An Object Record in eHive is a collection of information fields that describe a real world object, such as a Greek vase or a painting. The fields of information that comprise an Object Record are made up of a range of pre-set metadata fields and images. The metadata is arranged into groups or sets of information fields called Field Sets which logically group one or more Fields into descriptive concepts. Object Records are categorized into different catalog types covering broad types of objects such as art, natural sciences and photography. Each of the different catalog types have a different range of Fields and Field Sets in order to most accurately describe real world objects that fall under these broad categories. Vernon Systems, the creator of eHive, is a Spectrum partner and so the Fields and Field Sets chosen to describe Object Records in eHive are based on the Spectrum standard with the addition of some Dublin Core and custom eHive Fields.
Field Set
One or more aligned Fields of information describing a single concept. For example, when adding information to an Object Record about who created a particular artwork we use the Field Sets primary_creator_maker, which consists of the Fields primary_creator_maker and primary_creator_maker_role. So in the case of the Mona Lisa, “Leonardo diVinci” would be the primary_creator_maker and the primary_creator_maker_role would be “Painter”. In the case of there being more then one person being credited as contributing to an artwork then multiple primary_creator_maker Field Sets can be created for each subsequent contributor. This type of Field Set is then said to be repeating and can be referred to as a repeating complex Field.
Field
A single instance of information that describes a particular attribute of the real world object being cataloged. For example, the date_made field is a single standard-alone field. Fields can exist as individual instances called simple Fields, which may in some circumstances be repeated. This type of Field is referred to as a repeating simple Field. All Fields belong to a Field Set and in some cases Fields can be grouped to describe a particular concept (see Field Set for more information).
Field Data Type
Every Field in eHive has one of the following Field data types:
- TERM – short freeform text data.
- DATE – an alphanumeric string with the some allowed characters: full stop “.”; back slash “/”; space ” “; colon “:”; and hyphen “-“.
- VARCHAR – freeform text, numeric and character data.
- NUMBER – numeric data only.
- GLOBAL_TERM – short freeform text data.
- ACCOUNT_RELATIONSHIP – represented as numeric data, containing an Account ID.
- RELATIONSHIP – represented as numeric data, containing an Object Record ID for a linked record (usually an Acquisition Record).
Media Set
One or more aligned Media type fields of information describing one or more multimedia items that have been attached to the Object Record. For the Object Record the images can be attached with some title information. Each image on the Object Record is represented by a Media Set.
Media
A way to describe individual components of a Media Set. For example, if a photograph of the Mona Lisa was attached to an Object Record the Media Set would contain a collection of Media objects, each of which represents a different sized image derivative.
Acquisition Record
A record of one or more objects in one acquisition lot. Acquisition lots are considered for formal acceptance into the collection. The objects in an acquisition lot share the same acquisition information: who were they acquired from, on what date, etc.
Collection Type
Fields are organised in to collections. There are four collection types:
- Simple – a single Field that describes a Field Set.
- Simple repeating – a simple Field that can be repeated with different values to describe a Field Set.
- Complex – a collection of more then one Field that describes a Field Set.
- Complex repeating – a collection of more then one Field that can be repeated with different values that describes a Field Set.
Catalog Type
Every Object Record belongs to a catalogue type. The catalogue type is a category that describes the type of object being catalogued. The Object record eHive catalogue types are:
- Archive Record
For example a box of archives relating to New York's census records from 1921.
- Archaeology Record
For example a 2,000 year old flint arrow head.
- Art Record
For example the painting of the Mona Lisa.
- History Record
For example a Victoria Cross medal awarded during World War I.
- Library Record
For example a copy of the book Moby Dick by Herman Melville.
- Natural Science Record
For example a preserved bird specimen of a New Zealand kiwi.
- Photography and Multimedia Record
For example a photograph of a local village Town Hall taken on its formal opening in 1887.
Other catalog types:
Perspective
A perspective is a selection of Fields and Field Sets in a particular order according to an Object Record’s Catalog Type and Privacy.
Privacy
An Object Record is made up of Field Sets that can be visible to anyone, known as public Fields, and Field Sets that are only visible to the owner of the record, known as private Fields. In eHive these public and private Fields are available to view and edit through the website. However, currently only public Fields are returned for Object Records through the API.
