"looking for the needle in the haystack: small, unique collections - how to find hidden...

"Looking for the Needle in the Haystack: Small, Unique Collections - How to find

hidden gems?"

Knowledge by Networking Conference, Berlin, June 21st 2007

Maria Sliwinska

Important national institutions

• National and university libraries

• National museums

• National archives

• National galleries

Big names

• British Museum,

Big names

• Louvre

Big names • Uffizi in Florence

Big names • Grünes Gewölbe in Dresden

Tools for collections location

• printed guides,

• catalogues,

• Inventories,

Researchers situation

• Necessity to travel

• Difficult to locate all necessary materials

• Cost of time and money

Time of change

• Digital collections

• Websites

• Registered by search engines

Difficulties

• Millions of hits on Internet

• Information not available on-line

• Metadata not adequate

• Too many single catalogues to search

• Lacking information where to look for

Discoveries

• Documents in unexpected places

• „Kazania Świętokrzyskie”

Small but interesting • Victorian Museum in Tiverton

Famous object in small place • Gutenberg Bible available in a small museum in

Pelplin

From country to country • Mathias Corvin, available in public library

Famous people in small places • Amos Comensky’s archival materials available in

Leszno

Historical monuments • Polish king dauther Regelinda -XIII century in

Naumburg

Interesting census records • University Ingolstadt closed more than 200 years

ago

Hollywood star from Lipno • Pola Negri

Not only in France • Maria Curie Skłodowska Museum in Warsaw

Big names • Wit Stwosz altar

Union catalogues

Important initiative

Important initiative

Important initiative

Important initiative

Joining forces?