collector
Enable an agent to recognise a collector role, assess its collecting practice and stewardship, and determine which collection-related actions the role holder is authorised to take.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
6 bundles · 11 layers · 16 findings · 26 questions
Collector role boundary Establishes the intended sense of collector and the basis for assigning that role.
Intended collector sense
Distinguishes collection building from other activities described as collecting.
Evidence for collection building
Record evidence that the role concerns intentionally assembling or maintaining a collection.
- What does this person collect, and what evidence establishes the intended meaning of collector? definition
- Could the label instead refer to debt recovery, revenue collection, refuse collection or another service? boundary
Role assignment
Connects the collecting role to its holder without treating it as the person's complete identity.
Basis and duration of role
Record who holds the role, when it applies and whether it is self-described or evidenced by activity.
- Who holds the collector role, and which activities or statements support assigning it? provenance
- Is collecting a personal pursuit, paid responsibility or mixed activity, and during which period? definition
Collecting purpose and selection Records why the collector assembles items and how inclusion decisions are made.
Collecting focus
Defines the collector's interests and the boundaries of associated collections.
Inclusion and exclusion criteria
Record the properties that make an item relevant, including explicit exclusions and evolving interests.
- Which item types, themes, periods, makers or other properties define the collecting focus? definition
- What distinguishes a collection item from household property, resale stock or an incidental acquisition? boundary
Collecting priorities
Captures how the collector chooses among otherwise relevant items.
Selection tradeoffs
Record the collector's priorities concerning completeness, rarity, condition, research value, enjoyment and cost without presuming any is universal.
- What outcomes does the collector seek, and which priorities govern competing acquisition choices? definition
- Under what conditions should a relevant item be declined, including duplication or insufficient care capacity? action
Acquisition and evidence Connects acquisition decisions to item claims, provenance and the collector's authority.
Item claim evaluation
Records how the collector evaluates claims relevant to accepting an item.
Provenance and authenticity assessment
Link the collector's assessment to item-level evidence while preserving disputed or unknown claims.
- Which provenance, attribution, authenticity and condition claims matter for this acquisition, and what supports them? provenance
- Which uncertainties require specialist review or a decision to defer acquisition? action
Acquisition authority
Establishes the capacity in which the collector obtains an item and any applicable constraints.
Acquisition route and constraints
Record purchase, gift, exchange, inheritance or other routes together with ownership outcomes and evidence requirements.
- By what route would the item enter the collection, who would own it, and on whose behalf is the collector acting? boundary
- What permissions, transfer conditions or item- and jurisdiction-specific restrictions must be verified before proceeding? action
Collection stewardship Records the collector's responsibilities for knowing, locating and caring for collected items.
Collection documentation
Establishes how the collector links items to records and tracks collection boundaries.
Identification and record coverage
Record the documentation method and known gaps without reproducing the inventory in the role model.
- How are collected items identified and linked to acquisition records, provenance evidence and current locations? definition
- How many items or lots lack adequate records, using what counting basis and assessment date? measurement
Care responsibility
Connects collection-specific care needs to the people and resources responsible for meeting them.
Care capacity and delegation
Record accepted care obligations, delegated work and capacity gaps relevant to continued collecting.
- Which storage, handling, maintenance or preservation duties has the collector accepted, and which are delegated? boundary
- What care shortfalls require intervention or limits on further acquisitions? action
Access and disposition Defines how the collector may share, lend or relinquish collection items and responsibilities.
Collection access
Records permitted viewing, research, display and lending arrangements.
Sharing and loan decisions
Connect proposed access to ownership, custody, confidentiality and item-specific handling conditions.
- Who may authorise viewing, research access, display or loans for the relevant items? boundary
- What conditions must an agent satisfy before arranging access or sharing collection records? action
Collection transition
Records decisions to reduce, transfer or end the collecting practice.
Dispersal and succession
Distinguish ending acquisition from relinquishing holdings and identify arrangements for future responsibility.
- Is the collector maintaining, expanding or dispersing the collection, and what evidence dates that assessment? provenance
- Who can authorise sales, gifts or succession arrangements, and what records and obligations must accompany a transfer? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Check these first
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these check these first hold for the sense of collector this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Kinds and varieties
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of collector this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of collector this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of collector this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of collector this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of collector this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Society, people and institutions
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- SOC
- Domain
- SOC.PER
- Other names and narrower kinds
- art collector, peridromophilist, magic collector, veteran collector, photo collector, folk poetry collector, recipe collector, weapon collector, porcelain collector, coin collector, car collector, collector of Paracelsus manuscripts
What it is Filled
A collector is a person who intentionally assembles and retains objects or specimens selected according to an interest, theme or purpose, forming a collection over time.
In scope
- The collector role and its relationship to the person holding it
- Collecting interests, selection criteria and collection boundaries
- Acquisition practices and the collector's authority to acquire or transfer items
- Documentation, care and access responsibilities accepted by the collector
- Relationships with collections, owners, dealers, custodians and other collectors
Out of scope
- The person's complete identity, biography or other social roles
- The collection's complete inventory and the detailed models of its constituent items
- Dealership, museum or other organisation operations
- Debt, tax, refuse or data collection roles unless research establishes that one is the intended registry sense
- Physical collecting devices such as solar collectors
Why it exists Filled
Enable an agent to recognise a collector role, assess its collecting practice and stewardship, and determine which collection-related actions the role holder is authorised to take.
Distinguishing features Filled
- The role involves purposeful selection into an identifiable collection; possession of miscellaneous belongings alone does not establish it.
- Collector and collection are distinct: the former exercises collecting choices, while the latter is the assemblage those choices concern.
- Ownership, custody and collecting agency must be checked separately; none should automatically establish the other two.
- A person acquiring items chiefly for resale may act as a dealer; a separate collecting purpose must be evidenced before assigning a collector role.
- The word collector alone is insufficient: collecting interests and activities must distinguish this provisional sense from collection-service occupations.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Help acquire or trade items that are stolen, looted or protected by wildlife or heritage law.
- Disclose a collector's holdings or address, which can make them a target for theft.
- Misrepresent the authenticity, condition or value of an item.
- Label a person a hoarder or diagnose them from their collecting.
Only with a human decision
- Buying, selling or disposing of items from a collection.
May
- Help a collector catalogue, value or care for a collection at their request.
- Check provenance against public records of stolen or looted items.
Moral aspects Filled
- Collecting can preserve heritage or drive looting and wildlife trade.
- Collectors' privacy and safety matter because valuable collections attract crime.
Who is affected
- Collectors
- Source communities
- Wildlife and heritage sites
Owners Filled
Steward
The person who collects.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q215627 - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.collector
- Wikidata: Q3243461 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3243461)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- Collector sense: collection-building role | collection-service role | other | unresolved
- Collecting focus: Named item classes, themes, makers, periods or other declared selection criteria
- Role holder and associated collections: Person-to-role and role-to-collection links with applicable dates
- Collecting motivation: Interest | research | preservation | social participation | investment | mixed | other | unknown
- Practice status: Acquiring | maintaining without acquisition | dispersing | paused | ended | unknown; multiple concurrent states allowed
- Authority over collection items: Item- or collection-specific ownership, custody, delegated authority and restrictions
- Collection extent: Count of items or lots, with counting basis, collection boundary and observation date
- Stewardship capacity: Assessed against the specific collection's storage, care, documentation and resource requirements
Plane SOC: no invented physical properties.
Recognition not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
A collector role cannot be established from physical appearance because it depends on collecting activity and supporting evidence.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Assess whether evidence supports assigning this collector role and flag unresolved label ambiguity.
- Compare a proposed acquisition with the collector's declared collecting scope.
- Identify missing provenance or authority evidence before progressing an acquisition or transfer.
- Assess gaps between accepted stewardship responsibilities and available capacity.
- Determine whether a proposed loan, viewing, sale or donation falls within documented authority.
- Record a change in collecting focus, activity or succession arrangements.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Acquiring objects with unclear provenance can support illicit trade or expose a collector to ownership disputes.
- Poor storage or handling can damage collections and expose people to hazardous materials.
- Unsustainable specimen collecting can harm populations and habitats.
- Mistaking possession for authority can lead an agent to disclose, transfer or dispose of items without permission.
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, administered by the CITES Secretariat, applies when collectors trade internationally in covered specimens.
- The UNESCO 1970 Convention, adopted by UNESCO, provides a framework for national controls relevant to collectors acquiring or transferring cultural property.
Context of use required Filled
- Collectors assemble objects or specimens in private, institutional or commercial settings around a chosen interest or purpose.
- The role is relevant to acquisition, documentation, preservation and access decisions, although collecting alone does not establish ownership or authority.
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q3243461: collector - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia (es): Coleccionista - general description of the item
Open questions
- Does vr.tr.collector specifically mean a person who builds collections, or does its originating registry record identify a different collector role?
- Does an existing Vercy world model already cover this sense of collector and therefore provide the authoritative model to link?
- What minimum evidence should establish the role where a person inherits a collection, stops acquiring or collects entirely on another owner's behalf?
- Does the registry intend to include collectors of digital or intangible items, and which additional authority and preservation distinctions would those require?
- For the confirmed sense and collecting domains, which occupational classifications, qualifications or jurisdiction-specific permissions are applicable, if any?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q3243461/spec.json