Significance in a nutshell
Significance is a way of investigating and communicating the meaning and importance of individual collection items and entire collections. An item’s significance is made up of its history, uses, and the aesthetic, scientific social and spiritual values it holds for people and communities.
Significance is communicated using criteria to assess and describe the above values. The
formal documentation of significance is referred to as a Statement of Significance.
In the Victorian Collections CMS, significance is documented at item level. Significance
information is entered in the Context section of an Item record.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO DOCUMENT SIGNIFICANCE?
Assessing and describing the significance of a collection item or an entire collection:
- provides a framework to make informed and consistent decisions about your collection
- assists your organisation to prioritise resources
- assists in identifying key messages to communicate to your audience
- substantiates funding applications
Including significance information in the catalogue ensures that it is documented and stored in a centralised fashion and is accessible to inform collection management decision making.
THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF SIGNIFICANCE
The publication Significance 2.0 outlines Primary and Secondary criteria, which provide a framework to assess and articulate and item’s significance. galleries, libraries, archives and museums to assess and articulate an item’s significance. You can use the information within the Item record in the VC CMS to assess the item against the criteria.
The Primary Criteria serve to articulate the item's inherent cultural value; why the item itself is significant:
HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE
Your item's historic significance can be determined using the information in the Contextual or historic information field. Ask yourself:
- Is the item associated with a particular person, group, event or activity?
- Does it tell us something about a historic theme?
- Does it contribute to our understanding of a period or place?
AESTHETIC SIGNIFICANCE
Your item's aesthetic significance can be determined using the information in the Physical description field, and the Art movements field if the item you are cataloguing is an artwork. Ask yourself:
- Is the item well designed, crafted or made?
- Is it original or innovative?
SCIENTIFIC OR RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE
Your item's scientific, research or technical significance can be determined using the using the information in the Contextual or historic information field. Ask yourself:
- Do researchers have a current or potential interest in this item?
- Which particular things about this item constitute scientific interest or research value?
SOCIAL OR SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE
Your item's social or spiritual significance can be determined using the using the information in the Contextual or historic information field. Ask yourself:
- Is this item presently of special value to a community group?
- How is this demonstrated?
- Has your organisation consulted the community about the importance of the item for them?
The Comparitive Criteria articulate an item's level of significance when compared with other, like items. Where one or more Comparitive Criteria are present, this serves to amplify the item's inherent significance.
STRONG PROVENANCE
Whether or not your item has strong provenance can be determined using the information in the Provenance section. Ask yourself:
- Is this item’s ownership, origin and production clearly documented?
- Do you have information documenting who owned or made it, or when and how it was used?
RARITY
Your item's rarity can be determined using the information in the Contextual or historic information field. Ask yourself:
- Is this item singular or unique?
- Does it have special qualities that distinguish it from other examples of this item?
- Is it one of few surviving examples of this specific item?
REPRESENTATIVENESS
Your item's representativeness can be determined using the information in the Contextual or historic information field. Ask yourself:
- Is this item a typical or characteristic example of its type or class?
CONDITION OR COMPLETENESS
The condition or completeness of your item can be determined using the information in the Physical description field and the Condition section. Ask yourself:
- Is this item in unusually good condition for its type?
- Is it unusually intact or complete?
- Does it show evidence of use or repairs?
- Is it still operational?
- Is it in an original and unrestored condition?
INTERPRETIVE CAPACITY
The interpretive capacity of your item can be determined by its relevance to your organisation’s purpose and interpretive priorities, and to other items in the collection. This could be identified using Subjects to identify like themes throughout your collection or through the Relationships section, which will reveal the connections between objects and stories they tell as part of a collective. Ask yourself:
- Will this item strengthen my organisation's ability to communicate key themes and narratives?
- Will this item strengthen and augment the interpretation of other items in my organisation's collection?
Based on the answers to these questions, you can start to write a Statement of Significance. There is no set length or format for Statements of Significance; this will depend on the item itself, including how significant it is, and how much information you have available about it. You can find example Statements of Significance on pages 25 and 41 of Significance 2.0.
FURTHER RESOURCES
- Collections Council of Australia, Significance 2.0: A Guide to Assessing the Significance of Cultural Heritage Collections, https://www.arts.gov.au/what-we-do/museums-libraries-and-galleries/significance-20
- Museums and Galleries of NSW, What is Significance 2.0 and why use it?, https://mgnsw.org.au/sector/resources/online-resources/collection-management/what-is-significance-2-0-and-why-use-it/
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