The collections

Collection management

Collection management aims to look after the cultural heritage for future generations and includes all activities and measures that ensure that the collections are looked after, documented and made available to the general public. The collections must be available for use and dissemination in the museum, and for the general public in general for research and dissemination.

The museum's collections today consist of more than 90,000 objects, 2.65 million photographs, 140,000 books and periodicals and 1,700 shelf meters of archives. In 2022, there has been good progress in the ongoing collection work. A total of 118 objects, 16 paper archives and a digitally created archive have been taken in. The intakes are wide-ranging and include, among other things, a sewing machine for stuffing nylon stockings, 57 shovels produced by Christiania Spigerverk and Norway's first series-produced fast charger for electric cars put into operation in Sandnes in 2011. 762 objects and 16,456 photographs have been registered in the museum's databases.

DigitaltMuseum is the museum's most important publication channel for the collections, where registration data and photographs are published with as open rights as possible to provide the greatest possible use. By the end of 2022, 35,903 objects and 112,953 photographs will be available at DigitaltMuseum. Photographs from Oslo are also available on the website www.oslobilder.no. The museum's archive is published on the Archive Portal. The museum uses central shared services within collection management, such as the websites kulturnav.org, digitaltmuseum.no, oslobilder.no and the database Primus. The museum has permanent responsibility for two authority registers in KulturNAV. These are the personal register Persons Industrial History and the organizational register Industrial Companies. In addition, the museum, together with Preus and Folkemuseet, has taken responsibility for following up the Photographers' Register.

COLLECTION WORK

In the autumn of 2022, the collection work at one of the museum's remote warehouses has been in focus. The museum's conservators, photographer and artefact conservators have reviewed objects that have been part of the work on the exhibitions I/O, Life and Death, objects that were moved after a water leak in the magazine in 2018 and a large number of intakes from recent years. The work has contributed to making available objects such as a perpetual motion machine the museum received in 1952 and which was made to order at the Vulkan mechanical workshop and a Metro travel radio from Støren's radio factory produced in 1948, to name a few. A total of 357 objects have been stored. That amounts to approximately 42 podium places. One goal has been to free up floor space for work on the upcoming Energy Exhibition and over 100 square meters are now ready for the object work.

documentation of electricity

In 2021 and 2022, commissioned by Elko, the museum carried out documentation of the factory at Åmot in Modum. The production company Elko on Åmot in Modum municipality has for many years been Norway's leading producer of installation materials. Elko sockets are market leaders, and all Norwegians have touched an Elko light switch. The factory has now moved to Germany and Poland, and operations have ceased in Norway. The museum filmed the production of a socket and a light switch, from the molding of plastic to the assembly of various parts. This has resulted in two short films: How to make a light switch and How to make a socket.

The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology has a long history of conducting industrial documentation, and the documentation of Elko is a good contribution to the collection.

Digitization of DEXTRA Photo

In 2022, the digitization of the DEXTRA Photo collection has continued with good progress. During the year, 17,879 photographs were digitised, registered and published. By 2022, a total of 40,000 photographs from DEXTRA Photo had been published at the Digital Museum. These have been downloaded in good resolution 6,854 times for free use.

The digitization work at the museum must combine the highest possible quality that does justice to the original material with resource-efficient production. In 2022, photographs from the archive of photographer PA Røstad and photographer Frits Solvang have been prioritized. Røstad ran a one-man photo agency at Grefsen in Oslo, and his photos show places and landscapes throughout Norway. Solvang established himself as an independent photographer in 1970 and documented theater performances for a number of the country's theatres, architecture and product photography commissioned by advertising agencies and the business world.

In 2022, the museum will have digitized three out of a total of 140 negative albums from Knudsen's photo center at the Center for Cultural Heritage Digitization at the National Library. An agreement has been entered into to digitize both the remaining albums and additional material from the collections.

DEXTRA Photo is owned by Sparebankstiftelsen DNB and is deposited at the museum.

the painting magazine

In 2022, the museum has begun work on transferring the museum's collection of paintings and mounted images to remote storage. The pictures have been stored in unsuitable, temporary premises. In 2020, the museum invested in a new shelving system for images in one of the museum's remote magazines. In 2022, the paintings from the Anniversary Exhibition in 1914, painted by theater painter Jens Wang, have been packed, transported to the magazine and mounted on new shelves. The paintings show central Norwegian industrial companies and shipyards such as Akers mechanical workshop, Moss verft and Christiania Spigerverk.

teleconferences

The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology is the central institution in Norway for collecting, managing and making available tangible and intangible cultural heritage within the telecommunications sector. Through the merger with the former Telemuseet, nearly 20,000 objects, approximately 480,000 photographs, 242 registered archives and a specialist library of approximately 6,400 volumes were acquired. Work on these telecommunications historical collections is central to the museum's collection management plan for the period 2022-2026.

Many of the telehistorical items are shown in the new exhibition tele- and data exhibition I/O. In addition, the museum has a significant number of objects that are included in telehistorical exhibitions and collections around the country. Work is underway to review these collections and the regional activities. In 2022, the museum has visited our exhibitions and collections at the telegraph building in Lødingen, Sørvågen radio in Lofoten and Tromsø broadcaster in Langnes.

When merging with the Telemuseet in 2018 The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology also took over two listed buildings at Rundemanen in Bergen; the Bergen Radio transmitting station and an associated machine house. The transmitting station was connected to water and sanitation in 2022.

COLLECTION PLAN

In 2022, the museum has drawn up a new collection plan for the period 2023 to 2027. The plan sets out targets for the development of and growth of the museum's collections in technology, industry, natural science and medicine. It relates to the museum's other plans and strategies and to the museum message Museums in society's overarching goals for the Norwegian museum sector for comprehensive collection development, safe safeguarding and active interaction. In the coming five-year period, the museum will prioritize, among other things, contemporary documentation, artefacts and archival material related to climate and sustainability and will work towards increased diversity in the collections.

COLLECTION WORK

Lending and borrowing of museum objects

The museum lends objects and archival material for exhibitions at museums and institutions at home and abroad. In 2022, the museum has loaned objects to several museums such as the Østfold Museums, Preus Photo Museum, the Haugaland Museum, the Norwegian Folk Museum, the Royal Collections and the Telemuseet in Sørvågen and in Lærdal. Some of the loans have included courier services and assistance with assembly. The museum has also lent objects and art in connection with the exhibition I/O and the collaboration project with the National Museum Sand in the Machine. In total, the museum has around 60 active lending cases, and loans from 50 institutions and private individuals for several of our permanent and temporary exhibitions.

Photography

In 2022, the museum's photographer has particularly worked with object and collection photography related to I/O and collection work on one of the museum's remote warehouses. This has included photos for marketing the exhibitions, as well as exhibition documentation and photography of events and ongoing individual assignments from colleagues.

Preservation

Conservation at the museum is linked to exhibition, lending and collection management work. In 2022, the focus has been particularly on the parts of the collections that have been included in I/O and collection work on one of the museum's remote warehouses. Conservation of objects for I/O has taken place in the conservation workshop in the museum's temporary exhibition hall. This has made it possible for the public to follow the work on the objects as the exhibitions take shape.

In 2022, the museum has drawn up a new security plan for the museum's facilities and collections. On the basis of risk and vulnerability analyzes of the facilities, measures have been drawn up to secure the collections.

In 2022, the museum's equipment and professionals have been leased to other museums and cultural heritage managers

Library

The library contains one of Norway's largest collections of technology and industrial history literature, in addition to an extensive collection of medical history, telecommunications and science history books. Registration of the medical book collection has continued in 2022. In the work on registration of the medical book collection, antiquarian book treasures have been added to the base. The museum's (so far) oldest registered book deals with Aristotle's philosophy, written in Latin and published in 1554.

The museum has also continued work on registering the library's magazine collection of international periodicals into ALMA.

The museum has begun an upgrade of the library to increase accessibility and use for the museum's staff. Plans have also been drawn up to make the library more accessible to the public. A new room solution has been prepared, the reference collections and journals have been revised. Relevant museum literature, new books in the collections and current subject areas will be more easily accessible in the library itself.

Key figures for the collection work

Year	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016
Number of items estimated	91 942	91 824	91 701	91 643	91 611	60 000	60 000
Reg items in Primus	74 986	74 224	77 385	76 906	76 611	49 560	48 768
Reg. items current year	762	291	479	295	27 051	792	986
Published items Digital Museum	35 903	35 367	35 039	34 548	33 767	16 148	15 862
Number of photographs (estimate)	2 674 450	2 674 450	2 674 450	2 653 000	2 650 000	2 200 000	2 200 000
Reg. photo in Primus and Fotostation	571 407	554 951	199 523	161 302	160 302	102 654	74 256
Reg. photo current year	16 456	23 712	38 221	1 000	57 648	28 398	5 714
Published photographs DigitaltMuseum	112 953	96 497	82 803	67 608	67 116	43 090	42 140
Number of archives	506	489	482	480	478	128	126
Registered archives in Asta	323	306	408	405	391	25	23
Registered archives in the current year	17	7	3	14	366	2	–
Published archives on the archive portal	141	123	75	45	31	15	11

The collections

Collection management

COLLECTION WORK

documentation of electricity

Digitization of DEXTRA Photo

the painting magazine

teleconferences

COLLECTION PLAN

COLLECTION WORK

Lending and borrowing of museum objects

Photography

Preservation

Library

Archives

Key figures for the collection work