raw Materials
Terms for Archival Lots
Cross-Indexing
Multipurpose Objects
Combination Objects
When Object Terms Are Not Mutually Exclusive
Documentary Artifacts and Media
“May Also Use” Notes
Object Sets
Object Components
Toys and Models
Containers and Their Contents
Product Packages
Containers for Objects
Containers for Consumable Products
Adopting Nomenclature 3.0
For First-Time Users of Nomenclature
For Users of Past Editions of Nomenclature
Changes from Revised Nomenclature
Upgrading from Revised Nomenclature
Assistance for Nomenclature 3.0 Users
Final Thoughts
To learn more about these topics, order the book, Nomenclature 3.0 for Museum Cataloging from AltaMira Press.
