Introduction to the Standardization of collection inventories in Africa: the AFRICOM Handbook of Standards

This page outlines the AFRICOM project to encourage the Standardization of collection inventories in Africa and the development of the AFRICOM Handbook of Standards. This is one of a number of pages about museum information standards prepared by the International Committee for Documentation of the International Council of Museums (ICOM-CIDOC). August 1998

Since 1992, International Council of Museums (ICOM) has co-ordinated a series of projects to encourage the development of museums in Africa. One element of this AFRICOM programme has been a project for the Standardization of Collection Inventories in Africa. A Working Group made up of curators from six African countries, the ICOM Secretariat and CIDOC advisors has met each year since 1993 to develop the project. The 1996 meeting was held in Mombasa, Kenya, on 19-21 September and the 1997 meeting in Tunisia.

At the 1995 meeting, we agreed on the structure of a Handbook of standards: documenting African collections/Manuel de normes: documentation des collections Africaines. ISBN 92-9012-029-0). The Handbook aims at establishing common documentation standards for use by museums throughout Africa, to facilitate the development and exchange of information. The finalised Handbook gives guidance on:

• documentation principles and practice: the role of inventories and standards
• computerisation principles and practice
• the fields to use for a primary inventory and a fuller catalogue of a collection, in both the humanities and natural sciences
• recording and terminology guidelines for the use of these fields
• examples of the use of the fields

Copies of the Handbook have been disseminated to all African museums. Under the direction of the AFRICOM Co-ordinating Committee, the six pilot museums will apply the Handbook in their own museums and provide support to other museums in their country and neighbouring countries. With support from ICOM and UNESCO, there is a real expectation that the Handbook will become the basis for documentation practice across the continent. It is also hoped that museums in other regions with African collections will demonstrate the relationship between their own standards and the fields in the Handbook.

The Handbook is available on-line. This version has many graphics and uses frames, so people with slow connections, low-powered computers or older versions of software may have difficulty in accessing it. These problems have been drawn to the attention of ICOM.

The printed version can be obtained from: ICOM, Maison de Unesco, 1, Rue Miollis, 75732, Paris, cedex 15 France; tel.: +33 1 47340500; fax: + 33 1 43067862; e-mail: secretariat@icom.org.

Comments should be sent to the ICOM Secretariat, ICOM, Maison de Unesco, 1, Rue Miollis, 75732, Paris, cedex 15 France; tel.: +33 1 47340500; fax: + 33 1 43067862; e-mail: secretariat@icom.org .

http://cidoc.icom.museum/afstand0.htm
revised/dernière mise à jour: 9th August 1998
Original author / Auteur original: Andrew Roberts
Now maintained by / Maintenant entretenu par: Leonard Will
link to/passerelle vers CIDOC home page/la page d'accueil du CIDOC or ICOM home page/la page d'accueil de l'ICOM
© the International Committee for Documentation of the International Council of Museums/Comité international pour la documentation du Conseil international des musées (ICOM-CIDOC), 1996