MNIT online catalogue
from metadata to objects that tell a story
Located in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, The National Museum of History is one of the most important museums of history on a national level. It takes its pride in a rich collection of more than 450000 objects and in a valuable team of professionals, who work at very high standards for research, object conservation and heritage promotion.
When starting to use Qulto, the first efforts of the museum were focused on building the database, by putting together, checking, and migrating records from several formats. A lot of teamwork (Qulto team and MNIT professionals) was needed to customize and adapt the solution so that it fits as much as possible the standards and needs of the museum.
During recent years, the museum has put a lot of effort into opening as much as possible toward the public. The focus is shifting from object to human being; thus, each object becomes a story that helps the public understand the cultural identity of the area. With this approach in mind, the museum launched, in January 2024, the online catalogue of collections. The catalogue started with a small and carefully selected collection and continues to grow every day, as objects are revised for publication. The metadata associated to each record was carefully revised and unified by professionals. At the same time, on the software side, a lot of harmonization and customization work was involved (for publishing, hiding, renaming, or refining the way some fields are displayed).
All these contribute to offering a clean and smooth navigating experience and maximize the chances of retrieving the information visitors look for. The interface is focusing on the visual side, with responsive design interface and several ways of interacting with images (full-screen, crop, black and white). Sharing is also encouraged via link and multiple social media options.
But beyond that, the curious visitor will find genuine lessons of history and impressive, touching stories. A state-of-the-art museum catalogue that has a lot of pleasant surprises for professionals and the wide public alike.
Information
Date of publication
2024
Applied products
Qulto Museum, Qulto Opac
Client
National Museum of Transylvanian History, Cluj-Napoca, Romania