7- CARDS AND FILES
CARDS
Definition
The card is the means through which information about an object is recorded.
Format
It is in the form of a rectangular card, the size of which varies according to the museum concerned. The most
common sizes, however, are A5 (148 mm x 210 mm) and A6 (105 mm x 148 mm). The last few years have seen
greater use of A5 index cards, probably for reasons of cost and ease of use.
Content
A card comprises a number of fields. The information about an object is broken down and distributed between the
different fields.
Example A card from the card catalogue
Field
Information
Accession no.
1995.2.6
Name
Category
Type
Material(s)
Origin
Dimensions
Location:
Kora
Musical instrument
Chordophone
Wood; iron
Mali
Height: 95 cm / Diam: 40 cm
5C
Other fields may be added, e.g. the date of the object, its title, an assessment of its state of conservation, a
description of the object, etc. A photograph or drawing may also be included.
FILES: AN OVERVIEW
Definition and function
A file is a set of cards classified in a given order. In a manual documentation system, it is contained in a file box or
drawer. In a manual documentation system, a basic distinction is made between two types of files: the card
catalogue and the index files. The existence of files facilitates research.
Types:
CARD CATALOGUE (or main catalogue). This is the basic file of the documentation system. The
cards are classified in ascending order of accession number, in the same order as the accession
register. They should under no circumstances be removed from their drawer. For this reason, they
have a hole punched at the bottom and are retained in the drawer by means of a metal bar. An
object’s location code appears on these cards.
INDEX FILES. These serve to carry out research on the collection around a particular topic. They
are created from the card catalogue and are designed according to the types of information most
often searched for or used in the museum. In fact, each museum defines its index files according
to its collections and its needs.
7/Cards and Files
A. Ambourouè Avaro, A. Cardelli - 1996.
Revised 2010
1
Thus in ethnographic museums one finds index files on: Geographical origin, Materials, Ethnic
groups, Categories, etc. Fine arts museums could have index files on: Artist’s name, Iconography,
Technique, etc.
In any case, it is recommended not to create more than 5 index files for the same manual
documentation
system.
With
more
than
5
files
the
system becomes too complicated to manage. If you do have 5 files, remember that you have to
create a minimum of 5 cards for each object in the collection, and sometimes more (see below,
Example 2: Materials Files).
SETTING UP A MANUAL INDEX FILE
Content and organization of the cards
To simplify their system, some museums use identical cards for each of their index files, basing them on the model
of the cards in the card catalogue (only the location code will not be included on the index cards). It is possible to
create several index files with different colored cards in each so that they can be more easily distinguished. Again,
some museums have cards of different shapes/sizes, containing different entries and information depending on the
index. This method is more expensive and difficult to manage, because it requires printing cards of different
formats and having different types of catalogue cases to contain them. Writing the cards is also more laborious
since it is different for each index file.
Keywords and separators
The cards in an index file are classified by headings. The scope of each heading is defined by a so-called
separator, made from very strong rigid cardboard, approximately 1 cm higher than the index cards. One or two
words, comprising a keyword, are written on this visible part of the separator. This keyword is the access key
through which the information required can be obtained. The keyword is defined according to requisite index.
Example 1: Geographical index file
For a geographical file, the separators have as the keyword the names of countries (if the museum concerned has
an international or continental reach) or regions of origin of the objects contained in the collection (if it is a national
museum).
7/Cards and Files
A. Ambourouè Avaro, A. Cardelli - 1996.
Revised 2010
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There will be as many separators as there are countries or regions in the collections. Thus the cards for objects
from Zambia, for example, are classified under the separator “Zambia”, those for objects from Guinea under the
separator “Guinea”, and so on.
Example 2: Materials index file
For a Materials file (one classified according to the materials making up the objects), there will be as many
separators as there are different materials in the collections.
For objects composed of several materials, an index card must be created for each of them. These cards will then
be classified under their respective separator, with the material corresponding to the heading concerned being
emphasized (for example, by underlining it or writing it in bold).
Accession no.
Name
Category
Materials
Provenance
1995.2.6
Saber
Ritual object
Wood; Iron
Benin
Accession no.
Name
Category
Materials
Provenance
1995.2.6
Saber
Ritual object
Wood; Iron
Benin
So, for example, if you are looking for iron objects in a collection, a saber with a wooden handle and an iron blade
will not be missed by the search, since it will be classified both under the separator “Wood” and the separator
“Iron”. Therefore the same card will be found twice in the file, the only distinction between the two of them being the
emphasis on one of the words and their positioning in the file.
Practical advice
v When an object straddles several separators, it is recommended to
proceed as in the case of objects made of more than one material (e.g.
more than one author).
v To further facilitate searches, it is preferable to classify the cards covered
by each separator in numerical order (according to their accession
number).
MAINTENANCE OF FILES
It is essential to keep the files in good order. Any card removed should always be returned to its correct place. A
file that is incorrectly ordered is of little use.
The file case should have a label showing which index it contains.
Files should be kept up to date. All newly acquired objects should be indexed once they have been registered. Any
modifications should be systematically implemented on the whole series of cards relating to that object. The
documentation should evolve with the object, following its path before and after its arrival in the museum. In this
way, the file is not at risk of becoming “fossilized”, i.e. becoming obsolete.
COMPUTERIZED SYSTEM
7/Cards and Files
A. Ambourouè Avaro, A. Cardelli - 1996.
Revised 2010
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Computerization enables to avoid index files. There is only one “card” for each object in the computer,
and this contains all the information on a given artefact. It is the software which searches and orders the “cards”
depending on the query that was asked (with a given keyword). Thus the computerized system enables to gain
considerable time in the filling in of each object card and for making queries.
The updating of information remains essential.
7/Cards and Files
A. Ambourouè Avaro, A. Cardelli - 1996.
Revised 2010
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