What is a concept?

A concept is an idea which is essential for understanding documentation in conservation. Concepts are defined in thesauri. For example the English term ‘paper’ refers to the concept which in the Getty Arts & Architecture Thesaurus is defined in English as: “Refers generally to all types of thin matted or felted sheets or webs of fiber formed and dried on a fine screen from a pulpy water suspension. The fibers may be animal, such as hair, silk or wool, or mineral, such as asbestos, or synthetic. However most paper is made from cellulosic plant fiber, such as from wood pulp, grass, cotton, linen, and straw.”