Museum label
Encyclopedia
A museum label or caption is a label
describing an object exhibited in a museum
, or one introducing a room or area, or the whole museum.Writing Exhibit Labels / object labelsThe Enduring Label — How Shall We Label Our Exhibit Today? Applying the Principles of On-Line Publishing to an On-Site Exhibition
says that the first label a visitor should see should explain your exhibit display in general. The introduction label should be a “teaser” and talk about the main sections of your exhibit to encourage people to see the rest. If there is something significant or special of the main exhibit, it should be introduced here. At this point the visitor should have a good feeling what the museum is generally about (i.e. museum of Titantic artifacts
). Visitors should understand immediately what they are going to see and they should desire to want to see the entire exhibit. Perhaps a brochure would accompany the introduction explaining the main museum, the price, and the hours.
(a.k.a. Belshalti-nannar museum) originally dating to circa 530BCE.Casey, p. "First Public Museum" Around 530 B.C.E. in Ur, an educational museum containing a collection of labeled antiquities was founded by Ennigaldi-Nannathe, daughter of Nabonidus, the last king of Babylonia.
The "museum labels" of the 20th century and 21st century BCE items found in Ennigaldi's museum were labeled in 3 different languages on clay cylinders as to what the centuries old objects were.Woolley, Ur of the Chaldees pp. 252–259
Some of these artifacts were:
Museum-like behavior occurred as early as the 19th-century BCE which gave indications of steps of labeling and cataloging antiquities.Woolley, Excavations at Ur: a record of twelve years' work., p. 236
A "museum label" cylinder tablet describing 100 year old antiquity objects of circa 2000 BCE read,
Other advanced digital technology used by some museums is the use of barcode
s on their museum labels.
Label
A label is a piece of paper, polymer, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or article, on which is printed a legend, information concerning the product, addresses, etc. A label may also be printed directly on the container or article....
describing an object exhibited in a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
, or one introducing a room or area, or the whole museum.Writing Exhibit Labels / object labelsThe Enduring Label — How Shall We Label Our Exhibit Today? Applying the Principles of On-Line Publishing to an On-Site Exhibition
Introduction labels
Kim Kenney, curator of the William McKinley Presidential Library and MuseumWilliam McKinley Presidential Library and Museum
The William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library of 25th U.S. President William McKinley. The library is owned and operated by the Stark County Historical Society, and located in Canton, Ohio, where McKinley built his career as lawyer, prosecuting attorney,...
says that the first label a visitor should see should explain your exhibit display in general. The introduction label should be a “teaser” and talk about the main sections of your exhibit to encourage people to see the rest. If there is something significant or special of the main exhibit, it should be introduced here. At this point the visitor should have a good feeling what the museum is generally about (i.e. museum of Titantic artifacts
Titanic museum (Pigeon Forge, Tennessee)
The Titanic Museum is a two-story museum shaped like the RMS Titanic. It is located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and opened on April 8, 2010. It is built half-scale to the original ship. Similar and likely to the one in Branson, Missouri, the museum holds 400 pre-discovery artifacts in twenty...
). Visitors should understand immediately what they are going to see and they should desire to want to see the entire exhibit. Perhaps a brochure would accompany the introduction explaining the main museum, the price, and the hours.
Section labels
A section label is a mini introduction. It consists of sub-topics in a museum exhibition. Kenney says they should represent the "meat" of the museum. If the section is large, perhaps more than one section label is in order. The description should consist of 100-200 words or thereabouts. The visitor should not be strained to read all the labels, so they should be on the short side if anything. In this case "less" is "more" (effective).Object labels
Object labels are the smallest. They just describe the individual object they are displayed next to. Typically the title of the work or a descriptive title phrase is given, followed by the date and place of creation, and the materials or technique of the object. Increasingly, there may be a brief description or commentary. An accession number is often given, and often the accession date. If the object is included in an audio guide or some other form of tour, there may be a symbol indicating this. Kenney says she prefers in an object label a one word title followed by a 25–50 word description for a museum label. She explains that people want specific aspects of the object they might not notice at first glance or might not have already known (i.e. something unusual, material made of, date of artifact, who made). Most people want to know specifics like when it was made, why it was made, usage and when it became part of the museum.Credit panel
Practice varies as to whether accession dates and donor information are included. Some donations, especially from government organizations, may specify a credit on the label. Loaned objects are usually specified in some way. It is the opinion of Kenney that donor information clutters up the object label. She believes it is better to give a list of donors on a credit panel.History
The first known "museum labels" in a museum are from the Ennigaldi-Nanna's museumEnnigaldi-Nanna's museum
Ennigaldi-Nanna's museum is the first museum known to historians dating to circa 530 BCE.Casey, p. "Public Museum" Around 530 B.C.E. in Ur, an educational museum containing a collection of labeled antiquities was founded by Ennigaldi-Nanna the, daughter of Nabonidus, the last king of...
(a.k.a. Belshalti-nannar museum) originally dating to circa 530BCE.Casey, p. "First Public Museum" Around 530 B.C.E. in Ur, an educational museum containing a collection of labeled antiquities was founded by Ennigaldi-Nannathe, daughter of Nabonidus, the last king of Babylonia.
The "museum labels" of the 20th century and 21st century BCE items found in Ennigaldi's museum were labeled in 3 different languages on clay cylinders as to what the centuries old objects were.Woolley, Ur of the Chaldees pp. 252–259
Some of these artifacts were:
- a kudurruKudurruKudurru was a type of stone document used as boundary stones and as records of land grants to vassals by the Kassites in ancient Babylonia between the 16th and 12th centuries BCE. The word is Akkadian for "frontier" or "boundary"...
, Kassite boundary marker (carved with a snake and emblems of various gods). - part of a statue of King ShulgiShulgiShulgi of Urim was the second king of the "Sumerian Renaissance". He reigned for 48 years, dated to 2029 BCE–1982 BCE...
. - clay cone that was part of a building at LarsaLarsaLarsa was an important city of ancient Sumer, the center of the cult of the sun god Utu. It lies some 25 km southeast of Uruk in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate, near the east bank of the Shatt-en-Nil canal at the site of the modern settlement Tell as-Senkereh or Sankarah.-History:According to...
.
Museum-like behavior occurred as early as the 19th-century BCE which gave indications of steps of labeling and cataloging antiquities.Woolley, Excavations at Ur: a record of twelve years' work., p. 236
A "museum label" cylinder tablet describing 100 year old antiquity objects of circa 2000 BCE read,
Future
There are studies recently done that demonstrate the feasibility of a wireless Web-based tool for an in-gallery paperless digital label system, perhaps in the form of "Digital Label Towers" or wall mounted digital displays. Some concepts that could be used then is changing configurations of the museum labels, digitally updating the electronic museum label, usability on various display systems, and integrate third party content.Other advanced digital technology used by some museums is the use of barcode
Barcode
A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data, which shows data about the object to which it attaches. Originally barcodes represented data by varying the widths and spacings of parallel lines, and may be referred to as linear or 1 dimensional . Later they evolved into rectangles,...
s on their museum labels.
Sources
- Casey, Wilson, Firsts: Origins of Everyday Things That Changed the World, Penguin, 2009, ISBN 1592579248.
- León, Vicki, Uppity women of ancient times, Conari Press, 1995, ISBN 1573240109.
- Woolley, Leonard, Ur "of the Chaldees": the final account, Excavations at Ur, Herbert Press, 1982, ISBN 0906969212.
- Woolley, Leonard, Excavations at Ur — A Record of Twelve Years Work by Sir Leonard Woolley, Ernest Benn Limited, 1955, printed in Great Britain.