The Catalogue & Items

The Catalogue is the heart of MuseumStack, where you record detailed metadata, provenance, and physical status for every item in your collection.

Search & Discovery

Use the powerful browse and search tools to find objects:

• Full-Text Search: Search across keywords, titles, and descriptions with typo tolerance.
• Advanced Filtering: Narrow results by Department, Object Type, Classification, or Date.
• Custom Views: Toggle between a dense list view or a media-rich grid view.

Item Record Details

A standard item record is organised into several tabs:

1. Core Details: Title, Object Number, Classification, and Brief Description.
2. Context: Production details, associations, and historical context.
3. Physical Description: Dimensions, materials, and inscriptions.
4. Media: High-resolution images and document attachments.
5. Valuations: A history of formal valuations with dates, amounts, and appraiser details.
6. Movements: A complete log of every location the item has occupied.
7. Related Items: Links to other records in the collection that share provenance or context.
8. Custom Fields: Metadata fields specific to your museum’s needs.

Editing Records

If you have the necessary permissions, you can edit records to improve data quality:

1. Open an Item record.
2. Click the Edit icon (pencil).
3. Modify data across any tab.
4. Click Save to create a new audited version of the record.

Dynamic Form Layouts

Depending on the nature of your collection (Art vs. Natural History vs. Archive), different fields are relevant for different objects. MuseumStack supports Dynamic Form Layouts:

• Administrators define custom layouts (e.g., an “Art Object” layout vs. a “Geology Specimen” layout) via the Form Builder in Administration.
• When viewing or editing an Item, switch between layouts using the dropdown in the top-right corner.
• The system remembers your layout preference per object type.

AI-Assisted Cataloguing

MuseumStack includes AI tools to accelerate data entry:

• Describe from Photo: Upload a photo of an object and receive a draft description and materials list.
• Improve Cataloguing: Receive AI suggestions to enrich sparse catalogue records.
• Condition Assessment: Upload a photo for an AI-generated condition report.

See the AI Assistant guide for full details.

Publishing to the Web

MuseumStack allows you to curate which records are visible to the public via external portals or APIs.

• Single Item: On an Item Detail page, click Publish to toggle public visibility.
• Bulk Publishing: From the Catalogue list view, select multiple items using the checkboxes, click the Actions dropdown, and choose Publish Selected Objects.

Important: Changing an item’s status to “Deaccessioned” or attaching a highly restrictive Cultural Protocol will automatically override its published state and remove it from public view.

Related Items

You can link related records together to build a web of provenance, stylistic connections, or shared history:

1. Open an Item record and navigate to the Related Items tab.
2. Click Add Relation.
3. Search for and select the related item.
4. Choose a relationship type (e.g., Part Of, Formerly Paired With, Created By Same Artist).

Permissions Required

• View Records (items_read): Search and view all non-restricted records.
• Create Records (items_create): Add new items to the catalogue.
• Edit Records (items_update): Modify existing record metadata (also required for AI tools).
• Delete Records (items_delete): Remove item records.
• Propose Deaccession (items_deaccession): Initiate the formal deaccession process.
• View Sensitive Data (items_redacted_view): View fields marked as restricted by Cultural Protocols.