Collection Management: Acquisition and Care for a Global Audience

Collection management is a multifaceted discipline that encompasses the entire lifecycle of objects and information within a museum, library, archive, or other cultural heritage institution. It involves not only the initial acquisition of items but also their long-term preservation, documentation, and accessibility. This guide provides a comprehensive overview of collection management principles and practices, tailored for a global audience.

Understanding the Scope of Collection Management

Collection management is more than just storing objects. It’s a strategic and ethical undertaking that ensures cultural heritage is protected and made available for present and future generations. Key aspects include:

• Acquisition: The process of acquiring new items for the collection.
• Documentation: Creating and maintaining accurate records about each item.
• Preservation: Implementing measures to prevent deterioration and damage.
• Conservation: The treatment and repair of damaged or deteriorated items.
• Access and Use: Providing access to the collection for research, education, and exhibition.
• Deaccessioning: The removal of items from the collection, which is a carefully considered process.

Acquisition Strategies: Building a Meaningful Collection

Acquisition is a critical aspect of collection management, shaping the character and significance of an institution’s holdings. A well-defined acquisition policy is essential, guiding decisions about what to collect and ensuring that new acquisitions align with the institution's mission and strategic goals.

Developing an Acquisition Policy

An acquisition policy should address the following:

• Scope of the collection: Define the types of materials collected, the geographic focus, and the historical periods covered.
• Acquisition methods: Specify how items will be acquired (e.g., purchase, donation, fieldwork).
• Selection criteria: Outline the factors considered when evaluating potential acquisitions (e.g., relevance, condition, provenance, duplication).
• Ethical considerations: Address issues such as cultural sensitivity, repatriation, and legal compliance.
• Resources: Consider the resources required to care for new acquisitions (e.g., storage space, staffing, conservation).

Methods of Acquisition

Institutions acquire items through various methods:

• Donations: Gifts from individuals or organizations. Properly documenting donations with deeds of gift is crucial.
• Purchases: Acquisitions made through dealers, auctions, or directly from creators. Due diligence is vital to ensure authenticity and legal ownership.
• Fieldwork: Collecting materials through archaeological excavations, ethnographic research, or natural history expeditions. Ethical considerations and permits are paramount. For example, museums collecting botanical specimens in the Amazon rainforest require permits from the relevant authorities and must adhere to international agreements on biodiversity.
• Bequests: Items inherited through wills. These require careful management to ensure legal compliance and donor intent.
• Transfers: Items received from other institutions. Often occurring when an institution closes or deaccessions objects.

Ethical Considerations in Acquisition

Ethical collecting is paramount in today’s global environment. Institutions must be aware of the potential for illicit trafficking of cultural property and take steps to ensure that acquisitions are ethically sourced and legally obtained. This includes:

• Provenance research: Investigating the history of ownership of an item to identify any gaps or red flags.
• Due diligence: Verifying the legal status of an item and its export history.
• Compliance with international laws and conventions: Adhering to treaties such as the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.
• Repatriation: Returning cultural objects to their country or community of origin. Many museums are actively working on repatriation claims. For example, the British Museum has faced increasing pressure to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece.
• Addressing Cultural Sensitivity: Respecting the cultural values and traditions associated with an object. This may involve consulting with Indigenous communities or other stakeholders. For example, museums exhibiting sacred objects from Aboriginal Australian cultures often consult with community elders about appropriate display and interpretation.

Caring for Collections: Preservation and Conservation

Preservation and conservation are essential for ensuring the long-term survival of collections. Preservation focuses on preventive measures to minimize deterioration, while conservation involves the treatment of damaged or deteriorated items.

Preventive Preservation: Creating a Stable Environment

Preventive preservation is the most cost-effective way to protect collections. It involves controlling environmental factors, handling items carefully, and implementing appropriate storage and display practices.

Environmental Control

Maintaining stable temperature and humidity levels is crucial. Fluctuations can cause materials to expand and contract, leading to cracking, warping, and other forms of damage.

• Temperature: Ideally, temperature should be kept constant and within a range appropriate for the materials in the collection. Generally, cooler temperatures are better for long-term preservation.
• Relative Humidity (RH): Maintaining a stable RH is critical. High RH can promote mold growth and corrosion, while low RH can cause materials to dry out and become brittle. An RH of 50% +/- 5% is often recommended for mixed collections.
• Light: Exposure to light, especially ultraviolet (UV) radiation, can cause fading, yellowing, and embrittlement. Light levels should be kept as low as possible, and UV filters should be used on windows and light fixtures.
• Pollutants: Air pollutants, such as dust, soot, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), can damage collections. Air filtration systems can help to remove pollutants.

Handling and Storage

Proper handling and storage are essential to prevent physical damage.

• Handling: Wear gloves when handling objects, especially those made of sensitive materials. Avoid touching surfaces directly and provide adequate support.
• Storage: Store items in acid-free boxes, folders, and other archival-quality materials. Use padding and dividers to prevent items from rubbing against each other. For example, textiles should be stored flat or rolled on acid-free tubes. Metal objects should be protected from corrosion with desiccants or corrosion inhibitors.
• Pest Management: Implement an integrated pest management (IPM) program to prevent infestations of insects, rodents, and other pests. IPM involves monitoring for pests, identifying sources of infestation, and implementing non-chemical control measures whenever possible.

Conservation Treatment: Repairing and Stabilizing Damaged Items

Conservation involves the treatment and repair of damaged or deteriorated items. Conservation treatments should be carried out by qualified conservators who have the knowledge and skills to stabilize and preserve cultural heritage.

Types of Conservation Treatment

• Cleaning: Removing dirt, dust, and other surface deposits.
• Repair: Mending breaks, tears, and other structural damage.
• Consolidation: Strengthening weakened materials.
• Stabilization: Preventing further deterioration.
• Retouching: Inpainting losses to improve the appearance of an object (done ethically and reversibly).

Ethical Considerations in Conservation

Conservation ethics emphasize the importance of preserving the integrity of cultural heritage and minimizing the impact of treatment. Key principles include:

• Reversibility: Using materials and techniques that can be reversed or removed in the future.
• Minimal intervention: Doing only what is necessary to stabilize and preserve an object.
• Documentation: Carefully documenting all treatment procedures.
• Respect for the object's history: Avoiding treatments that would alter the object's original appearance or significance.

Documentation and Access: Making Collections Accessible

Comprehensive documentation is essential for managing collections effectively and making them accessible to researchers, educators, and the public. Documentation includes creating and maintaining accurate records about each item, including its provenance, condition, and treatment history.

Creating Documentation

Documentation should be created at the time of acquisition and updated throughout the item's lifecycle. Key elements of documentation include:

• Object ID: A unique identifier assigned to each item.
• Description: A detailed description of the item, including its materials, dimensions, and condition.
• Provenance: Information about the item's history of ownership.
• Images: High-quality photographs of the item.
• Conservation records: Documentation of any conservation treatments performed.
• Location: Information about where the item is stored.

Access and Use

Institutions provide access to their collections through various means, including:

• Exhibitions: Displaying items to the public.
• Research: Providing access to researchers for scholarly study.
• Education: Using collections for educational programs.
• Online databases: Making collection information available online. For example, many museums now have online searchable catalogues, allowing researchers worldwide to access information about their holdings. The Smithsonian Institution's online collections database is a prime example.
• Loans: Lending items to other institutions for exhibitions or research.

Digital Preservation: Safeguarding Born-Digital and Digitized Materials

Digital preservation is the process of ensuring that digital materials remain accessible and usable over time. This includes born-digital materials (those created in digital format) and digitized materials (those converted from analog format).

Challenges of Digital Preservation

Digital materials are vulnerable to a variety of threats, including:

• Technological obsolescence: Hardware and software become outdated, making it difficult to access digital files.
• File format obsolescence: File formats become unsupported, making it impossible to open digital files.
• Bit rot: Data degradation occurs over time, leading to file corruption.
• Storage media failure: Hard drives, CDs, and other storage media fail, resulting in data loss.

Strategies for Digital Preservation

Institutions employ a variety of strategies to address the challenges of digital preservation:

• Migration: Converting files to newer file formats.
• Emulation: Creating virtual environments that mimic older hardware and software.
• Normalization: Converting files to standard file formats.
• Storage management: Implementing strategies for managing and backing up digital files. Cloud storage solutions offer scalability and redundancy, but require careful consideration of data security and privacy.
• Metadata: Creating descriptive metadata to facilitate discovery and access.

Deaccessioning: Managing Collection Growth

Deaccessioning is the process of permanently removing an object from a museum's collection. This is a serious decision that should be made only after careful consideration. Deaccessioning can be a necessary tool for managing collection growth, refining collection focus, and generating revenue to support acquisitions and conservation.

Reasons for Deaccessioning

Common reasons for deaccessioning include:

• Relevance: The object no longer aligns with the institution's mission or collecting scope.
• Duplication: The institution already has multiple examples of the same object.
• Condition: The object is in such poor condition that it cannot be conserved or exhibited.
• Provenance issues: Questions about the object's ownership history or legal status.
• Repatriation claims: Responding to legitimate claims for the return of cultural objects.

Ethical Considerations in Deaccessioning

Deaccessioning should be guided by ethical principles to ensure that it is conducted in a responsible and transparent manner. Key considerations include:

• Transparency: Making the deaccessioning process open and accountable.
• Consultation: Consulting with stakeholders, such as curators, trustees, and community representatives.
• Use of proceeds: Using the proceeds from deaccessioning sales to support acquisitions and conservation, in accordance with professional guidelines.
• Legal compliance: Ensuring that the deaccessioning process complies with all applicable laws and regulations.

Conclusion: Stewarding Cultural Heritage for the Future

Collection management is a vital function for museums, libraries, archives, and other cultural heritage institutions worldwide. By implementing sound acquisition strategies, practicing responsible preservation and conservation, and providing access to collections, institutions can ensure that cultural heritage is protected and made available for present and future generations. Ethical considerations must always be at the forefront of collection management decisions, ensuring that cultural heritage is treated with respect and sensitivity.

The challenges of collection management are constantly evolving, particularly in the digital age. As technology advances and our understanding of cultural heritage deepens, institutions must adapt their practices to meet the changing needs of their collections and their communities. By embracing innovation and collaboration, institutions can continue to play a vital role in preserving and sharing the world's cultural heritage.