Collection Level Descriptions
Museums and other collecting instutions have traditionally documented their collections at item level. A collection level descriptions document groups of objects.
Object groupings can be defined in many ways including:
- Object – e.g. the Chair Collection; the Swimwear Collection.
- Collecting area – e.g. Australian Decorative Arts.
- Person – e.g. Paul Keating Collection; Nancy-Bird Walton Collection.
- Organisation – e.g. Victa Lawnmower Collection; Clyde Engineering Collection.
- Slice of time – e.g. The 1950s; The Macquarie Era.
- Concept or Theme – e.g. Innovation : The History of Powered Flight
- Community – e.g. the Greek Cypriot Community; The Ukulele Community.
- Place – e.g. The Rocks, Sydney; Tropical Queensland.
- Event – e.g. 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games; The Prince Philip Design Award.
- Process/Material – e.g. The Scrimshaw Collection; The Plastics Collection.
Collection level descriptions can provide an overview and meaning which can be difficult to concieve in dense object catalogues.