Once you have completed the accession process, it is time to begin cataloging. Cataloging is the science of museum work. This is especially true of museums using computerized cataloging systems. The data that you develop about each item - its ID number, name, description, dimensions, creator, and so on - will help distinguish that item from every other item in the collection.
Cataloging is a time consuming task. It requires patience and attention to detail. It is sometimes tempting to "lot-catalog" similar items with one catalog record. However, this should be avoided. If an item deserves a space in your museum, even if it is very similar to other items, then it deserves its own catalog record. When you run reports or perform searches, you will be happy to have put in the time to create a detailed and accurate catalog record for each item.
PastPerfect was designed for the quick and easy entry of your catalog records, with four separate catalog screens designed specifically for objects, photographs, archives, and library collections. Each screen provides the data fields you need to create your records. Custom fields in each catalog enable you to capture additional information for your institution's collections.
The Objects catalog has over 180 data fields that allow you to enter detailed information about each artifact. The fields include Object ID, Object Name, Collection, Source, Material, Site Name, Permanent and Temporary Locations, Provenance, Detailed Description, Dimensions, Place of Origin, Early and Late Dates, Condition, Status, Maintenance Cycle Information, Appraisal History, and Detailed Notes. You may catalog art, archaeological artifacts, natural history, history, or geology objects in this catalog. See Objects for more information.
The Photos catalog allows you to record information about each item in your photograph collection, including Photographer, Studio, Title, Film Size, Print Size, Place, People, Description, Classification, Event, and Copyrights. See Photos for more information.
The Archives catalog allows you to record information about document collections, manuscripts, oral histories, maps, music collections, and personal papers. Data fields include Title, Creator, Dates of Creation, Dates of Accumulation, Administrative/Biographical History, Storage Location, Container List, Access Conditions, Finding Aids, System of Arrangement, and Notes. See Archives for more information.
The Library catalog allows you to record information about published materials such as books, pamphlets, and magazines. Data fields include Call#, Title, Author, Subjects, Publisher, Series, Edition, LCCN, and ISBN. See Library for more information.
PastPerfect has over 100 fields with authority files, including Collection, Medium, Place, Home Location, Condition, Subjects, People/Creators, and Search Terms. Authority files ensure that your staff is entering consistent and accurate information. For fields with authority files, you access a list of terms and select from the list to populate the field. For more information, see Using Authority Files and Settings | Authority Files.
For each catalog you can create a default data record. Data entered on the default record may be used to pre-fill catalog fields when adding new records. You may also choose to fill new records with Current Data, which fills in all of the information from the record where you clicked the New Record button. This allows quick and easy input of similar or identical items. For more information, see Using Default Records.
The People and Sites catalogs contain fields to help you provide context to your collections.
The People catalog captures names, roles, places of birth and death, dates, relationships, education, achievements, occupation, and places of residence for those who created, used, owned and collected items. For more information, see People & Creators.
The Sites catalog provides information about the locations from where items have been collected. You can then find all items associated with a person or site. For more information, see Sites.
Museum nomenclature is a structured and controlled list of terms organized in a systematic hierarchy that can be used for indexing, cataloging, and researching collections. The most important reason for using an established nomenclature is that it allows collection managers to have a consistent naming convention for items enabling museum staff and researchers to easily search the collection. A well-conceived lexicon system also allows institutions to share meaningful information.
PastPerfect's Lexicon is based on the latest standard, Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging, produced from a collaboration between several U.S. and Canadian organizations. Nomenclature is an expansion from the previous versions of Chenhall's Nomenclature and includes hundreds of new and up-to-date terms. This classification system is a hierarchical grouping of like items. The categories, classifications and terms are organized by item function. PastPerfect checks new object names against this approved list to make sure your data entry is consistent. PastPerfect is, however, completely flexible in allowing you to revise and add to the Lexicon to fit your organization's particular needs. For more information, see Setup Lexicon and Anatomy of a Catalog Record | Lexicon.