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Artefacts, Archives, and Documentation in the Relational Museum provides the first interdisciplinary study of the digital documentation of artefacts and archives in contemporary museums, while also exploring the implications of polyphonic, relational thinking on collections documentation.
Drawing on case studies from Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the book provides a critical examination of the history of collections management and documentation since the introduction of computers to museums in the 1960s, demonstrating how technology has contributed to the disconnection of distributed collections knowledge. Jones also highlights how separate documentation systems have developed, managed by distinct, increasingly professionalised staff, impacting our ability to understand and use what we find in museums and their ever-expanding online collections. Exploring this legacy allows us to rethink current practice, focusing less on individual objects and more on the rich stories and interconnected resources that lie at the heart of the contemporary, plural, participatory 'relational museum.'
Artefacts, Archives, and Documentation in the Relational Museum is essential reading for those who wish to better understand the institutional silos found in museums, and the changes required to make museum knowledge more accessible. The book is a particularly important addition to the fields of museum studies, archival science, information management, and the history of cultural heritage technologies.
List of contents
Introduction: Artefacts, Archives, and Documentation in the Relational Museum; 1. Archives and Museums; 2. Museums Victoria and the History of Museum Computing; 3. Field Books, Dissociation, and Organisational Knowledge; 4. Donald Thomson and the Relationality of Collections; 5. Beyond Networks: Reconceptualising Collections Documentation; Conclusion: From Theory to Implementation
About the author
Having been a landlord himself and experienced the services of letting agents throughout the UK, in 2009 Mike Jones started his own lettings agency with a business partner. He has been 'hands-on' in all aspects of the letting cycle ever since and there is not an area of the business where he does not have related experience and expertise. He lives and works in Hampshire.
Summary
Artefacts, Archives, and Documentation in the Relational Museum provides the first interdisciplinary study of the digital documentation of artefacts and archives in contemporary museums, while also exploring the implications of polyphonic, relational thinking on collections documentation.
Report
'Museum historiography has traditionally centred on institutional analyses through the lens of both collections and collectors. Mike Jones' book moves away from a collectionbased approach to draw together a historical analysis of the emergence of a 'relational' methodology for museum practice.'
- Gemmia Burden, Australian Historical Studies
