Knowledge Organization (KO) is published by IMR Press from Volume 52 Issue 1 (2025). Previous articles were published by another publisher under the CC-BY licence, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement.
Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging
Heather Dunn 1, Paul Bourcier 2
Affiliations
Article Info
1 Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN), Department of Canadian Heritage, Government of Canada, 1030 Innes Road, Ottawa (Ontario) K1B 4S7, Canada
2 Museum of Science & History, 1025 Museum Circle, Jacksonville, FL 32207, USA
Abstract
We present an overview of Nomenclature’s history, characteristics, structure, use, management, development process, limitations, and future. Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging is a bilingual (English/French) structured and controlled list of object terms organized in a classification system to provide a basis for indexing and cataloging collections of human-made objects. It includes illustrations and bibliographic references as well as a user guide. It is used in the creation and management of object records in human history collections within museums and other organizations, and it focuses on objects relevant to North American history and culture. First published in 1978, Nomenclature is the most extensively used museum classification and controlled vocabulary for historical and ethnological collections in North America and represents thereby a de facto standard in the field. An online reference version of Nomenclature was made available in 2018, and it will be available under open li