Adding an ‘item’ (artifact)
Acquisition policy
See New artifact registration process
What is an ‘item’?
On this web site, artifacts are referred to as “items.” An artifact is an object made by a human being. Artifacts include art, tools, and clothing made by people of any time and place.
On this web site an ‘item’ is a record of all of the information pertaining to an artifact. Each item can have one or more images or videos attached to it.
The 48th Museum includes a wide variety of items:
- Uniforms
- Weapons
- Equipment
- Headdress
- Accoutrements
- Medals
- Documents including training manuals, war diaries, event programs, etc.
- Pamphlets
- Images – including photographs and digital files
- Art
- Memorabilia
Who can add items?
Only users with Contributor status or higher can add a new artifact record to the system. However, until the record is “published,” public visitors and Subscribers cannot see the new record.
Once an item record has been created and the author is satisfied with the content and attached images, the record must be “published.” This process is performed by someone with the Editor or Administrator capability.
Photos / images
Generally, each hard (printed) copy photo held by the Museum will be represented by an “Item” record. If the Museum does not have a hard copy then management must make the decision whether or not to create an “Item” record. A large number of digital images relating to “soldiers” have been donated by third parties.
Create a new item
To create a new item, you can either:
- Go to the Admin page (called Dashboard) by clicking on “48th Highlanders Museum” in the upper left corner of the screen. Select Dashboard, click the “Items” menu item on the left of the Dashboard page then click “Add New” or
- Click “+ New” on the Admin bar and select “Item.”
When the “Add new Item” page appears, proceed as follows:
Entering information
In order to ensure your work is not lost, click the “Save draft” button near the upper right corner of the screen from time to time. Do not leave this screen until you have saved your work.
Ignore the meta-boxes in the right hand column of your screen (the boxes labelled Tabs, Eras, Classifications, Locations, Item Status, Condition Codes and Collections.) Any entries you make in these boxes will be ignored. You should hide these boxes by clicking on Screen options in the upper right corner of your screen and unchecking the names of each of these boxes. Do NOT UNCHECK either Featured image or Additional item details.
Title
Enter the short title of the ‘Item.’ The title should never be more than 60 characters long (including spaces) and it should describe the item sufficiently well so that it can be uniquely identified just from the title. Don’t just put the name of the subject of a painting. Describe it as Joe Bloggs oil painting.
Description
Enter the description of the ‘item’ in the area indicated. This field has a virtually unlimited capacity for storing information. Before you decide what details you want to record about the object or image, you should consider the information that should be recorded in other fields.
Generally the format will include the following:
- What is the artifact. Give its name and describe it physically.
- Describe any unique elements or history of the artifact
- If there is a specific Highlander associated with the artifact, give a brief synopsis of that soldier. Write in narrative format.
Example for Medals
4 Medals: a) 1914-15 Star, b) British War Medal, c) Allied Victory Medal with Mentioned in Dispatches device, d) Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long Service Medal (George V)
The Mentioned in Dispatches (MID) device was awarded to recognize CSM Deharte’s gallant conduct while a Prisoner of War.
CSM (Company Sergeant Major) Lewis Deharte joined (where/when), was captured (where/when) and made a prisoner of war. After the war he returned to the 48th Highlanders home battalion and rose to become Regimental Sergeant Major (when).
Read the instructions below for the Associated People, Associated Place(s), and Associated Event fields.
Featured image
See Images for instructions. Make sure that the image CAPTION is filled in and, ideally the image description. Visitors will only see the CAPTION when they see the image.
Classification
Required field. You must specify the classification using the entry field in the middle of your screen. Do NOT try to set the Classification using the Classification meta-box which lists all of the Classification codes with checkboxes.
Most classifications require just a single selection. However, some classifications have sub-classifications.
No sub-classifications
Click on the field and the list of available classifications will appear. Select one. (Sub-classifications are those which are preceded by a dash.)
Classification has sub-classifications
It is essential that you select both the classification (the “parent”) and the sub-classification (the “child”). You must select the “parent” classification first. The list of sub-classifications will appear after you have selected the primary classification code. Select one.
Some classifications affect the entry of additional information.
- Images. If the item you are editing or adding is an image, then the “Image type” field will appear.
- Documents. If the item you are editing or adding is a document, then the “Document attachment” field WILL be visible but the “Secondary images” gallery WILL NOT be visible.
- Documents. If the item you are editing or adding is a pamphlet, then the “Document attachment” field WILL NOT be visible but the “Secondary images” gallery WILL be visible.
Image type
This field is only applicable if the Classification is “Images.” If the Museum only has a digital copy, select “Digital only” and set the Location to “Digital files.” Otherwise show the location of the hard copy.
Secondary images gallery
Ideally every artifact record should include a photo of the artifact. The best one that is available must be attached to the artifact record as a “featured image” (a WordPress term for a single image associated with a single “item.”) If you have more than one image of the item, then add a small gallery of images. See Images for instructions.
Make sure that the image CAPTION is filled in and, ideally the image description. Visitors will only see the CAPTION when they see the image.
Document attachment
This field will contain the link to a pdf document. (Currently only PDF files can be attached to items and only one document can be attached.) Click on the Add file button and either upload a new PDF file or select a PDF file from the Media library.
Display options
This field is only available to Administrators and Editors. Controls if and where this item is displayed. If you select ‘Browse’ the item will appear on the ‘Browse’ screen. The other selections control whether or not this item is included in one of the item carousels on the Home page. Select all that apply or don’t select any. (This field is only visible to Administrator and Editors.)
Linked name(s)
When you create a link to a soldier, the system will create a link back to this item. Click on the search bar and enter the last name of the soldier. Scroll down the list to find the correct soldier. You can include links to multiple “soldiers” but usually there should be only one. See Relationship links for more information.
Associated name(s)
Even though a link to a soldier may have been created in the field above, it is OK to include the same name in the “Associated Names” field.
Where there are multiple names, list them separated by semi-colons. List last names with first names or initials. Use full names instead of initials whenever possible. Example: Smith, John G; Adams, Peter George
There may be several Haldenby’s in the database and you want to ensure that someone who is searching finds the right person. If you are aware that names may have been spelled in a variety of ways, you may wish to include all of the known variations in this field. Example: for Bill DeHart include: De Hart, De Harte, and DeHart. (Note the spaces in some of the variations.) This will enable someone searching for Bill to see that alternate forms of the name might exist.
Associated event
In many cases this field should be left blank. In other cases include both the name of the event and the date.
Associated place(s)
In many cases this field should be left blank. However, in the case of photos, you could include where the photo was taken. In the case of events, record the location.
Linked artifact(s)
Use this field to link this artifact to one or more related artifacts. Click on the search bar and enter an appropriate search term. (Now you will understand why it is so important to carefully consider the title of each artifact.) Scroll down the list to find the correct item. When you create a link to another item, the system will create a link back to this item.
Technical description
Include details such as the name of the manufacturer, the materials, dimensions, etc.
Era code
Required field. This code allows web site visitors to search the database for all items from a particular era. Click on the field and the list of available eras will appear. You can select multiple Eras.
You must select this code using the entry field in the middle of your screen. Do NOT try to set the Era code using the Era meta-box which lists all of the Era codes with checkboxes.
Location
Required field. You must specify the location using the entry field in the middle of your screen. Do NOT try to set the Location code using the Location meta-box which lists all of the Location codes with checkboxes.
Most of the available values require just a single selection. However, some locations have sub-locations .
No sub-locations
Click on the field and the list of available locations will appear. Select one. (Sub-locations are those preceded by a dash.)
Location has sub-locations
It is essential that you select both the location (the “parent”) and the sub-locations (the “child”). You must select the “parent” location first. The list of sub-locations will appear after you have selected the primary location code. Select one.
See Location codes for more detail.
Location detail
If you require further specificity about the location of the item, then you can use this field. Here you can enter a file folder number, a page number in a binder, etc.
Accession number
Required field. This field is under the “Administration” tab but only Editors and Authors can see or edit this field. For more information on accession numbers see Accession numbers. The system requires the input of a valid accession number and it will not allow the publication of an item with a duplicate accession number.
Follow-up
This field is only available to Administrators and Editors. This field allows management to flag an item to ensure changes are made or that some specified action was taken.
Notes
You can record loans in and out, items out to and back from repair, items needing verification of some or all of the data that were input, etc.
Item status
Required field. This field is under the “Administration” tab. For more information on status codes see Item status. The default status is “Normal”.
You must select this code using the entry field in the middle of your screen. Do NOT try to set the Item status code using the Item status meta-box which lists all of the Item status codes with checkboxes.
When setting the status to “De-accessioned” it is essential that you select both the status (the “parent”) and the sub-status (the “child”). You must select “De-accessioned” first. The list of sub-statii will appear after you have selected the primary status code.
Restrictions
This field is under the “Administration” tab. If the donor, lender or the management of the museum has placed any restrictions on the display, use or return of the item, then enter these here.
Condition code
Required field. This field is under the “Administration” tab. The Condition code allows you to ‘flag’ items for repair or restoration, to indicate that damage has already been observed and recorded, etc. The default ‘condition’ is “Not specified.” Change to a different code only if you are able to accurately assign an appropriate code.
You must select this code using the entry field in the middle of your screen. Do NOT try to set the Condition code using the Condition meta-box which lists all of the Condition codes with checkboxes.
Condition description
This field is under the “Administration” tab. If the condition code is other than “Not specified” or “Excellent” then you must enter a description here of the damage or wear and tear and recommended steps, if any, for repair or restoration.
Source
Required field. This field is under the “Provenance” tab. This indicates how the museum obtained the item.
Source details
This field is under the “Provenance” tab. Enter the name and contact details (address, phone, email, relation to original owner of artefact) of the donor, lender, etc. If the item was transferred in from another organization then enter the name, address details and contact person of that organization.
Finishing up
When you have finished creating the Item click the “Preview” button to see what the Item will look like on the web site. When you click the “Submit for Review” button, the Item will be saved as a “Pending Review”, and an e-mail notification will be sent automatically to a Museum manager. (Note that if you are an Editor or an Administrator the publication status will be immediately set to “Published”.)
If you are an Author, Editor or Administrator, click the “Publish” button to make the item visible on the web site.