Basic metadata scheme for the descriptive representation of works of art in Brazilian museums

Abstract This paper examined international guidelines for the descriptive representation of museum objects to propose, based on such guidelines, a basic metadata scheme to represent artworks considering the Brazilian scenario. This proposal is justified, since part of local museums clearly stated that they are not cataloguing their collections and another part does not adopt standardized resources for that activity. The methodology applied in this research was based on: a) the Terminology literature, used to compare and to analyze metadata, and b) the International Standard Organization nº 25964-1/2 as well as on the international literature, used to perform a mapping and a crosswalk of the selected guidelines in this investigation. As a result, a concrete metadata scheme was developed as a methodological guide for the basic descriptive representation of artwork collections in Brazil; in addition, suggestions were made for its implementation in the national scenario. The application of such scheme was tested and validated using a small sample of artworks that sought to include different categories of this type of work available in Brazilian museums. It is believed that the implementation of a minimum metadata scheme in the cataloguing activity of Brazilian museums may enhance the information organization of artworks and contribute to the consistency of information retrieval. Moreover, it may maximize the access to the information of artwork collections located in Brazil for national and international audiences. The analysis of international guidelines for the information representation of museum objects draws attention to an urgent necessity of using processes, procedures, and collection management policies. For this purpose, these fundamental components must be aligned to promote best practices. A future experimental investigation should include more types of artworks in the sample to verify different implementations of the basic metadata schemes proposed as well as to observe and to identify conditions and attributes not predicted in the use of the proposal.

摘要 本研究针对博物馆藏品描述性呈现的国际指南展开调研，结合巴西本土语境，提出一套适配艺术作品的基础元数据（metadata）方案。提出该方案的合理性在于：巴西本地部分博物馆明确表示未对馆藏进行编目，另有部分未采用标准化编目资源开展此项工作。本研究采用的方法论基于两大核心支撑：a）术语学相关文献，用于元数据的对比与分析；b）国际标准化组织（International Standard Organization）第25964-1/2号标准及国际相关研究文献，用于本次调研中选定的各项指南的映射与交叉对照。最终，本研究开发了一套具体的元数据方案，作为巴西艺术作品馆藏基础描述性呈现的方法论指南；同时针对该方案在巴西国内的落地实施提出了相关建议。该方案的应用通过一小批艺术作品样本完成了测试与验证，样本力求涵盖巴西博物馆中可获取的各类艺术作品类别。研究认为，在巴西博物馆的编目工作中推行这套基础元数据方案，可优化艺术作品的信息组织工作，提升信息检索的一致性。此外，还可面向国内外受众，最大化提升巴西本土艺术作品馆藏信息的可访问性。对博物馆藏品信息呈现的国际指南进行分析后可发现，当前亟需建立统一的流程、操作规范与馆藏管理政策。为此，必须对这些核心要素进行对齐协调，以推广行业最佳实践。未来的实验性研究可在样本中纳入更多类型的艺术作品，以验证所提基础元数据方案的不同落地场景，并观察、识别方案使用过程中未被预先考量的条件与属性。