Museum Studies terms

Grant (N)

A gift of money given for a specific purpose.

Heritage (N)

 Valued objects and qualities such as historic buildings and cultural traditions that have been passed down from previous generations.

Cultural Heritage: historic buildings, monuments and collections of information on how people lived such as photos, paintings, stories, newspapers and books.

Natural Heritage: mountains, rivers, and any landscape.

IDP, Intelligent Document Processing

Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) is a technology that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to automate the processing of unstructured data contained in documents.

IDP uses AI to analyze these documents, identify key data points, and extract the data. The technology can recognize various types of data, such as names, addresses, dates, and product descriptions, and can convert that data into structured formats that can be easily processed and integrated into business workflows.

Intelligent document processing (IDP) is proving itself to be a crucial ally for those institutions looking to mine the depths of their archives and digitize works so that they might be searched for, consumed, and enjoyed by anyone with an internet connection. 

See: https://www.museumnext.com/article/what-is-idp-and-how-is-it-helping-museum-accessibility/

Intangible (Adj, N)

Something that you cannot touch. 

Intangible Cultural Heritage: the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their Cultural Heritage’ (UNESCO, 2003).

Examples of intangible heritage are oral traditions, performing arts, local knowledge, and traditional skills.

Also used as a noun: intangibles, artefacts and objects that you cannot touch.

Inventory (N, V)

A complete list of items such as property, goods in stock, or the contents of a building.

Used as a verb: to make an inventory.

IPR, Intellectual Property Rights

Intellectual property rights are legal rights that provide creators protection for original works, inventions, or the appearance of products, artistic works, scientific developments, and so on. There are four types of intellectual property rights (IP): patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.

But the number of rights may be different, for different countries. For example, the Netherlands has 9 different kinds of rights (https://www.government.nl/topics/intellectual-property/protection-of-intellectual-property)

The main 4:

• • Copyright
    Copyright (or author’s right) is a legal term used to describe the rights that creators have over their literary and artistic works. Works covered by copyright range from books, music, paintings, sculpture, and films, to computer programs, databases, advertisements, maps, and technical drawings.
    
    
  • Patents
    A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which is a product or a process that provides, in general, a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a problem. To get a patent, technical information about the invention must be disclosed to the public in a patent application.
    
    
  • Trademarks
    A trademark is a sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one enterprise from those of other enterprises. Trademarks are protected by intellectual property rights.

Label (N, V)

A small piece of paper, fabric, plastic, or other material attached to an object and giving information about it.

Used as a verb: to make a label or to attach a label to something.

Legacy (N)

An amount of money or property, left by someone in a will.

Loan (N)

An object that has been given to you, temporarily. You do not own this, the owner is only letting you use it, for instance for an exhibition. At some point, you will have to return it to the owner.

Related words:

To lend: to give something on loan (= temporarily)

To borrow: to get, receive something on loan (= temporarily)

Mission statement (N)

A formal summary of the aims and values of a company, organization, or individual.

Mount (N)

A mount is a support that helps hold an object in a stable position while on display.

It prevents movement that might stress the object, especially if it is structurally weak or brittle from, for example, age or insect damage.

Narrative (N, Adj.)

Narrative used as a noun means: a story. The story can be real or not. Oral storytelling is the earliest method for sharing narratives.

Narrative as an adjective is used by museums, to indicate that the museum uses a 'story based' approach for their exhibitions:

"Museums are ideal places where stories can be told that encourage visitors to make their own meanings. Bedford (2001) noted that 'Stories are the most fundamental way we learn. They have a beginning, a middle, and an end.

They teach without preaching, encouraging both personal reflection and public discussion.

Stories inspire wonder and awe; they allow a listener to imagine another time and place, to find the universal in the particular, and to feel empathy for others. They preserve individual and collective memory and speak to both the adult and the child' (p.33)."

from: The role of narrative in museum exhibitions, by Lynda Kelly, 2010

Niche (N)

A 'niche' is a shallow recess in a wall that is used to display a statue or some other object (see picture). An 'niche market' is used to indicate a small, specialized market for a specific object or service. 

Deaf Museums target a 'niche' market of deaf people, sign language users, people interested in deafness, sign languages.

Object Theatre (N)

"Object theatre" is an exhibition strategy, akin to the old-fashioned sound and light show, which uses computer technologies to create multimedia and multi-sensory contexts for museum objects. They are designed to bring objects to life without necessitating a hands-on experience. "

From: Storytelling, the real work of Museums, by Leslie Bedford, 2001

Oral History (N)

The personal recollections of people who participated in historical events.