National Collections Program
Developing a Collections Management Policy
Collections Management
Collections Management is the deliberate development, documentation, maintenance, use, and disposition of museum collections
Because collections management is so broad, it effectively encompasses a wide range of activities which may at times appear to be disparate. What they have in common is the objective of:
- protecting the collections and their associated information from degradation, theft, and destruction
- permitting physical and intellectual access to the objects and specimens.
The dual goals of accountability and accessibility underlie all collections management activities.
In order to carry out all of its functions, a museum relies upon the collections being stored
appropriately to prevent deterioration, and being protected against damage, loss, and exposure
to harmful environmental conditions. In addition, collections must be documented to a standard,
so that the museum is able to account, locate, and provide information about them. Collections
must be accessible, via public exhibition, information services, reference inquiry, electronic
gateways, and loans, and finally, they must be legally accounted for, to ensure that the museum
operates in a responsible and ethical fashion. Typically, techniques and principles of collections
management are applied to collections under the museum's care regardless of status: accessioned,
non-accessioned, loan, study or exhibition. A fully developed collections management policy -
which incorporates all aspects of collections management - allows museum management to demonstrate
that consideration has been given to the museum's position on all collections-related activities.
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