MDA Codes
What is an MDA Code?
As part of its work with documentation standards the Collections Trust (and its predecessor body MDA)
has, since the 1970s, been developing and maintaining a scheme which allows the identification of UK
collection-holding organisations and their collections through “codes” which are unique to each
organisation.
An MDA Code is usually made up of five letters - the first three being an abbreviation of the town or
village where the organisation is located, followed by two letters as an abbreviation of the
organisation's name (eg WINGM is the unique code for the Gurkha Museum in Winchester).
Exceptions to this are: London, where LD is used and this is followed by three letters for the
institution. Some organisations wish to have a common code for all their museums (eg TWCMS for
Tyne and Wear Museums). Some of the Nationals have kept their own codes (eg IWM for Imperial
War Museum).
An individual collection held by an organisation may have its own MDA Code, but this is very
unusual. Possible reasons for this might be that the collection was, at some point in its history, held
by another organisation that no longer exists.
It is possible for an organisation to change its MDA Code. This can be for various reasons. For
example, the organisation may move its location or it may have been amalgamated with another
organisation. However a change of MDA Code does not mean an organisation has to change its
documentation or re-mark its objects.
Why Use an MDA Code?
A MDA Code can be used together with an object's accession number to uniquely identify that
object, and link the object to its museum. The code can be used in the documentation (computer or
paper-based) about the object.
Ideally the code should be marked on all objects together with the accession number. However,
some objects are too small and can only be marked with the accession number. See the
Collections Trust factsheet on Labelling and Marking for more information.
Codes can be cited in publications, in correspondence, in work carried out by external agents (eg
conservation or photography), and are useful when loaning objects.
Having a unique code to identify your organisation is also very important when sharing data.
Organisations are increasingly collaborating to put collections information on-line and MDA Codes
are a simple way to provide a unique identifier for data about objects.
MDA Code Database
A database of current MDA Codes is available to browse and search on the Collections Link
website at:
http://www.collectionslink.org.uk/home/mda-codes
How to Get an MDA Code
You can contact the Collections Trust to discuss possible codes for your organisation. You will find
contact details for the Collections Trust at http://www.collectionstrust.org.uk/work-with-us/
Having agreed a code the museum will need to write to the Collections Trust, on headed paper if
possible, to confirm the code. The code will then be entered on the MDA Codes database on
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Collections Link.
Sources of help and advice
Harrison, Margaret & McKenna, Gordon. Documentation: a practical guide. Cambridge:
Collections Trust, 2008.
Collections Trust factsheet Labelling and marking museum objects.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales License. To view a copy of
this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/
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