Museums and collections seek to share the objects in their holdings and exhibitions with the public and to make object information digitally accessible. Options for this include the presentation in their own online collections, participation in cultural portals and the provision of object information via data interfaces.
The FAIR Data Principles indicate how the traceability, connectivity and reusability of information about collection objects can be improved. The application of standards when structuring data and the use of standardised vocabularies and uniform spelling rules are of central importance. Especially those institutions with few resources shy away from these seemingly (overly) stringent requirements. The minimum record recommendation for museums and collections has been developed to show staff at these institutions where they can begin their efforts to process their object data in a sustainable and future-proof manner for online publication.
The minimum record recommendation is intended to pave the way for museums of various sizes to publish their data online, and to communicate relevant standards in an easily understandable, low-threshold form. It aims to raise awareness of data quality in cultural institutions and to support them with their online publication endeavours. The recommendation is designed for practical application in everyday museum operations.
The recommendation in Germany has been developed by the minimal record working group initiated in 2022 by the Museum und Mediathek Fotografie/Ton departments of the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (DDB, German Digital Library), the digitalisation working group of the Konferenz der Museumsberatungsstellen in den Ländern (KMBL, a consortium of museum advisement centres in the German Federal States) and digiS Berlin. Members of the minimal record working group are employees or representatives of the Institut für Museumsforschung, the Documentation section of the Deutscher Museumsbund (DMB), the Coordination Centre for Scientific University Collections in Germany, the digiCULT-Verbund eG, NFDI4Objects, the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin and the Übersee Museum Bremen.
Scholarly Team: Chiara Marchini, Dr Domenic Städtler, Stephanie Götsch, Frank von Hagel, Dr Stefan Rohde-Enslin, Lisa Quade, Nora Diepenbrock
Duration: ongoing since mid-2022
Wiki: https://wiki.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/x/AQAIDQ
