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Appendix D: Glossary
For the sake of consistency and simplicity, this Glossary draws as much as possible on existing definitions, sourced from the publications and organisations listed below. Wherever appropriate, terms are defined according to their meaning in the museum context.
- Access
Providing access means making a museum, its buildings, its collection and its programs physically and/or virtually available, and intellectually engaging, to the widest possible range of people, while also fulfilling the museum’s other responsibilities (e.g. ensuring the preservation and security of its collection, and the safety of visitors and workers). - Accession
The process of registering and cataloguing an object into a museum’s collection. - Accession register
A book – used at the first stage of the accessioning process – in which objects are recorded as they are added to a museum’s collection. Cataloguing follows. - Acquisition
The process of gaining legal possession of an item for a museum collection, through purchase, donation, bequest or transfer. - Acquisition policy
See Collection policy. - Adaptive technologies
Devices or technologies (such as voice-recognition software) that can assist people with disabilities to access information and/or technology. - AICCM
The Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material is the national organisation for conservators and others interested in the preservation of cultural material. - Archival image
A digital image (also referred to as a master image) that has been captured at the most appropriate quality or resolution, and stored for long-term usage. Archival images are normally stored in an offline mode – on tape, CD or DVD – or on an independent hard drive, and are accessed only for the production of copies. - Archives
The term archives encompasses:
(a) records of organisations and individuals that have been selected for indefinite retention on the basis of their continuing value for legal, administrative, financial or historical research purposes
(b) the name given to the repository in which an archival collection resides
(c) an organisation (or part of an organisation) whose main function is to select, manage, preserve and make archival records available for use. - Asset
A document, picture, artefact, specimen or artwork that has been acquired by a museum for its collection is considered a heritage asset. Other kinds of museum assets include buildings, sites and equipment. - Audiences
Current
People who visit a museum (including online visitors). A museum’s current audience may be segmented into audience groupings (e.g. local residents, school students, tourists, families, retirees, and special interest groups).Potential
People who do not currently visit the museum but are thought likely to attend in the future, because of their interests or demographics. The museum may target its potential audiences, and may plan to attract them through specific programs designed to meet their needs. - Benchmark
A reference point or criterion against which to measure performance, achievement or progress. - Blog
An online journal that is frequently updated by its creator and is usually open for contributions from the general public. (Short for web log.) - Born digital
Term used to describe information expressed in a digital format from the point of its creation. Forms of visual or literary expression created using digital technology or digital media are borndigital materials. Other examples include websites, web pages, email messages, and wordprocessed documents. - Burra Charter
The Australia ICOMOS Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Significance, adopted
in Burra, South Australia, in 1979. The Charter was revised in 1981, 1988 and 1999. - Business plan
See Forward plan. - Cataloguing
The process of recording and filing/storing all known, relevant information about an object in a museum collection, such as its origin, age, maker, title (e.g. for artworks), physical description (materials and/or techniques used in its making), physical dimensions, use, provenance, etc. These details are recorded on cataloguing worksheets or onto a computer database. - Code of ethics
A formal set of principles, rules or expectations developed to help people and organisations to make appropriate, ethical decisions in relation to behaviour and practices within a specific profession, industry or specialisation. - Collection
The body of acquired objects held in title by a museum. - Collection management
A term encompassing all of the practices and procedures implemented by a museum in acquiring, documenting, handling, accessing, storing, securing, lending, conserving and disposing of collection items. - Collection policy
A written statement guiding a museum’s aims, practices and procedures in managing its collection. The collection policy also identifies the kinds of materials a museum will collect and the conditions or terms governing acquisitions. - Community
A social group, of any size, whose members have something in common (e.g. culture, history, experiences, ideas, interests or locality). - Community access exhibitions
Exhibitions designed to enable a diverse range of individuals and community groups to present their artworks, culture, ideas or activities to a wider audience. Sometimes museums set aside an exhibition space for exhibitions of this type, and/or especially encourage exhibitions by marginalised or minority groups. - Conflict of interest
A situation where the interests of an individual working for, or representing, an organisation compete with that organisation’s interests, putting at risk the reputation of all concerned. Inappropriate use of benefits or advantages that the individual gains through this association, or of privileged information that he or she has access to, are potential consequences of conflict of interest. - Conservation
All action aimed at safeguarding cultural material for the future. The purpose of conservation is to study, record, retain and, if appropriate, restore the culturally significant qualities of an object, with the least possible intervention. Issues around treatment, handling, storage and display are all encompassed within conservation. See also Preservation, Preventive conservation and Restoration. - Conservation policy
A written statement guiding a museum’s aims, practices and procedures in regard to conserving its collection. A conservation policy generally covers conservation needs and priorities, treatment, and the handling, storage and display of objects. - Conservation treatment
The physical treatment of collection items to prolong their existence by preventing or slowing down deterioration. Treatment is undertaken only after an assessment of the current condition of an item, its significance, its future use, and available resources and expertise, and after the preparation of a treatment proposal. Where possible, any materials and methods used in a treatment should allow it to be reversible and should allow for the possibility of future treatments. - Conservator
A professional whose primary occupation is the practice of conservation and who, through specialised education, knowledge, training and experience, formulates and implements all the activities of conservation, in accordance with an ethical code such as the AICCM Code of Ethics and Code of Practice. Through their training, conservators have an understanding of the principles of the conservation of most materials, but tend to specialise in the treatment of one
type of object or material. - Constitution
A written, publicly available statement of a museum’s charter, role, goals, policy framework, and composition. - Contractor
A person or a firm that supplies labour, services or materials to an organisation, for a fee and on terms set out in a written agreement or contract. Museums often engage contractors for their specialised skills and knowledge, to support or carry out a specific project or service. This is normally a short-term arrangement. See also Volunteer and Workers. - Copyright
The exclusive right, granted by law for a specified number of years, to produce copies of, and to otherwise control, an original literary, musical or artistic work. - Core documents and policies
The main documents and policies that guide and inform a museum’s activities. - Corporate plan
See Forward plan. - Curator
A person who works with collection items and associated material to develop a museum’s collection and/or exhibitions, and who seeks to communicate related information, ideas and values to the public. - Customer focus
Planning and managing museum programs and services so as to meet the needs and interests of the people who will be accessing them, and to encourage positive customer/visitor experiences. - Deaccession
The process by which an object in a museum’s collection is removed from the collection. When deaccessioning objects, museums must ensure that all legal requirements are met and that the objects are made ready for disposal in an appropriate and ethical way. - Deaccession policy
A written statement guiding a museum’s aims, practices and procedures in respect of deaccession. A museum’s deaccession policy is usually part of its collection policy. - Deductible gift recipient (DGR)
A fund or organisation that can receive tax-deductible gifts through the Australian Taxation Office Deductible Gift Recipients scheme. - Digital archiving
See Archival image. - Digital imaging
The process of creating and/or manipulating digital images. - Digital preservation
The long-term maintenance of digital files on digital storage media, including upgrades when necessary. - Digitisation
The process of converting information into a digital format. For example, taking a digital photograph of a painting, or scanning a catalogue record, are both digitisation activities (also referred to as image capture). Digital material produced by digitisation can be referred to as ‘made digital’ (as distinct from ‘born digital’). - Disaster preparedness and response plan
A document that identifies potential risks or sources of damage to a museum’s collection and facilities, together with ways to remove or reduce these risks. The plan lists actions to be taken to minimise all risks, and actions to be taken in dealing with specific emergency situations. It includes emergency contacts for assistance, supplies and equipment. - Disposal
The formal removal of an item from a museum collection after a deaccessioning decision has been made. Disposal must occur in accordance with the procedures and conditions outlined in the deaccession policy. - Diversity
Term used in relation to communities made up of different and varied groups. Factors such as age, gender, education level, employment status, income, cultural background, disability and special interests, in respect of current and potential visitors, are all useful for museums in planning programs to address the needs and interests of diverse communities. - Doubt
Sometimes a museum may not have supporting research or facts to corroborate its interpretation of objects or events, in exhibitions or other programs. Doubt can be acknowledged by using qualifying wording such as ‘It is believed that’ or ‘Some people thinkthat’ on labels or in other interpretive information. Using the term circa (or c.) with dates is another strategy. - Education kit
Information and activities compiled for school or other groups to use in conjunction with a visit to a museum or an exhibition, or as a learning resource. - Education policy
A written statement outlining a museum’s aims, philosophy, practices and procedures in providing programs related to education. The policy would ideally be much broader than a statement about programs for schools and should incorporate ideas about lifelong learning for all visitors. - Ethics
See Code of ethics. - Evaluation
Evaluation is a process to assess the merit or value of an activity against particular criteria, so as to inform planning and decision making. In the museum context, visitor research is used to assess visitors’ perceptions of the merit of a museum’s programs and services, and can be carried out at various stages of a program, to report on and if necessary improve its effectiveness. - Exhibition
Objects, words, images, interactive units, audiovisual techniques and other methods combined to communicate an idea, theme or story for public interest and enjoyment. - Exhibition/display plan
A written plan for the exhibitions and displays a museum will present over a period of time, for example 3–5 years. An exhibition/display plan could include an interpretation or exhibition/ display policy, an exhibition schedule, practices and procedures in relation to the maintenance of long-term displays, display plans, and exhibition proposals. - Forward plan
A written plan that sets out what a museum aims to achieve in the future. The term covers the many different types of such plans that can be developed – with different purposes, outcomes, audiences and stakeholders in mind – so it is used as a generic designation in this document.Types of forward plan include:Business plan
A plan that outlines an organisation’s goals, the work program and the resources (particularly financial) required to achieve them, and how those resources will be sourced or developed.Corporate plan
A comprehensive forward plan that covers the whole of the organisation and may incorporate
all other plans for its management and development.Strategic plan
A document produced by an organisation (or a division or department of an organisation) that defines a desired future and the means to bring it about. For museums, this type of forward plan guides success in terms of the organisation’s political, financial, social and technological setting, and the demands of a competitive environment. - Friends
Supporters of a museum, who usually contribute through an independently constituted organisation (such as an incorporated association), to which they pay an annual subscription fee. See also Members and Volunteer. - Governance
The process by which a formal authority, such as a board, oversees and directs the policies, functions, actions and affairs of a museum. - Governing body
The group of people who are responsible for the policies, priorities and decisions of a museum (e.g. a museum council, trust or board). - Heritage places and fabric
Places of significance, such as sites, landscapes, areas, monuments and buildings, to be cared for, and retained, for future generations. Each heritage place has its own fabric or physical material, which may include natural elements, pathways, structures, structural materials, building interiors, sub-surface material, surface treatments, fittings or fixtures. - ICOM
The International Council of Museums is ‘the international organisation of museums and museum professionals which is committed to the conservation, continuation and communication to society of the world’s natural and cultural heritage, present and future, tangible and intangible’ (source: ICOM website). - Image capture
See Digitisation. - Intellectual property
An intangible asset such as a copyright or patent. See also Copyright. - INTERPOL
Founded as the International Criminal Police Commission, INTERPOL is ‘the world’s largest international police organization, with 186 member countries. Created in 1923, it facilitates cross-border police co-operation, and supports and assists all organizations, authorities and services whose mission is to prevent or combat international crime’ (source: INTERPOL website). - Interpretation
A process involving both the museum and its visitors in understanding and communicating the meaning and significance of objects, collections and places. Modes of interpretation include
tours, exhibitions, education programs, publications, social media and websites. - Item
A generic term that covers museum collection items including documents, pictures, artefacts, specimens, artworks and other objects. Item is also a specific archival term, describing the smallest discrete unit of record material; accumulated items form a record series. - Key collection areas
The main types of objects, material or themes that a museum collection focuses on. - Legally constituted entity
An organisation or governing body that is formed, appointed or established through a legal process. - Loans
Items a museum lends to, or borrows from, other collecting organisations, private collectors, or agencies. - Loans policy
A written statement outlining a museum’s aims, practices and procedures in relation to inward and outward loans. The loans policy is normally part of a museum’s collection policy. - Marketing plan
A type of written plan that focuses on identifying current and potential audiences and finding strategies to reach and attract them to a museum by addressing their interests and needs. - Master image
See Archival image. - Members
Supporters of a museum who contribute through paid subscriptions to a program that is managed by the museum and is intended to encourage interest and involvement in its activities and issues. Membership can deliver privileges such as discounts and access to news, information and special events. Unlike a Friends group, a members group does not exist independently of the museum it is associated with. See also Friends and Volunteer. - Metadata
Data about data, or information assembled in relation to an item in order to provide access to it. Metadata usually includes information about the intellectual content of the item, digital representation data (where appropriate), and security or rights management information. In the museum context, the term is commonly used with respect to digital collections. A universal standard for metadata is the Dublin Core. - Moveable cultural heritage
A term used to describe any portable natural or manufactured object of heritage significance. Moveable cultural heritage, being portable, is especially vulnerable because it can easily be sold, relocated or thrown away during changes in ownership, fashion and use. Moveable heritage may be closely related to the significance of heritage places. - Museum
See Appendix A. - Object ID
‘An international standard for describing cultural objects. It has been developed through the collaboration of the museum community, police and customs agencies, the art trade, insurance industry, and valuers of art and antiques. The Object ID project was initiated by the J. Paul Getty Trust in 1993 and the standard was launched in 1997. It is being promoted by major law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, Scotland Yard and Interpol; museum, cultural heritage, art trade and art appraisal organisations; and insurance companies’ (source: Object ID website). - Occupational health and safety (OH&S)
A legal framework identifying and regulating health and safety issues in the workplace. These issues may affect, or could potentially affect, people in a place of work, in the activities they do there, or anywhere else they go as part of their work. - Operational plan
A type of written plan for developing or maintaining the infrastructure a museum needs in order to achieve its potential. Examples of operational plans include a workforce management plan, used in creating and managing a major change in an organisation’s staffing structure; a disaster preparedness and response plan; or a safe-working plan, used in managing the activated display of heritage (or contemporary) machinery, and addressing issues such as the licensing of operators, OH&S, and public liability and other insurance. - Orientation
The way visitors find their way around a museum. Museums can help by providing tools such as maps, brochures, signage, computer terminals or tour guides. For the visitor, physical orientation involves finding his or her way around a museum site. Conceptual orientation is a term used in relation to displays or exhibitions, where the museum might present key concepts and messages in exhibition text or through other forms of interpretation. - Podcast
A method of publishing audio files on the internet so that people can download them onto computers or personal digital audio devices and listen to them whenever they want to. - Policy
A written statement guiding a museum’s aims, practices and procedures in relation to specific activities, such as collection management, providing public access, conservation, education and interpretation. - Preservation
Different professions and organisations use this term in different ways. Here are two common definitions:(a) All action taken to slow deterioration of, or prevent damage to, cultural material. Preservation may involve controlling the environment and conditions of use, and may include treatment in order to, as nearly as possible, maintain an object in an unchanging state. In the case of archival material, moving image and sound, preservation may include transfer to another medium.
(b) All action aimed at safeguarding cultural material for the future. The purpose of preservation is to study, record, retain and restore the culturally significant qualities of an object, with the least possible intervention. Issues around treatment, handling, storage and display are all encompassed within preservation.
Note: The terms conservation and preservation are often used interchangeably. This document uses conservation as the overarching term, while preservation (as per definition (a) above) refers to treatment-based activities. See also Conservation and Restoration.
- Preventive conservation
All action undertaken to prevent the deterioration of cultural material and collections. Preventive conservation involves developing and following policies and procedures in relation to: appropriate environmental conditions; handling and maintenance during storage, display/exhibition, packing, transport and use; integrated pest management (IPM); disaster preparedness and response; and reformatting/duplication. - Procedure
An established way to approach or undertake an activity. - Promotional methods
Methods of promoting a museum and its activities, including advertising, brochures and flyers, web presence, direct mail, listings in local or regional tourism brochures, media releases, newspaper articles, public talks, and radio or television interviews. - Prop
An object – not in itself a collection item – that is used to support or help present collection items in a museum display or exhibition. Props are not subject to the same considerations as collection items (e.g. conservation). Examples of props include mannequins and objects intended for visitors to touch or use. See also Replica, Reproduction and Resource, education or secondary collection. - Public programs
All the ways a museum communicates with the public, including on-site and off-site displays and exhibitions, tours, workshops, activity sessions, demonstrations, talks, performances, websites, multimedia, publications and events. - Replica
An exact or faithful copy of an object, especially on a smaller scale. The term is usually used in reference to three-dimensional objects (e.g. ‘The ship is an exact replica of the original Golden Hind’). See also Reproduction. - Reproduction
An exact or close imitation of a work of art, generally two-dimensional, as in a publication or document or on an exhibition wall panel (e.g. ‘The book contains excellent colour reproductions of Monet’s paintings’). See also Replica. - Resource, education or secondary collection
Objects that do not meet a museum’s acquisition criteria but are acquired and maintained for use as display props, in education programs, or for use or exchange to support the conservation of the formally acquired museum collection. Museums use a range of names for these kinds of adjunct collections. - Restoration
The actions taken to return cultural material (objects) to a known or assumed earlier state. Restoration may involve the reassembly of displaced components, removal of extraneous matter (such as later additions or concretions), or reintegration (repair) using new materials (e.g. infilling holes or areas of loss). See also Conservation and Preservation. - Risk assessment
The review and identification of all potential hazards, and sources of danger or loss, that could affect a museum’s collections, workers, visitors, site, buildings, assets and operations. - Risk management
Having policies and procedures in place to assess, remove and/or minimise risks, and to deal effectively and responsibly with unforeseen events. - Significance
The historical, aesthetic, scientific or social values that a museum object or collection has for past, present and future generations. - Significance assessment
The process of studying and understanding the meanings and values of a museum object or collection, enabling the development of sound and reasoned judgements and statements about the importance of objects and collections, and their meanings for communities. - Skills audit
The process of formally identifying the skills and knowledge that workers have, in order to identify their strengths, areas where they could develop further and/or move into different roles, and training needs. - Staff
A group of people employed by an organisation. See also Contractor, Workers. - Standard
An accepted or approved level of excellence or quality. - Statement of Purpose
A short summary of a museum’s overarching aim. - Strategic plan
See Forward plan. - Strategy
Plan or technique for achieving set aims or objectives. - Succession / succession planning
Succession is the act, process or right by which one person succeeds to the office of another. Succession planning is part of managing an organisation’s human resources with the future in mind. It involves evaluating the skills, knowledge and personal qualities needed for key roles in management and on governing bodies, and planning ways to effectively meet these needs should such roles have to be filled by new people. - Sustainability
‘Forms of progress that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs’ (source: World Commission on Environment and Development). Underlying philosophy The beliefs, values or tenets that support an organisation’s specific approach, policy or practice. - Vision statement
A written description of what an organisation will be if it succeeds in implementing its strategies and achieves its full potential. - Volunteer
A person who, without remuneration, contributes his or her time, knowledge, skills and effort to a museum. See also Friends, Staff and Workers. - Volunteer policy
A written statement guiding a museum’s aims, practices and procedures for managing volunteers. This type of policy covers activities and issues such as recruitment, rights and responsibilities, coordination, mentoring, insurance, recognition, training, safety and security. - ‘Wind-up clause’
A statement in a museum’s constitution or other legal framework to ensure that, in the event of the museum’s permanent closure (or ‘winding up’), the future of the collection is secured according to recognised museum ethics and codes of practice. - Workers
The personnel of a museum, employed or voluntary (paid or unpaid), part-time or full-time. See also Contractor, Staff and Volunteer.
