On July 30, 2026, the ICOM Documentation board formally approved a definition for Museum Documentation, a short statement that aims to encapsulate the scope, boundaries, and applications of documentation activities in museums. The definition has been published to the ICOM Documentation website under Standards and is expected to undergo ongoing review as needed to stay relevant with social and technological shifts in global museum culture over time.

The goals of developing a definition for ‘museum documentation’ were three-fold: 1) to draft a completed Version I (V.I) of a succinct definition to be used in ICOM Documentation communications and resource materials; 2) to provide an avenue through which ICOM Documentation can ensure alignment with ICOM’s adoption of a new ‘Museum’ definition; and 3) to provide an avenue through which ICOM Documentation can inspire and support how museums respond and adapt to the fast-moving social changes that have occurred since the last update of “Statement of Principles of Museum Documentation” (2012)¹. Development of this definition was informed by multiple resources², and will ultimately be used as the basis from which the “Statement of Principles of Museum Documentation” is to be revised and updated.

The work to finalize this definition could not have been completed without the generosity of time, expertise, and insight from partners across the globe. This definition represents nearly four years of discussion, survey feedback, and collaboration from around 65 community members from 17 countries across Africa, Europe, West Asia, South America, and North America. Thank you to everyone for your invaluable input throughout this process.

A special thanks goes to Mohamed Ibrahim, Edurne Uriarte Santillán, Paula Casajus, Monika Hagedorn-Saupe, Frank von Hagel, Axel Ermert, and Matthieu Bonicel for providing translations of the definition.

–Museum Documentation Definition Task Force

[1] CIDOC Documentation Standards Working Group, “Statement of Principles of Museum Documentation” (version 6.2, 6 June 2012)

[2] Secondary resources used to inform the development of this definition include:

1. CIDOC Strategy 2023-2024;
2. Nicholas Crofts, “Documentation”, in François Mairesse (ed.), Dictionnaire de Muséologie (Armand Colin (Dunod) and ICOM), 2022;
3. CIDOC Documentation Standards Working Group, “Statement of Principles of Museum Documentation” (version 6.2, 6 June 2012); and,
4. Juliana Monteiro, “Documentação em Museus e Objeto-Documento: Sobre Noções e Práticas” (Universidade de São Paulo, Escola de Comunicações e Artes), 2014.