This volume gathers together recent research from leading scholars specializing in the history of collecting. American Southern art collections, both public and private, contain rich and ...representative holdings of Renaissance and Baroque art which remain understudied, compared to the collections bracketing the east and west coasts of the United States. This anthology considers how these works of art were acquired for both prominent public and private collections, how they have been curated and displayed in exhibitions, and how they have also been preserved historically. Individual essays address a variety of art media representative of the early modern period in Europe and the Americas. Case studies of specific works of art, collections, and collectors address the broad geographic scope of Southern collections, inclusive of Washington, DC, the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas.
New Life for Archaeological Collectionsexplores solutions to what archaeologists are calling the "curation crisis," that is, too much stuff with too little research, analysis, and public ...interpretation. This volume demonstrates how archaeologists are taking both large and small steps toward not only solving the dilemma of storage but recognizing the value of these collections through inventorying and cataloging, curation, rehousing, artifact conservation, volunteer and student efforts, and public exhibits. Essays in this volume highlight new questions and innovative uses for existing archaeological collections. Rebecca Allen and Ben Ford advance ways to make the evaluation and documentation of these collections more accessible to those inside and outside of the scholarly discipline of archaeology. Contributors toNew Life for Archaeological Collectionsintroduce readers to their research while opening new perspectives for scientists and students alike to explore the world of archaeology. These essays illuminate new connections between cultural studies and the general availability of archaeological research and information. Drawing from the experience of university professors, government agency professionals, and cultural resource managers, this volume represents a unique commentary on education, research, and the archaeological community.
This book addresses the issue of valuing objects in cultural collections, ranging from high-value to low or no-value and featuring a range of collections including fine art, archives, science and ...photography. Practical advice is given on how to assign values and best practice examples are drawn from museums, libraries and archives. The subject of valuation has always been challenging for museums and public collections and is becoming more urgent as monetary values of many items continue to break records. There is an increase in lending, with more loans requiring a value for insurance. Cultural collections and exhibitions are expanding to all corners of the world, while, at the same time, lenders are becoming more risk-averse. Valuing Your Collection will address the issues and offer some solutions.
Discoveries from collections‐based science change the way we perceive ourselves, our environment, and our place in the universe. The 18th Century saw the beginning of formal classification with ...Linnaeus proposing a system to classify all of life. The 19th Century ushered in the age of exploration as naturalists undertook large‐scale collecting expeditions leading to major scientific advances (the founding of Physical Geography, Meteorology, Ecology, Biogeography, and Evolution) and challenging long held beliefs about nature. In the 20th Century collections were central to paradigm shifts, including theories of Continental Drift and Phylogenetic Systematics; Molecular Phylogenetics added testable hypotheses, and computerized specimen records gave rise to the field of Biodiversity. In the first 15 years of the 21st Century we have seen tree‐thinking pervade the life sciences, leading to the emergence of Evolutionary Medicine, Evolutionary Ecology, and new Food Safety methods. More advances are on the way: (i) Open access to large amounts of specimen data & images, (ii) Linking of collections and climate data to phylogenies on a global scale, and (iii) Production of vast quantities of genomic data allowing us to address big evolutionary questions. As a result of collections‐based science people see themselves not as the center of all things but rather as part of a complex universe. It is essential that we integrate new discoveries with knowledge from the past (e.g., collections) in order to understand this planet we all inhabit. To ensure the health of collections‐based science we must come together and plan for the future.
As academic libraries continue to face acquisition budget challenges, collaborative collection development (CCD) offers greater opportunities to fulfill the core role of library collecting and ...collection management, namely, to provide enhanced access to the widest variety of relevant resources in the most cost-responsible manner possible. Libraries have successfully implemented CCD projects of various types, and as a result, have achieved these needed cost savings. The authors conducted survey research to investigate current CCD activities and librarians' perceptions of its benefits, drawbacks, elements contributing to successful CCD programs, and possible obstacles to success. Library collections consist of a variety of material formats and librarians have applied CCD models to maintain needed access to these resources, shifting from ownership to access, all in support of building collective collections. The survey results found that, although challenges can exist, application of CCD activities have realized substantial benefits, financial and otherwise, for academic libraries overall.
Data - from objects to assets Leonelli, Sabina
Nature (London),
10/2019, Letnik:
574, Številka:
7778
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
How did data get so big? Through political, social and economic interests, shows Sabina Leonelli, in the fourth essay on how the past 150 years have shaped the science system, marking Nature's ...anniversary.
In this stunning reassessment, Nicole T. C. Chiang argues that the famous Qianlong art collection is really ‘the collection of the imperial household in the Qianlong reign’. The distinction is ...significant because it strips away the modern, Eurocentric preconceptions that have led scholars to misconstrue the size of the collection, the role of nationalism in its formation, the distinction between art and artifact, and the actual involvement of the emperor in assembling the collection. No one interested in Chinese art will be able to ignore the ramifications of this important study. Emperor Qianlong’s Hidden Treasures: Reconsidering the Collection of the Qing Imperial Household argues that the size of the collection was actually smaller than previously stated. Moreover, the idea that the collection put the whole of the empire on display (and thereby promoted political unity) does not square with the reality that most of the collection was hidden away. Instead, the collection was primarily for the emperor’s gaze alone. Chiang further explains that the collection was largely the product of work done by many specialists working at the Qianlong court, noting that the emperor often assumed a more supervisory role. Preliminary drawings, patterns, models, and prototypes of the items made in the imperial workshops also formed an important part of the collection, as they served to establish standardized models used to run the imperial household. The collection was thus both broader and narrower than previously stated.
Natural history collections are invaluable repositories of biological information that provide an unrivaled record of Earth's biodiversity. Museum genomics-genomics research using traditional museum ...and cryogenic collections and the infrastructure supporting these investigations-has particularly enhanced research in ecology and evolutionary biology, the study of extinct organisms, and the impact of anthropogenic activity on biodiversity. However, leveraging genomics in biological collections has exposed challenges, such as digitizing, integrating, and sharing collections data; updating practices to ensure broadly optimal data extraction from existing and new collections; and modernizing collections practices, infrastructure, and policies to ensure fair, sustainable, and genomically manifold uses of museum collections by increasingly diverse stakeholders. Museum genomics collections are poised to address these challenges and, with increasingly sensitive genomics approaches, will catalyze a future era of reproducibility, innovation, and insight made possible through integrating museum and genome sciences.
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