The Ian Potter Museum of Art (the Potter) – a snapshot
 University’s only art museum
 16,000+ objects in the collection ranging from Classical
Antiquity to Contemporary Art.
 90% of the collection is catalogued
 All ‘primary’ collections have been digitally photographed
 13 – 16 exhibitions per year; half are collection based, half
‘loaned’ exhibitions
 1500 items on loan across campus
 Staffing: 8 permanent full time; 8 permanent part time; 4
contract; 6 casual
 Collections Management staffing: 2 full time, 1 part-time
Collections Management Systems at the Potter
 Cataloguing of the University Art Collection began in the 1960s with a
very basic card cataloguing system
 1980s - an inventory of the collection identified the need for a new
computer system that would record the collection - called Titan, this
upgraded to TexPress in the 1990s and in 2002 the museum upgraded
to EMu.
 EMu on a server managed by the IT division of the university, server
located in a separate building to the museum.
 Primary use of EMu for cataloguing, tracking, valuations, audits, loans
from the collection, long term loans.
 Currently on version 4.0.02
 Minor modifications to reporting functions and valuation module.
 Future modification will continue to be made on the valuations
module due to the requirements imposed by the Financial Operations
division of the university.
Summary tab – Catalogue Module
Financial Valuations tab – Catalogue Module
The Potter website
 Website completely upgraded in 2012
 Modification to the Potter IMu completed
mid April 2013
 Fatfish – web design company, to create
the ‘shell’ page to ensure the ‘look’ of the
online search page is in keeping with the
rest of the website.
Online search – list view
Online search – detail
The Potter, the uni student & KE
KE projects with lecturers for University of Melbourne
students.
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‘Mixed Reality interface’ The project has two distinct aspects. The first - to
build a web service that utilises GPS coordinates to provide location data,
which links to specific artworks in the Grimwade Collection identified as
depicting the specific location. Users will access artwork
images/information on the artworks through the web service, and have
directions to other GPS locations related to Grimwade works. The second
phase will be an App fed by the web service that can be used inside the Ian
Potter Museum of Art that identifies selected Grimwade Collection works
and provides images of contemporary Melbourne related by geographical
origin. In the pilot phase of the project a small selection of Grimwade
works will be chosen for the App, with the possibility of extending the
App’s functionality into greater numbers of artworks and data.
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Meirza Heyder, Masters (Computer Sci) student with Dr Aaron Harwood,
from Computing and Information Systems , worked with Kim Ng at KE and
used KE’s IMu Java API to retrieve information and images from the
museums EMu database using IMu. Meirza then developed the GPS
coding for the images as part of his project.
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The project will combine the research undertaken by Susi Matovski,
Grimwade Intern, on Melbourne public houses represented in the
Grimwade Print Collection and the interface will show the viewer via an
app where the public house used to, or still does, stand in real time.
The Potter, the uni student & KE
Masters of Art Curatorship & EMu
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In conjunction with KE, we will be developing core
curriculum content with the course co-ordinator , Dr
Alison Inglis, for the Masters of Art Curatorship course.
Students will be trained in manual cataloguing - variety of
art works at the Potter by the Collections Management
staff. The students will then transfer their manual
cataloguing records onto EMu.
Training in EMu provide by Collections Management staff
Resource – software and computers supplied via KE in
their training room facilities.
Course objectives and outcomes set by Dr Inglis
Benefits
* For KE this will be the ‘test case’ for the company
* For the Potter – continue to contribute to the academic
learning of the university students
* For students – real training in one of the most widely
used CMS in Australia.
* For the academic – strengthens the course content and
to offer a more comprehensive program of studies to the
students.
The Ian Potter Museum of Art
Robyn Hovey
Collections Manager
The Ian Potter Museum of Art
The University of Melbourne
Ph: +61 3 8344 7933
Mob: +61 417 130 703
Email: rfh@unimelb.edu.au