Translations:De beschrijving van muziekinstrumenten. De collectie van Stichting Logos als case/66/en

Results and points for attention

• In the planned project period (2 years, 80% FTE), we described and documented 200 musical instruments at item level in a scientifically accountable way. Information that cannot be recorded in catalogue form (structured fields) is added as additional documentation. The descriptive records and documentation are linked together. Standards relating to data profiles – such as those used in the heritage sector – should not be adopted blindly, but rather interpreted according to your own needs and wishes. It’s important to be aware of this and allow enough time to determine what the desired result should be, because some decisions cannot always be easily reversed.
• The instruments were recorded on a separate project website and in the Musical Instruments Museum catalogue. This means that the information must be maintained and kept up to date in multiple places, and requires the necessary agreements, in this case with the MIM.
• Several employees from the Foundation were involved in the various parts of this project at different times (describing, photographing, filming, building the project website, etc.) The organisation is sharing knowledge about methods and tools, which is important for the long-term management of the instruments and project outcomes. All employees can find all the information they need about the instruments quickly and easily.
• Godfried-Willem Raes is still building instruments, so the Logos Foundation collection of musical instruments is still growing in that respect. This retroactive project has given significant impetus to a good working method and tools to update the instruments’ registration. New instruments can now be quickly registered and documented as part of the Foundation’s day-to-day work. The necessary agreements have been made with the MIM for this.
• The available information helps the organisation to manage the instruments. Even though some instruments have been lost, a number of new ones have also ‘resurfaced’. The information gathered gives the Foundation a better insight into the composition of its collection and each instrument’s needs, and will help the Foundation to take rational decisions for the day-to-day management, preservation, restoration, insurance, loaning to third parties (in this sense the project results also support the Foundation’s artistic work), etc. in the future. The Foundation can use the results to further develop its vision for the instruments, as working instruments and as heritage.
• This project purposefully paid no attention to a (cultural-historical) valuation of the instruments. However, a valuation process for these instruments will be set up in collaboration with CEMPER in the course of 2021. We strongly believe that this process – in which we want to involve various stakeholders – will deliver further insights.
• The collection is being made accessible via two platforms: Carmentis (the public catalogue from the Koninklijke Musea for Kunst en Geschiedenis – Art & History Museum – which is affiliated with the MIM) and a separate project website. This ensures the information that is made public is passed on to various target groups: research, education, instrument builders (in training). The information provided can be aligned to the target group’s needs.