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The findings of the surveys and recommendations of the roundtable
meetings established that there was strong agreement on the
categories of information that should constitute the standard
(see Protecting Cultural Objects in the Global Information
Society: The Making of Object ID, Getty Information Institute,
1997). The result is Object ID, a standard that is best defined
in terms of the ways in which it can be implemented:
- It provides a checklist of the information required
to identify stolen or missing objects,
- It is a documentation standard that establishes the
minimum level of information needed to describe an object
for purposes of identification,
- It is a key building block in the development of information
networks that will allow divers organisations to exchange
descriptions of objects rapidly,
- It provides a solid basis for training programmes that
teach the documentation of objects.
The standard has been developed in response to an identified
need, and is designed to be usable by non-specialists and
to be capable of being implemented in traditional, non-computerised
ways of making inventories and catalogues as well as in sophisticated
computerised databases. Because Object ID is designed to be
used by a number of communities, and by specialists and non-specialists
alike, it identifies broad concepts rather than specific fields
and uses simple, non-technical language. Similarly, its function
as a checklist usable by the public led to the decision to
present the definitions of the information categories in the
form of questions — such as "What materials is the
object made of?" — an approach that was found to
be more comprehensible to non-specialists than definitions
in the form of statements.
It is important to point out that Object ID is not an alternative
to existing standards; rather it is a core standard created
for a very specific purpose — that of describing cultural
objects to enable them to be identified. As such it can be
incorporated into existing systems and nested within existing
standards. For example, in August 1997 the Executive Council
of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) adopted a resolution
that "A museum should be able to generate from its collection
information system such data (preferably according to the
'Object ID' standard) that can identify an object in case
of theft or looting." Similarly, it has been nested within
the Spectrum standard for museum information developed by
the Museum Documentation Association (UK). It has also been
incorporated into a number of law-enforcement databases, including
the National Stolen Art File of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(USA).
Combatting the illicit trade in cultural objects requires
international collaboration among a variety of types of organisations
in both the public and private sectors. The contribution of
the Object ID project has been to identify a minimum standard
for describing cultural objects, to encourage the making of
descriptions of objects in both private and public ownership,
and to bring together organisations that can encourage the
implementation of the standard, as well as those that will
play a part in developing networks along which this information
can circulate. |
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contents | foreword | introduction | standards | appendix | bibliography |
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