History
6302: Collections Management in Museums
Summer
2005
University
of West Georgia/Atlanta History Center
Instructors:
Dr.
Ann McCleary, History Department, University of West Georgia, 678-839-6041, amcclear@westga.edu ; office hours Tu/Th 11- 12:30 in TLC 32111 and by appointment at the
History Center
Ms.
Heather Howell, Registrar,
HHowell@atlantahistorycenter.net
Ms.
Deborah Thomas, Associate Registrar,
DThomas@atlantahistorycenter.net
Class meetings:
This class meets on Wednesdays 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 Howell 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 activities in collections management. The primary practicum assignment will focus
on a new Civil War collection being acquired by the AHC. Students will help unpack the collection,
inventory the artifacts, prepare temporary labels, complete condition reports,
and other tasks as necessary. In
addition to this assignment, students will experience the real world of the
collections manager by helping to engage in other types of projects. More specifics will be provided during the
first day of class.
All
students will complete 22 hours of practicum work during the seven-week summer
term. Fourteen of those hours will be
during the schedule class time, including the last two hours of each class
(from
All
students must keep a journal record to document this practicum time, listing
what hours you worked, what you did, and what you learned from the
experience. This journal must be
included in your portfolio.
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, 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 accessioning to deaccessioning,
touching on the topics that we are covering in class and in our course readings
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 or encyclopedic 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
8: Class Introduction, Introduction to
Collections Management (Large classroom)
12:30-1:15 Introduction to the class (McCleary)
·
What do we mean by museum collections
management?
·
Discussion of syllabus and overview of
practicum project
1:30-2:30 Acquiring collections I (Howell, Thomas,
Susan Neill)
·
Who is the registrar? What do we
mean by registration?
·
Ethics, professional standards, and legislation impacting collections
management, including NAGPRA (Native American Graves and Repatriation Act)
·
Current issues in museum collections
2:45-3:30 Object handling
and condition reporting
Read: Conservation Concerns, “Introduction,”
1-3
Registrars on Record,
“Thinking Simply”, 113-128; “Let’s Kill All the Lawyers: Registrars, Law, and Ethics,” 131-144; “The Role of the
Registrar,” 1-44
Registration Methods for the
“Museum Code of Ethics,” on the
American Association of Museums website at:
http://www.aam-us.org/museumresources/ethics/coe.cfm
June 15: Acquiring Collections II
(Archives Room)
·
Acquiring collections (purchases, gifts,
loans)
·
Collections policies
·
Types of collections (including buildings
and archives)
·
Building and culling collections
1:45-2:45 Creating a collections policy: what do you need to include? (McCleary)
3:00-3:30 Tour of the AHC'’s
collections work and storage areas
Read: Registration Methods for the
June 22:
Record-keeping I (Archives Room)
·
Acquisitions
·
Collections files
·
Catalogs
·
Photo documentation
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
“Accessioning,” 58-77;
“Documentation,” 78-83; “The Catalogue,”
pages 84-105; “Computers,”
120-140.
June 29:
Record-keeping II (Large Classroom)
Read:
Registration Methods for the
AAM “Guidelines on Exhibiting Borrowed
Objects”, on the AAM website at: http://www.aam-us.org/museumresources/ethics/borrowb.cfm
July 6:
Care of collections (Large Classroom)
12:00 noon Conservation of
collections
3-3:30 Museum pest
management (Bob Evans, AHC volunteer)
Read: Conservation Concerns,
“Control of Temperature and humidity in Small Collections,” 15-22,
“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
13 Collections handling,
packing, and shipping (Large Classroom)
Read: Registrars on Record, “Moving Imagery:
Collections Management During a Museum Move,” 91-112. “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 20 The
Curatorial Role: Case Studies (Archives
Room)
12:30-1:15 The Shutze Exhibit (Rebecca Moore)
·
Object selection
·
Appropriate exhibit display techniques
Read:
Handouts
to be provided by instructors
July
27: Meet at