Collection database
Collection database
The Textile Everyday Culture Collection has a collection database that is available to teaching staff and students and can be viewed by external researchers on request. The database is based on the "WissKI" (Scientific Communication Infrastructure) system now used by many German university collections and was customised to the needs of our collection holdings in collaboration with researchers from the Institute of Material Culture and an external programmer. In addition to the basic data on the objects, it can store comprehensive information on their materiality, production and trade routes, object biographies and university use in teaching and research, and is constantly being expanded. Students are introduced to the theory and practice of inventorying with the help of the database; the following video tutorials are intended to help with this.
How the database works
There are currently two different collections of the Institute of Material Culture in the database: the Textile Objects Archive (TO) and Clothes and Stories (KG).
In the following, Carolin Krämer, former curator of the Textile Everyday Culture Collection, gives an overview of the organisation and structure of the database.
You will find answers to the following questions: How is the database organised? What does the database record? What is the database used for? How is the database integrated into the work of the collection?
The database of the Textile Everyday Culture Collection can be seen as an example. In principle, the organisation and structure can also be transferred to other collections.