History
6302: Collections Management in Museums
Summer
2003
Instructors:
Dr. Ann McCleary, History Department,
State University of West Georgia, 770-838-3031, amcclear@westga.edu ; office hours Tu/Th 10:30- 12 noon in TLC 32111 and by appointment
Ms. Heather Bostwick,
Registrar,
Ms. Deborah Thomas,
Associate Registrar,
Class meetings:
This class will meet from
Course description and objectives:
This
class will examine the processes by which a museum manages its collections,
from acquisition and collections development to the creation of collections
policies to the registration, cataloging, conservation and care of
collections. Through this course,
students should acquire the skills necessary to conduct registration and
curatorial work according to professional standards in a museum or other curation facility.
This course is offered in conjunction with the
Ann
McCleary, from UWG, and Heather Bostwick and Deborah
Thomas, from the
Course readings:
Bachmann, Konstanze,
ed. Conservation
Concerns: A Guide for Collectors and
Curators. Smithsonian
Institution Press, 1992.
Case, Mary. Registrars on Record: Essays on Museum Collections Management. Registrars Committee of the
American Association of Museums, 1988.
Reibel,
Daniel B. Registration
Methods for the
Course
assignments
Class attendance and participation (20% of
final grant):
Because
this course covers a tremendous amount of material in only seven weeks, we
expect attendance at every class. Class
meetings will incorporate lectures, discussions, and practicum experiences
which may be difficult to make up at a later date. Some absences may be excused by the
instructors.
We
expect students to do the readings in advance and to be prepared to discuss the
issues that the authors raise during our class meetings.
Practicum assignments (40% of grade)
This
class will emphasize hands-on experiences in a variety of collections
management tasks that a museum professional would undertake in his/her
work. Students will be required to complete a range of practicum
assignments in collections management.
Working
with the ACOG collection and following appropriate professional museum
standards, students will (1) open and unpack ACOG collections, (2) complete
condition reports on unpacked items, (3) check the artifacts on the
inventory, (4) complete catalog worksheets, (5) clean artifacts, (6) rehouse artifacts, (7) develop a plan for appropriate
conservation plan and storage plan for one artifact, (8) enter data about the
artifacts into the PastPerfect collections management
program. Students will demonstrate
completion of these assignments in their portfolio.
As
part of the practicum assignments, students will complete the entire range of
activities with one artifact, including the development of a conservation plan
and storage plan. Each student will
conduct the process of accessioning one artifact from start to finish. We encourage you to document this process
with your artifact and to incorporate discussion about this artifact into your
portfolio.
Some
of the practicum time will be during the class period, but students will also
need to come in an additional 15 hours during the summer to work. These hours must be arranged at a time when
the AHC staff is available to provide supervision. Some weekend times will be available. All students must keep a journal record to
document this practicum time.
Collections Management Portfolio (40% of
final grade)
Each
student will develop a class portfolio that demonstrates what he or she has
learned about the collections management process during the semester. This portfolio should incorporate evidence
of your practicum assignments (this could include forms you complete, plans for
storage or conservation, accession records on PastPerfect,
and especially photographs of you doing some of these activities). In addition, the portfolio should reflect
your overall knowledge about the collections process, from accession to deaccession, touching on the topics that we are covering in
class.
The portfolio
should be a creative interpretation of the material. It should be visually attractive, creative in
overall design and concept, and interpretive,
meaning that it “interprets” the materials that you have read and the
discussions that we have had in class. It should be the type of document that you
could take for a job interview to demonstrate the skills and knowledge that you
have gained. Consequently, it should
not be too long nor should it contain the handouts that we have presented or
discussed in class.
Tentative Course Schedule
Note: Please do the readings listed for
each day in advance of that class meeting and be prepared to discuss
them on that day. Note also that the
reading is heavier on some days than others, so please pace yourself!
June
11 Class Introduction,
Introduction to Collections Management
Overview of collections
management: what it is and who does
it. Disucssion of basic working
parameters and considerations for developing collections management policies
and procedures. Tour of the AHC's collections work and
storage area.
Read: Conservation Concerns, “Introduction,”
1-3
Registrars
on Record, “The Role of the Registrar,” 1-44
Registration
Methods for the
Acquiring
Collections I
An overview of
the ethics, standards and professionalism involving collections, including
definitions and terminology; an overview of the laws and legislation involving
collecting and collections on the state, national, and international level,
including NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act); current issues in museum collections
Read: Registrars on Record, “Thinking
Simply”, 113-128, and
“Let’s Kill All the Lawyers: Registrars, Law, and Ethics,” 131-144
June 18 Acquiring
Collections II
Methods of acquiring
collections, including purchase, gift, and loans; creating a collections policy; building and
culling collections; in-house evaluation; and buildings as collections; archives as collections
Read: Registration Methods for the
June 25 Record-keeping
I
Procedures
for acquisitions and registration (obtaining collections items and central
record-keeping);
cataloging collections (identification, marking, documentation
standards, methodologies); Photo documentation;
analyzing material culture.
Computerized data entry of collections records. Inventory control (using spot checks and full
inventories to confirm location and condition of objects);
Read: Registrars on Record:
“Managing Collections Information,” 47-58; “The Registrar in the Cabinet of
Curiosities,” 59-76; and “Automation“ 175-214; “The Essential
Collections Inventory,” 145-160
Registration
methods for the Small Museum: “The Accession Number,” 44-57;
“Accessioning,” 58-77; “Documentation,” 78-83;
“The Catalogue,” pages 84-105; “Computers,” 120-140.
July 2 Record-keeping II
Incoming and outgoing
loans (function, purposes, inventory, responsibilities, liabilities,
legislation on old loans and abandoned property, and facilities reports); deaccessioning and disposal
Read:
Registration
Methods for the
Condition
reporting; cleaning, and preventive conservation
Preparing condition
reports; an overview of preventive
conservation including definitions and terminology, products and problems
(including health and safety concerns), packaging of collection items,
handling, periodic conservation checks, education of staff, and housekeeping.
Read: Handouts to be provided by instructors
July 9 Preventive conservation and
environmental monitoring
Developing a museum-wide
approach to preventive conservation;
techniques for environmental monitoring and recording and instruments
used, including demonstration of equipment at the AHC; properties and implications for preventive
conservation and regulation for temperature, relative humidity, and atmospheric
materials; museum pest management,
including control of pests through an integrated pest management policy and
identification of pests.
Read: Conservation Concerns, “Control of
Temperature and humidity in Small Collections,” 15-22
Properties,
implications, and strategies for preventive conservation of materials of plant
origin, animal origin, inorganic origin, composite and synthetic origin, inherent vice of an object (example: red dyes that are more prone to fading due to
the mordant used).
Read: Conservation Concerns, “Warning Signs:
When Works on Paper Require Conservation,” 35-38; “Warning Signs: When
Photographs Need Conservation,” 47-52; “When Is It Time to Call a Paintings
Conservator?,” 63-68; “Textile Conservation,” 79-84; “Warning Signs: When Textiles Need Conservation,” 85-90; “The
Care and Conservation of metal Artifacts,” 101-4; “Furniture Conservation,’
105-110; “Upholstery Conservation,’ 111-114; “Preserving Ethnographic Objects,”
115-122; “Care of Folk Art: The Decorative Surface,” 123-128; Composite
Objects: materials and Storage Conditions,” 129-133.
July
16 Collections handling,
packing, and shipping
Methods and techniques
for the safe handling, packing, and shipping of museum objects and collections,
insurance for shipping;
handling works of art.
Read: Registrars on Record, “Moving Imagery:
Collections Management
During a Museum Move,” 91-112.
Collections
security, storage, and emergency preparedness
Planning for security,
safeguarding collections from theft, vandalism, unauthorized use of
information, environment, and disasters;
methods including housing, controlled access, and building design as the
first line of defense against security breaches and uncontrolled environmental
conditions; effective housing of
collections through appropriate equipment and materials, environmental control,
and housing systems; emergency
preparedness including threats to collections from natural and man-made
disasters and how to plan to mitigate their effects.
Read: Registrars on Record, “Risk with Good
Reason,” 161-172
Conservation
Concerns,” Principles of Storage,” 5-10; “Construction Materials for
Storage and Exhibition, 23-28; “Storage
of Works on Paper,” 29-34; “Storage and Care of Photographs, 39-46; “The
Preservation and Storage of Sound Recordings,” 53-56; “Storage of Historic
Fabrics and Costumes,” 69-78; “Storage Containers for Textile Collections,”
91-96; “Storage of Stone, Ceramic, Glass, and Metal,” 97-100; “Emergency Planning,”
11-14.
July 23 The Curatorial Role:
Analyzing and Interpreting Material Culture
Using
Collections in Exhibits
Preventive conservation
in exhibit design and fabrication, appropriate lighting, controlling the
temperature and humidity in cases, care and cleaning of objects on exhibit,
length that objects should be displayed.
Read: Handouts to be provided by instructors
July ??: Museum Collections Portfolios are
due by