A hybrid collection does not fit well into one row per artwork. An installation may bring together an object, a computer, files, software, accounts and documentation; each part has a different location, condition and set of rights. The inventory must describe the unity of the artwork and make it possible to locate its components.
An inventory is not a catalogue raisonné
The inventory provides the minimum information needed to answer for the items in your care. Historical research and extended description can grow later. Start with identity, ownership, location, components, condition and access.
Collections Trust publishes Spectrum, a collections management standard. Its inventory procedure serves to check that you hold the basic information needed to be accountable for the objects in your care.
Define the unit of record
Decide what the main record represents:
- conceptual artwork;
- copy;
- edition;
- installation;
- set;
- component;
- exhibition copy;
- version.
An artwork should not be confused with each file that makes it up. Use hierarchical relationships: main artwork, copy and physical or digital components.
Assign identifiers
Every entity that needs tracking should have a stable identifier. Avoid using the title, a file name or a URL as the sole identifier.
Components can derive from the main identifier, for example COL-0042-C03. Digital copies can add function and version without losing the link to the artwork.
Record provenance and legal status
Note authorship, title, date, acquisition, seller or donor, contract, invoice, certificate, edition and number. Keep separate:
- ownership of the carrier;
- exploitation rights;
- software licences;
- service credentials;
- access restrictions;
- personal data.
Owning the equipment or the copy does not automatically grant rights to modify or reproduce the artwork.
Describe physical components
For each component record:
- name and function;
- manufacturer, model and serial number;
- dimensions and materials;
- marks or inscriptions;
- condition;
- location;
- relationship to the artwork;
- status: constitutive, replaceable, consumable or accessory.
Do not treat all equipment as interchangeable without artistic documentation.
Describe digital components
Record file, format, size, version, date, checksum, storage medium and logical location. Distinguish:
- master;
- preservation copy;
- exhibition copy;
- derivative;
- documentation;
- backup copy.
Include repositories, databases, containers, virtual machines and configurations when they form part of how the artwork works. The guide How to prepare creative code so that it can run again covers preparing the environment.
Software, accounts and dependencies
Document the operating system, libraries, plugins, firmware, APIs, domains, certificates, accounts and external services. Do not store passwords in the record. State the access procedure and the reserved location of secrets.
Note the licensee, the licence, renewal and the possibility of transfer. A technical copy without a sufficient licence may be unusable.
Physical and logical location
A hybrid artwork may be, at the same time:
- in a gallery room;
- in a store;
- on loan;
- on a server;
- in a repository;
- in an external copy;
- in a third party’s account.
Record movements with date, origin, destination, person responsible and reason. Do not overwrite the previous location without keeping a history.
Condition and operation
Condition is not limited to visible damage. Also record:
- start-up;
- stability;
- image and sound;
- interaction;
- network;
- accounts;
- compatibility;
- obsolescence;
- differences from the reference version.
Keep captures and video of the artwork running. To choose between migration, emulation and reinterpretation, see the guide on obsolescence.
DOMUS and CER.es
DOMUS is the museum documentation programme linked to the Ministry of Culture’s Normalización Documental de Museos. The Ministry distributes licences free of charge through agreements with the institutions concerned, which must contact the Subdirección General de Museos Estatales.
CER.es is an online collective catalogue that brings together information and images of cultural assets held by the museums and institutions of the Red Digital de Colecciones de Museos de España. It is a catalogue for dissemination, not an internal inventory system.
Access control
Classify fields as public, internal or reserved. Keep out of publications:
- passwords;
- private keys;
- unnecessary personal data;
- vulnerabilities;
- sensitive locations;
- confidential valuations.
Publishing the catalogue should not expose the infrastructure of the artwork.
Audit
Check periodically a sample or the whole collection:
- existence;
- location;
- match with the record;
- accessibility of files;
- checksum verification;
- validity of licences;
- physical condition;
- operation;
- copies.
Record the audit and any incidents. Do not silently correct the history.
Minimum list of fields
- identifier;
- title and authorship;
- date and version;
- provenance;
- ownership and rights;
- edition or copy;
- components and relationships;
- physical and logical location;
- files and checksums;
- software and dependencies;
- condition and operation;
- movements;
- access restrictions;
- associated documentation;
- date and person responsible for review.
Further reading
- Preserving a digital artwork.
- How to prepare creative code so that it can run again.
- Obsolescence: migrate, emulate or reinterpret an artwork.
Sources
- Collections Trust, Spectrum: Inventory.
- Ministerio de Cultura, Gestión de colecciones: DOMUS y CER.es.
- Ministerio de Cultura, Red Digital de Colecciones de Museos de España.
Status: Verified. Reviewed: 12 October 2026. Adapt the inventory to the size of the collection and to the entity’s real responsibility. If you find a mistake, write to me.