Decide on object parts or group and member records

You should decide as an organisation when you use parts and when you use the group/member hierarchy for Object records. You should use them consistently to make searching and reporting easier.

Overview

Before assigning an accession number to each object in your collection, some thought should be given to how your institution will deal with multi-part objects.

You can handle multi-part objects in one of these ways:

Create a single Object record with multiple parts
Create multiple Object records for each part and group them

This page describes each of these approaches and also gives advice on how to catalogue related objects.

Creating a single Object record with multiple parts

When to use parts

We generally suggest using parts when the items you are working with belong to each other as a single entity, but has parts that can be removed without special tools and could be stored separately. For example:

A teapot and its lid.
An entire tea set a set of parts, with 8 cups, 8 saucers, a teapot, and a sugar bowl.
A chair and its broken off arm as separate parts of an object, until they are eventually repaired, as they could be stored in separate locations.

Accession numbers for Object records with parts

A multi-part object can be entered as a single object record with one System ID, and with an accession number expressed as a range. For example:

2023.1.1-10
2023.1.a-f.

The individual parts of the object can then be specifically described and identified in the Object Part field (with 1, 2, 3, a, b, c, or with any identifying system you prefer).

Library and archive collections

If you are working with a library or archive collection, the Object Part field is named Part/Holding. You can use it to record serials, such as a magazine subscription, where it may not be practical to catalogue each issue. You can use the Part/Holding table to record the issue number, name and description for each issue.

Recording information against parts

You can record different information for each part, including location, condition, production, media/materials, treatment, measurement, storage, and valuation information.

The following fields are multi-valued and are each associated with a Part Reference field. This means you can record data about the whole object (identified by the system as 0 - Whole) or about the individual parts you have defined.

Current Location
Usual Location
Inventory Location
Production Details (Secondary)
Condition Keywords
Treatment Keywords
Media/Materials
Measurement
Storage Method
Signature Marks

The Object file also includes five User Defined tables, each of which includes a Part Reference field.

In addition, numerous other fields are multi-valued and associated with a notes field where comments can be associated with a particular part. For example the Registrar Comments field is associated with a date field and a notes field. You might record a general comment and then a note such as The lid of the bowl is a particular problem due to...

Creating single object records with multiple parts is often preferred when most of the data about the object is the same, and the fields listed above can accommodate the additional data about individual parts.

For more information, see Enter parts in an Object record.

Creating multiple Object records for each part and group them

When to use group and member records

We generally suggesting creating group and member records when you need a hierarchical relationship between otherwise independent object records. Often this will be in archival collections, where this is used to describe and record the structure of files, series, and items.

You could also use this in cases where you have a portfolio of artworks, and you want to record the portfolio itself as the highest record in a group, and all of the works it contains as separate records below that.

Accession numbers for group and member records

Multi-part objects could be entered as separate records for each part of an object with each of these having its own System ID. For example:

2023.1.1
2023.1.2
2023.1.3

You can then link these records to each other with the Object - Group/Member & Related Objects window.

You can create an Object record for the group, encompassing common data for all the objects, and then link the group record to individual subordinate or member records.

This method is sometimes preferred when each of the parts is an independent object in its own right, and requires the recording of substantial data in addition to the data common to all the parts.

For more information, see Create Object group and member records.

Linking related Object records

We generally suggest using the Related Objects table where there are separate objects and can function independently, they are not parts of one another.

For example:

A natural science holotype specimen of an insect, and its DNA sample, which are held as separate objects but are related to each other.
A set of objects that were received together as part of a significant acquisition.
Objects that have been used or displayed together but don't have another formal connection, such as flatware and glassware that was used as the table settings for a significant historical dinner.

For more information, see Link related Object records.

Linking accessories to an Object record

You can also use the Related Object table to record accessories that belong to an object.