People with a passion for art have to learn to manage collections as their possessions grow and diversify. At this point, many of them face the challenge of choosing between physical and digital inventory tools. Which is better, and can one of them be dropped altogether? Here is a brief comparative review to guide your art management practices.
Physical Cataloging of Your Collection
Even in the digitally savvy world, physical catalog entries are still the golden standard of professional art collection documentation. Even contemporary galleries and museums keep offline copies of their art collection details in physical catalogs and binders. These records are easily accessible to the staff and can be replenished with the latest condition reports or conservation records. It is a typical practice to store paper-based receipts and provenance data, the exhibition history of the art object, its valuation data, and other documentation with original seals and signatures in the non-digital form, along with creating digital copies for effective data backup.
Digital Tools for Collection Management
Along with the traditional offline cataloging method, many collectors and forward-thinking art institutions are supplementing their management systems with digital tools. These include non-specialized digital cataloging instruments like Google Sheets, Excel spreadsheets, and databases for artwork tracking and specialized art management systems like ArtBinder, Collector Systems, or Artlogic.
The market for digital art management databases is very diverse today, with a variety of software products developed for art collectors of any size, scale, and budget. Each of these comes with a distinct set of features, such as virtual artwork viewing, cloud-based high-resolution image and video storage, etc. All of them are meant to make the work of art managers more automated, centralized, and convenient. At the same time, a digital art inventory system is much easier to access from any corner of the globe, thus optimizing the collaborative art management practices and removing the physical access barriers from the process.
Which Is Best to Manage Collections?
If you want to manage collections at a professional level, you definitely need to blend the two approaches and create a comprehensive management system. It will evolve and grow more nuanced to address your collection’s needs and volume. Physical records are a useful backup option for digital emergencies, while a digital inventory is a universally accessible, modern tool that enhances automation. Thus, your success will depend on your ability to combine these management approaches in a mutually enriching manner.