Publishing exhibitions using KE EMu

4 October 2005

Julian Tomlin

Head of Administration

Contents

• Introduction to Manchester and the Whitworth • Purchasing KE EMu• Publishing collections• Supporting exhibitions management• Publishing exhibitions

• Collaborative working• Techniques in publishing in KE EMu• Enhancements to KE EMu

Manchester

• The first industrial city

• Sport

• Music

• Manchester’s Renaissance

• Manchester Museums Consortium

The first industrial city

Two football teams

Music

Manchester’s Renaissance

A new skyline

Manchester MuseumsConsortium

• Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester

• Manchester Museum

• Manchester City Galleries

• People’s History Museum

• The Whitworth Art Gallery

The Whitworth Art Gallery

Purchasing KE Emu

• Designated Museum Collections– Funding from Government

• Research into different models • Joint Procurement 1999/2000• Decision to have separate databases

– Shared server for MM and WAG– Later used to publish web portal

• Commitment to publish jointly

‘Manchester Museums Unwrapped’

• Web portal to publish collections jointly• Same funding stream, collaboration aided

other funding• Launched in 2003

– Technical challenge– Research into portal

• Facility broadly welcomed• Too few images, no narrative information• Conventional information wanted - what’s on, map

www.museumsunwrapped.man.ac.uk

The Whitworth Art Gallery

• www.manchester.ac.uk/whitworth

• Publishing– Objects and related multimedia– Exhibitions– Narratives

Home Page inc Searches

Object results

Advanced search

Contact sheet

Object detail

Exhibition Management

• Learning curve in using KE EMu– Frequent users v. infrequent users– Reluctance to master extended features– Need for specific features

• Collaborative project– The Whitworth with Dulwich Picture Gallery,

London; Manchester City Galleries– Enhance KE EMu– Exchange of exhibitions information using XML

Exhibition Developments

• Managing exhibitions– Loans module

• Adding object status, requested, approved

– Events module• Adding curator, designer, registrar• Adding object status, event object number

– Movements module• Adding courier tab

– Catalogue module• Insurance status, multiple currencies, crates and frames

Loans module - Objects

Events module - Objects tab

Movement module - Courier

Catalogue module - Valuation

Other Developments

• Accessions Lots, Bibliography, Catalogue– Auction sales

• Enhancing sale information, adding Hammer price

– Crediting and publishing funders of acquisitions

• Catalogue Module - Provenance– Spoliation, improving accuracy,

identifying individuals• Adding ownership and transfers

• Catalogue Module - Associations– Adding related parties, events, places

Exhibitions Information Exchange

• Touring exhibitions– ‘The Triumph of Watercolour’

‘Walter Sickert: Drawing is the Thing’

• Using XML– Schema

• Possible partners– UK Nationals, Art handling companies,

European Union

Publishing exhibitions

• Demand for more narrative content• Collection exhibitions

– Unpublished research– Over 100 exhibitions over 12 years– Transfer to KE EMu

• Funded post• Identifying definitive versions• Obsolete software

• Using KE EMU - integrated, easy to update

New web pages

• Exhibition search (and browse)• Results• Exhibition display

– Description, text panels– Link to objects in the catalogue

• Objects results• Object detail

– Label text

Exhibitions search

Exhibition results

Exhibition display

Exhibition display 2

Exhibition object results

Exhibition object display

Adding Value

• Permanent record

• Museology students

• Internet/Intranet

• Better information on What’s On Show

• Use for publishing loan exhibitions

Future developmentsopportunities for partnerships

• Map based searching– Using Getty TGN?

• Cataloguing archive material– The Walter Crane Archive– New Archive tab?

• Wireless networking • Web statistics• Loading and displaying high-res images

Thank you

• Julian.Tomlin@manchester.ac.uk

• http://www.manchester.ac.uk/whitworth