INDEXING PHOTOGRAPHS IN A MUSEUM COLLECTION

Abstract

Museums have increasingly occupied a significant place in society regarding preservation and memory. Thus, research involving information retrieval in museum-held collections has also expanded. This study addresses the indexing of vernacular photography as an important process within the Organization and Representation of Information and Knowledge, serving as support for information retrieval and memory preservation in photographic collections. Research problem: How does the indexing process in the museum’s photographic museum collection enable access to the content of information in photographs in the collection of the royal pepper? Objective: To understand the indexing process of the photographs from the Historical Museum of Japanese Immigration in Tomé-Açu, Pará, specifically, analysis of the photos of Dr. Makinosuke - considered the father of pepper cultivation in the region - as a tool for restoring organization and knowledge through the analysis of photographs. Methodology: A qualitative and exploratory approach was adopted, involving a literature review in the Brapci and BDTD databases on the following topics: “indexing in photography,” “indexing in museums,” and “representation of information in museums.” Smit’s method (1996) was used for the analysis of indexing in photography. Results: The analysis identified the absence of a consolidated indexing process for the photographs in the museum’s collection. Moreover, the indexing analysis based on Smit’s method (1989) sought to support a proposal for implementing indexing criteria within the museum, with the aim of using the photographs in the collection to understand the historical significance of the black pepper collection in the region.