International best practices for heritage collections management

International best practices for heritage
collections management
Nick Poole, CEO, Collections Trust

Introductions!

I’m Nick Poole

CEO of Collections Trust, Chair of ICOM UK

Working in cultural heritage management for 15 years

I believe that museums, archives and libraries play a
unique role in building a healthy, prosperous and
tolerant society. My work is inspired by Article 27. of
the declaration of Human Rights, that ‘everyone has
the right freely to participate in the cultural life of
their community’.

About the Collections Trust

Working internationally in the field of museum, gallery, library and
archive management since 1977

Our mission is to work with cultural organisations to promote excellence
in collections management.

Not-for-profit organisation based at the Natural History Museum in
London, but working worldwide

Our role

Helping individual practitioners and volunteers to develop skills and
leadership in collections management

Working with galleries, libraries, archives and museums to define and
achieve excellence in collections management

Helping cultural heritage organisations share their collections online
safely and sustainably

Working with commercial partners to share expertise and best practice

A note about SPECTRUM

SPECTRUM is not a standard – it is the accumulated practice of 450
libraries, archives and museums

SPECTRUM is a community of 7,500 people working together in 40
countries to share best practice

You don’t start at ‘A’ and work through to ‘Z’ – you choose the elements
that are useful/relevant and adapt them to your work

SPECTRUM is a perpetual beta – we hope the SA community will join the
international community to bring your knowledge and experience to
the development of SPECTRUM

Objectives for the day:

To learn from the SA museum, library and archive community and to
share best practices in Collections Management worldwide

Agenda

• What are the challenges facing cultural heritage institutions?
• What can collections management do for you & your users?
• How is collections management developing around the world?
• Where does the SA community want to go next?

Some questions to consider:

What do you want to get out of today?

What does ‘collections management’ mean to you?

What are you going to take from today and apply to your work?

What would you find most useful to support this process?

Session 1:
Managing the modern museum, archive or library

What are the key challenges and opportunities
confronting your organisation?

What do they mean for your work?

Key challenges

Cultural heritage organisations all over the world are confronting some
common challenges:

• Achieving relevance
• Increasing efficiency
• Supporting multiple narratives
• Enabling new types of collecting
• Meeting changing user expectations
• Embracing digital, social and mobile technology

Achieving relevance
How can we ensure that the services we are delivering are relevant
and meaningful to audiences, and reflect the way they live?

“Down the Back of the Sofa”

Derby City Museums & Leisure Service were looking for
ways to make collections accessible and interesting to
younger people.

Using objects from the collections, they created a ‘pop-up’
display and exhibition space in central London. They used
the space for events, DJ nights, informal meetings and
conferences.

The experience engaged 9,000 people in 2 days with
collections in new ways, and brought new audiences to
the museums & library service.

Increasing efficiency
How can we maximise the resources and capacity available to us to
manage collections as efficiently as possible?

Saving time at the V&A

The Victoria & Albert Museum in London has an
‘Accessions File’. To accept a new item into the
collections required 15 signatures. The process took
many months.

The Collections Management Team analysed the
Accessions process, and found that they were
duplicating many steps in the process.

They reduced the number of signatories to 2, and in
the process saved themselves 100’s of hours of effort
per object.

Multiple Narratives
How can we collect, curate and share multiple narrative viewpoints
and the contexts associated with them?

Yorkshire’s ‘Precious Cargo’

2,000 young curators (18-24) from a range of
social and ethnic background worked with 60
collections to reinterpret them from different
perspectives.

Using a methodology called Revisiting
Collections, they recorded their perspectives
alongside the collections information of the
museums, making it accessible to future curators
when planning exhibitions and loans.

New types of Collecting
How can our collecting practice adapt to reflect the changing needs
of users and the proliferation of culture?

BFI Collecting Policy

The British Film Institute combines an audiovisual
archive, library and museum on London’s South
Bank.

Working with a cross-departmental team, the BFI
has reviewed and rewritten its Collections Policy to
provide a clear strategic mission statement, and
then to incorporate new types of collecting activity
including paper, born-digital material, DVD and
computer games.

Defining the scope of collecting activity has also
allowed them to say ‘no’ with confidence!

Changing expectations
How are consumer expectations of the range, quality and
accessibility of our services changing?

User-focussed Library Services in Chicago

Chicago Metropolitan Library Services used best practices
from retail and customer service to redevelop their offer
to the public.

Based on observational research, they updated their
service to diversify their book stock, provide informal
meeting spaces, provide ‘plain English’ browsing
terminology and enable patrons to approach any service
desk for help and guidance.

Ultimately, the process enabled Chicago libraries to
redefine their services around new forms of use and
interaction.

Digital, social, mobile
What opportunities are presented by the rise of digital, social and
mobile technologies?

A History of the World in 100 Objects

In June 2010, the British Museum collaborated
with the BBC to create 100, 15-minute films each
of which used a single object to tell the story of a
significant social, economic or industrial
development.

The films were supported by radio advertising,
online content, social media and mobile content.
It enabled users to participate, comment and
share content.

The campaign achieved a significant new
audience demographic for the collections.

Changing inputs

The range and scope of material which we need to be able to collect
has increased dramatically in the past 10 years:

• Physical collections
• Digital surrogates
• Audiovisual material
• Born-digital material
• Learning content
• Narratives
• Administrative information
• Ephemera
• Social media

Changing outputs

The range of platforms and interactions which we need to be able to
support has also increased dramatically:

• Collections management
• In-gallery interactives
• Online interaction
• Learning experiences
• Federated use in 3rd party platforms
• Printed content
• Audit and administration

The importance of integration

For all type and scales of museum, archive and library, the critical
challenge is in getting the different people, systems and
departments of the organisation working together effectively to
achieve a common aim.

We can’t afford practices which reinforce silos…

The ‘traditional’ organisation

Most cultural organisations operate in ‘vertical’ silos

Education Management Collections Retail IT

The ‘integrated’ organisation

Making the most of collections depends on integration of all of the
functions into a common strategic aim

Visitor experience

Strategic People
Collections Objectives

Facilities

‘Strategic Collections Management’

Users Funders Politicians



Organisational Mission




Collecting Policy




Collecting Policy

Care Learn Develop Use




Collecting Policy


People Systems Procedures Information




Collecting Policy



Evaluation & improvement




Collecting Policy




Rich online and offline experiences for users

Conclusions

Our common aim is to create rich, meaningful and relevant
experiences for our real and virtual users

Every decision about collections has to be based on a strategy that is
built around the needs of users, the type of material and the
capacity of the organisation.

Strategic collections management is not about perfection, it’s about
making sensible, pragmatic and proportionate decisions.

We need to be able to support an increasing range of types of material
and an increasing range of forms of use.

Session 2:
Collections Management and SPECTRUM

What is a ‘Collection’?

What does ‘Collections Management’ mean to you?

How does your organisation manage collections at the
moment?

What is a Collection?

A ‘collection’ is not just a group of physical objects, books or
records. It is the total body of material, knowledge, narrative,
digital assets and other information resources which your
organisation collects, manages and shares with the public.

A ‘collection’ may be 1 item. It may 1m items. What makes it a
collection is the cultural, social and intellectual capital it represents.

What is ‘Collections Management’?

Defined as:

“Strategies, policies, processes and procedures related to collections
development, information, access and care”

Collections Management is about balance:

•Between access and preservation
•Between the needs of current and future generations
•Between economic, social and environmental impact

Case Study: National Museums Wales

National Museums Wales is a consortium of 7 different museums

3.They began by setting a shared Strategic Vision

5.They then created Collections Management policies that were shared
across all sites

7.Policies were approved by Trustees, then integrated into staff feedback
& development

9.Policies are reviewed on a 5-yearly cycle, and procedures are subject to
a periodic audit. Findings are fed back into future planning

Why manage Collections?

Collections Management delivers a number of key benefits for your
museum, archive or library:

•Governance and accountability
•Supporting your mission
•Facilitating meaningful engagement
•Reducing costs
•Reducing effort
•Reducing duplication
•Supporting more active use
•Providing a shared professional practice
•Protect against theft

Anatomy of Collections Management



Collecting Policy




Rich online and offline experiences for users

Anatomy of Collections Management

Collecting Policy


Anatomy of SPECTRUM

People Procedures Information Systems

Collections & collections-related knowledge

What are workflows…?

Workflows are flow-diagrams which help map out a sequence of
steps in a logical way

Every organisation has workflows, whether they are expressed or
not, which define how you work

Workflows connect different people along the process so that
everybody understands their role & responsibilities

A workflow is often expressed as a Procedural Manual or Staff
Handbook – a written document of how your organisation does its
work.

Introducing SPECTRUM

SPECTRUM is essentially a collection of best practices from 450 people
who work in museums, archives and libraries

The SPECTRUM user community includes 7,500 organisations in 40
countries worldwide

SPECTRUM is an open framework – nobody owns it, everybody can
contribute to it or adapt it to suit their needs

If you are working with a collection, the chances
are that the best practices in SPECTRUM will be
familiar to you

SPECTRUM Procedures

SPECTRUM describes 21 procedures which commonly occur in
cultural organisations

Each procedure is essentially a workflow for how to do something

The procedures are connected, so that there is a logical interaction
between them!

SPECTRUM Procedures

Pre-entry Valuation
Object entry Audit
Loans in Rights Management
Acquisition Use of collections
Inventory control Object exit
Location/movement control Loans out
Transport Loss and damage
Cataloguing Deaccession & disposal
Condition checking Retrospective documentation
Conservation
Risk Management
Insurance

‘Primary’ Procedures

Pre-entry Valuation
Object entry Audit
Loans in Rights Management
Acquisition Use of collections
Inventory control Object exit
Transport Loss and damage
Cataloguing Deaccession & disposal
Condition checking Retrospective documentation
Conservation
Risk Management
Insurance


Object entry
Loans in
Acquisition
Object exit

Cataloguing
Retrospective documentation


Object entry
Acquisition
Location/movement control
Cataloguing
Object exit
Loans in
Loans out
Retrospective documentation

‘Primary’ procedures are defined as the minimum set of processes
required in order for an organisation to manage its collections.

Example: Pre-entry

Definition

The management and documentation of the assessment of potential
acquisitions before their arrival at the organisation

•Clarify the organisation's acquisition policy and conditions for deposition of objects and documentary records to
the potential depositor;

•Ensure that the organisation is fully aware of the quantity and type of material that is on offer;

•Assess the impact on the organisation of acquiring the items, in terms of space, manpower, financial, legal and
conservation issues;

•Ensure that a global organisation accession number has been assigned to the site (for fieldwork) or collection(s)
(for bequests or purchases) if necessary;

•Ensure that an expected date of deposition and responsibility for the items in transit is agreed with the depositor

Using SPECTRUM

SPECTRUM works best when used as a reference tool

It helps define the ‘roles’ involved (even if they’re all done by the same
person)

It helps review and simplify your existing practice

It helps ensure you are making the most of your collections and the
information associated with them

It helps establish shared practices, for example for loans or disposals

It isn’t perfect! If it doesn’t fit your practice, help us develop it!

Session 3:
Collections Management in practice

Case Studies

Retrospective Documentation in Wakefield

Developing the Women’s Library Mission Statement

LED lighting at the National Portrait Gallery

Documenting photographs at the National Railway Museum & Archive

User-generated Content at the London Transport Museum

Case Study: Wakefield Cultural Services


Situation:

In 1995, Wakefield Cultural Services carried out a review of collections,
which highlighted a significant backlog in collections documentation. This
backlog was preventing them from undertaking rationalisation to ease
the pressure on their stores.

Task:

Wakefield needed to establish a methodology to resolve the backlog,
provide an inventory of their collections and use this to rationalise what
they held.


Action:

Wakefield began with a physical inspection of the collections, checking
for inventory numbers. Where no number was available, a temporary
number was assigned.

Temporary numbers used a different format from accession numbers to
facilitate identification.

For each object assigned a temporary number, a basic inventory-level
record was created on the computer database.

Wakefield then cross-referenced the temporary numbers with the
accession records for which the object couldn’t be located


Result:

Over a period of 8 years, Wakefield was able to document 110,000
objects in its database

In the process, it reconciled 2,000 of it’s 10,000 ‘temporary’ accessions

The museum was then able to undertake strategic rationalisation of
8,000 of its largely unprovenanced ‘orphan’ objects

The result was a significant improvement in documentation over an 8-
year period, a reduction in unprovenanced items and a framework for
strategic rationalisation, alleviating pressure on its stores.


Lessons learned:

Accurate descriptions of format and material were vital in helping re-
connect ‘orphan’ objects with their catalogue records

Retrospective documentation must be a long-term managed process, not
a short-term project

Basic documentation is essential for effective, responsible rationalisation.


Questions:

What is the status of your organisation’s backlog?

Do you have a plan in place to address it?

Do you have a system for reconciling ‘orphaned’ objects?

Do you have an idea about how long it should take?

Case Study: Women’s Library

Situation:

The Women’s Library is an archive, special library and museum collection
founded in 1926. Despite its distinct identity and independent tradition it
has been housed successfully within the London Metropolitan University
since 1977

Task:

The Women’s Library needed to establish a strategic framework for its
collecting activity which reflected its own specific needs and priorities
while responding to the strategic framework of the University


Action:

The team at the Women’s Library first reviewed the strategic mission of
the University to identify shared principles and values.

The University has a strong commitment to social justice, access to
education and a clear research agenda.

The Women’s Library adopted these values, but extended them to
demonstrate how they had a duty of care to the collections they hold.

The Women’s Library then established a Collections Policy which set out
a clear scope for its collecting activity in the broader university context


Result:

The work of the Women’s Library team was acknowledged when the
library was integrated as a supported service into the University’s overall
library provision.

Because of the alignment of strategic priorities, this helped the University
to understand how the Women’s Library fit within their priorities.

The approach has now been adopted across the University’s other special
library collections, and the Women’s Library team have been invited to
share their expertise and best practice.


Lessons learned:

Collections management is most effective when based on a clear
strategic mission

The strategic mission can demonstrate how your collecting activity can
add value for a funder or governing body


Questions:

Does your organisation have a Mission Statement?

Does your Mission Statement reflect your collecting activity?

Does your Mission reflect the aims of your governing/funding body?

LED at the National Portrait Gallery


Situation:

In 2010, the National Portrait Gallery decided to review its use of
traditional tungsten halogen bulbs for lighting, and to investigate the use
of LED as a lighting solution throughout their galleries

Task:

The Gallery had to demonstrate that LED lighting would reduce energy
use and save money as well as delivering a comparable or better quality
of light for the display and enjoyment of their collections.


Action:

A team at the National Portrait Gallery undertook a project to review the
impact of LED light on the user experience of the gallery.

The team reviewed the available literature and examined similar projects
in other locations before trialling Erco Optic 14 watt spotlights in a small
public gallery.

The team worked with scientists and curators to assess the ‘spectral
range’ of the lights and their impact on the accuracy of the colours.

As a result, the team replaced the existing lights with LED in most public
areas of the gallery


Result:

The replacement of the bulbs with LED required a large capital outlay.
However, it is estimated to have saved 11,802 kWh and 6.7 tonnes of
CO2 per annum, resulting in better environmental performance and
reduced costs across the gallery.

LED were not appropriate for all areas – works of art predominantly
featuring red-spectrum colours could not be lit, and some visitors have
reported a ‘washed out’ look to some gold frames.


Lessons learned:

Collections management encompasses not just documentation, but also
security, environmental management and display

Collections management strategies based on informed research can
deliver significant cost benefits

Decisions about collections management need to be accountable


Questions:

How could collections management help you save money?

Does your organisation have an environmental policy?

Photos at the National Railway Museum


Situation:

In the mid-1990’s, after 20 years of acquisitions, the National Railway
Museum in York found itself with a collection of more than 1.5m
photographs in various formats and at various degrees of stability. There
was a pressing need to improve cataloguing and storage.

Task:

The museum had to establish a strategy for recording information about
the photographs, digitising them and making them available for public
access.


Action:

The museum began the process with an audit of the collections and the
creation of basic inventory records at ‘group’ level (a group referring to a
collection of photographs).

This resulted in unsatisfactory information – one group of 400,000
photographs was described with a single record.

Reviewing catalogues and card indexes provided by photographers
allowed the museum to begin cataloguing at item-level. As the
retrospective documentation continued, museum & archive practice
converged – the museum adopted the archival ISAD(G) standard for its
photographic collections, mapped to SPECTRUM


Result:

This retrospective process has now enabled the National Railway
Museum to provide catalogue-level access to all of its photographic
collections.

At the same time, the inventory-level information has allowed them to
prioritise collections for digitisation. They have been able to extend this
work through partnership with local ‘expert amateur’ groups.

The result is a significant improvement in public access to and use of the
rich photographic collections.


Lessons learned:

The accessibility of large collections can be improved significantly
through group or collection-level inventory

Overall documentation can be improved through successive processes
moving from group to catalogue to individual item level

Although not perfect, collaboration with external expert amateurs can be
a pragmatic solution to issues of capacity and resources.

SPECTRUM can be applied effectively in conjunction with other
frameworks

UGC at the London Transport Museum


Situation:

The London Transport Museum holds significant collections of archival,
photographic and other documentary material alongside its object
collections. Although it had good documentation of most items, it lacked
richer narrative descriptions of the collections.

Task:

The museum had to find a way of enabling users to add descriptive
information and narrative connections to the catalogue information it
had made available via its website.


Action:

The London Transport Museum created a User Generated Content server,
which was integrated alongside their main Collections Management
System.

Visitors to the website were invited to ‘Share a story with us – comment
on this image’ – which led, via a registration process, to a form which
allowed the user to upload comments, views and observations about the
collections.

User-generated comments were reviewed by collections staff and posted
to the museum’s website.


Result:

The results of the project were mixed. While a significant number of
website visitors contributed comments, this led to an increased workload
for the existing collections staff.

Further, it was found that many of the comments were either of relatively
little cultural value (being either frivolous, or subjective reactions to the
image) or inaccurate.

Ultimately, the decision was made not to integrate the user responses
into the core Collections Management System. It is still possible to
comment, but comments are heavily contextualised & moderated.


Lessons learned:

Crowdsourcing and user-generated content present a significant
opportunity to enrich our knowledge about collections

Organisations have to plan for the capacity, and have clear policies in
place for moderation and quality-control

It is possible for inaccurate user-generated material to undermine the
credibility of the organisation.

What are the challenges your organisation currently
faces?

What one part of your collections management could
you improve to help overcome this challenge?

Workshop session:
Creating a Digitisation Strategy


Time: 40 minutes

Working in groups, we’d like to ask you to create a Digitisation Strategy
for an integrated museum, archive and library service.

Please nominate one person from your group to act as reporter and to
present your Strategy to the room.

It can be a real place, or feel free to make one up!


Things to think about:

•Strategic mission
•Scope
•Audience
•Access
•Preservation
•Copyright
•Sustainability
•Ethical responsibility


Feedback from exercise

Further reading

Collections Link – www.collectionslink.org.uk

Cultural Property Advice – www.culturalpropertyadvice.gov.uk

CHIN - http://www.rcip-chin.gc.ca/index-eng.jsp

Collections Management LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com

10 things you can do tomorrow for no Rand

• Start something
• Look at your space
• Look at your policy and mission statement
• Tell your colleagues about today
• Throw some stuff away
• Go into the gallery and talk to a user
• Tidy up
• Phone a colleague in another museum
• Go surfing
• Be positive!

Keep in touch!

Fill in your forms!

Nick Poole
Collections Trust

www.collectionstrust.org.uk

www.slideshare.com/nickpoole

www.twitter.com/nickpoole1

nick@collectionstrust.org.uk

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