Subject Access to a Multilingual Museum Database is a guide to automating the collection management and cataloging functions for collections of artifacts that offers a survey of the environment and a detailed case study helpful to any museum or other cultural heritage institution at any stage of the automation process. The compact work “contains the ‘whos, whats, wheres, whys, and hows’ of choosing and implementing the right computer system to manage museums’ holdings, with specific emphasis on how to accomplish this in a multilingual setting” (1) for medium and large museums—what we would call automation in a library setting. As such, it is best approached as a project management handbook and should not be confused with a guide to subject access or digital imaging as the title suggests.

Allison Siffre Guedalia Kupietzky sets the stage by examining the differing approaches to description in libraries, archives, and museums. A brief preface illuminates the specific challenges of the museum community that have hampered efforts to automate and standardize collections data, including a necessary oriented to the “one-of-a kind distinctiveness” expressed through “subjective description” (x). The first two chapters lay the ground work by examining the challenges posed by the automation of museum collection records and touching on examples, both successes and failures, in conversion to computerized systems. The remaining chapters tackle the practicalities of a project to select and implement a museum collection management system.

In the opening chapters, Kupietzky raises many questions about standardization of museum data structures and content as a major challenge, but provides only a cursory survey of ongoing work and more recent developments in this field. Similarly, she frequently mentions the need for multilingual representation of data—noting, for example, the need for a database structure that allows for a multilingual lexicon—but does not provide the more extensive theoretical or practical examination of this topic I was expecting from the title. Instead, she focuses on the selection and implementation of software for the remainder of the book.

Kupietzky introduces a systematic approach for automating a museum collection she calls the Six-Step Activation Guideline for E-Kulture (SAGE-K) Process (93). The process includes the steps that precede full implementation: needs assessment, system selection, preparing the institution for change, preparing the data, piloting, and adjusting on the basis of outcomes. The process is designed to ensure that her three requirements for success are met. These requirements are that the correct software is selected, the software is well supported, and the automation project is managed by someone knowledgeable about software and museums.

The process is detailed through a case-study of the Israel Museum, where the author serves as collections database manager. I found it important to remind myself that this is a case study, as the steps and some of the details are presented generically and in the present tense, although it is clear that she is referring to the specific case of the Israel Museum in many passages. As Kupietzky leads us through the process, she provides valuable insights and practical considerations.

This practical approach is the highlight of many of the sections, which deal with technical, logistical, and organizational aspects. Kupietzky covers defining technical requirements for the software, a useful section for a systems novice. Unfortunately, this section also reveals the dated references throughout the book, with several cited items about computer systems dating back to 1999. In the logistical area, she explains the RFP process, illustrating it with an excellent table showing scoring of competing proposals.

While many works are idealistic about the condition of existing data or the possibilities for repurposing and modifying data, Kupietzky offers a more pragmatic approach. Several types of data were analyzed for conversion, and in some cases manual rekeying was identified as the best solution. Similarly, they determined that existing curator’s catalog cards should be transcribed as written because the cost for normalizing that data would be too great. She also delves into the less-tangible conditions for success, in particular what she terms “socialization of the idea” (37) so that the organization will be able to accept and integrate the new processes once automation is achieved. Staff and staff training are stressed as crucial to project success. Kupietzky is particularly sensitive to the immense amount of staff time and associated cost necessary for a successful automation.

Chapter 10 is something of an epilogue addressing public access to the collections database after the SAGE-K process and implementation have concluded. Kupietzky points out the issues including the confidential nature of some information and the need to edit and package curatorial data for public viewing. Echoing the implementation process, she addresses the direct costs of paying staff to prepare date for public consumption and infrastructure costs of hardware and software. Kupietzky mentions a variety of methods of public access, from digital exhibitions to full access to the collection catalog, along with some more forward-looking ideas such as geographic information systems (GIS) integration or virtual reality. This chapter also includes the obligatory, but important and straightforward, coverage of copyright issues.

The eleven appendixes that follow the concluding remarks add to the practical orientation. From an annotated guide to monolingual thesauri to detailed instructions for manipulating spreadsheet data through Microsoft Access, there are many details of potential value to the museum system manager. I wish the glossary had been more comprehensive, particularly in regard to the Kupietzky’s own usage, as many terms used have multiple interpretations and were not defined within the text.

In sum, Kupietzky covers the entire process of moving a museum from being paper-based to using a comprehensive information system in great breadth, although generally not in depth, making this a useful survey. However, this wide-ranging approach is a drawback because the focus and coverage is not consistent throughout the book. In some sections, “digitization” appears to mean the “computerization” (15) of collections information, yet at other times “digitization” refers to digital imaging and preservation of digital files, such as in chapter 7. Although data automation and digital imaging may go together, each has its own set of requirements that bear separate and detailed consideration before being linked together. This book might have benefitted from focusing more tightly on the information systems aspects of museum automation. Nevertheless, Kupietzky raises important issues and provides a roadmap for decision making, and her bibliography provides many leads for the in-depth study on specific aspects of museum collection records automation. Subject Access to a Multilingual Museum Database should be read by museum automation project managers and serves as a good overview of the complexities and potential rewards of museum collection management systems for professionals involved with object collections.