A museum is distinguished by a collection of objects that are often unique that form the core of its activities for exhibitions, education, research, etc. This distinguishes it from archives or libraries, in which the contents may be more paper-based, nonrefundable and less exhibit-oriented, or private art collections formed by individuals, families or institutions that may not provide public access. A museum usually has a collection policy for new acquisitions, so only objects in certain categories and certain qualities are accepted in the collection. The process by which an object is officially included in the collection is called accessioning and each object is given a unique accession number.
Museum collections, and archives in general, are usually cataloged in collection catalogs, traditionally in card indexes, but are currently in computerized databases. Transferring collection catalogs to computer-based media is the main work for most museums. All new acquisitions are usually cataloged on computers in modern museums, but there is usually a backlog of old catalog entries that are computerized as time and funding allow.
Video Collection (artwork)
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The museum collections vary widely. There are art collections, scientific specimens, historic objects, live animal specimens and much more. Because there are so many things to collect, most museums have specialist areas of specialization. For example, historical museums can only collect relevant objects for a specific area or even one person, or focus on a type of object such as a car or postage stamp. Art museums can focus on a period, such as modern art, or an area. Very large museums will often have many subcollections, each with its own collection criteria. Natural history museums, for example, will have mammals in separate collections of insects.
Since the museum can not collect everything, any potential new additions should be carefully considered because of its eligibility for a certain area defined by the museum.
Maps Collection (artwork)
Access
Access is a formal legal process for receiving objects into museum collections. Because accessing an object has an obligation to take care of that object forever, it is a serious decision. While in the past many museums received objects with little consideration, today most museums have accepted the need for formal access procedures and practices. This is usually set as part of the Collections Management Policy museum or CMP.
Although each museum has its own procedures to access, in many cases, the museum begins with an offer from a donor to give the object to the museum, or a recommendation from the curator to get the object through a purchase or trade.
Some issues should be considered in the decision to accept an object. Common issues include:
- Is the object relevant to the museum's mission and the scope of its collection, as determined by its body?
- Is the object legally obtained and if it is imported from abroad, imported in accordance with international law?
- Does the object owner have a legal right to the object and therefore the right to transfer it?
- Are there other parties with an interest in the object (eg heirs of donors, descendants for cultural objects etc.)?
- Is the object burdened by any legal obligations or constraints (e.g., natural history objects that require special permission)?
- Will the object pose any threat or danger to another object or staff?
- Does the museum have the resources to properly maintain objects (for example, appropriate storage space, adequate funding)
- Are objects burdened by donor restrictions?
Answering these questions is often necessary to investigate an object provenance , the history of an object from the time it was created.
Many museums will not access objects that have been obtained illegally or where others have an interest in the object. In the art museum, particular attention was given to objects that changed hands in European countries during World War II and archaeological objects unearthed after the 1970 UNESCO Convention covering the transport of cultural objects. Other disciplines have different problems. For example, anthropological museums will pay particular attention to Native American objects that repatriation can be subjected to, and paleontological museums may look carefully whether proper licensing procedures are followed when they are offered fossil collections.
While in the past, museums often received objects with donor-based restrictions, many museums today require that gifts be given without further ado. General donor restrictions include requiring that an object be always exhibited, or that the collection stays together. However, such restrictions may prevent museums from changing their exhibitions as scholarship progress and can introduce conservation issues for fine objects that are not suitable for a sustainable look.
The final decision to accept an object generally rests with the museum's supervisory board. In large museums, a special committee can meet regularly to review potential acquisitions. After a decision is made to accept an object, it is formally accession through the Deed of Gift and entered into the museum catalog record. Each object is assigned a unique catalog number to identify it. The objects are then packaged for proper archival storage, or prepared for exhibitions or other educational uses.
Cares
After accession to the collection, museum objects must be treated appropriately. The new object can be checked by a conservator and treated for any pre-existing damage. The object is then cataloged by a curator or another specialist with knowledge of the importance and history of the object. The object will then be assigned the appropriate storage location.
The museum's storage conditions are intended to protect objects and minimize damage. This often means keeping objects in a stable climate, preventing pest exposure, minimizing any handling, and only using archival material that will not damage or harm the object. Security of the object also includes providing appropriate security, and planning for disasters and other threats, and ensuring that museum staff are trained in proper handling procedures.
Different types of objects have different requirements, and many museums have special storage areas. For example, framed paintings can be stored in a shelf in one room while unframed paintings are stored in large drawers elsewhere. Some objects have very special needs. For example, materials from underwater archaeological sites may need to remain wet, and some very rare and extremely deteriorating objects require an oxygen-free environment.
At any given time, museums only show some of their collections. This is often because the exhibits require more space than storage, and are not practical for the entire collection out. Museums may also contain many duplicate or similar objects and find that some specimens are more suitable for display than others. In addition, certain objects, especially working on paper and textiles, are damaged by light and should only be displayed for a short period of time.
Museum collections often consist of a variety of materials in a collection including, but not limited to: canvas, acrylic oil and/or paint, wood, ivory, paper, bone, leather, and textiles. The biggest conservation issue for museum collections is the fluctuations of humidity and relative temperatures. Relative Humidity (RH) is a measure of the percentage of air saturation.
Temperatures are not as important as the life of a work of art, but it is true that chemical reactions occur faster at higher temperatures. However, a museum should consider the convenience of staff and visitors and it has been widely accepted that temperatures of 68 Â ° F-75 Â ° F do not cause much trouble for most artifacts and are comfortable for most humans.
It has also been agreed internationally that RH should be set at 50% -55%. This has been widely accepted because the lower limit is set at 45% because organic material damage starts to occur below this point. The upper limit is placed at 65% because the mold develops at 70% RH. It is also cheaper for most institutions to maintain 50% RH than 45% or 60%. There are some exceptions when it comes to tropical climates since the indigenous artifacts that adapt to the RH level are higher than the "museum norm". Changes can be made to the RH museum to accommodate seasonal changes, but should be done gradually. Humidity should change in 2% per month increments (increase of 1 Â ° F will affect the decrease of about 2% RH).
Disabling
Suspension , the process of discarding, selling or trading objects from museum collections, is not done lightly in most museums. There are ethical issues to consider because many object donors usually expect museums to take care of them for ever. Termination of an object in a collection may be appropriate if the museum has more than one instance of that object and if the object is transferred to another museum. It may also be appropriate if an object deteriorates or threatens another object.
The decision for deaccession includes two parts. It makes a decision for deaccession and decides the method of disposal. In general, the first option is to transfer objects to the use or other divisions in the museum, such as delegating duplicate objects from a permanent collection into a collection of teaching. The second option is transferring objects to other institutions, usually with priority local institutions. The American Alliance of Museums and other regional associations often operate lists or boards to help facilitate such transfers. The last option is selling on the open market. Open market sales are generally expected to take place at auction rather than through personal sales, and are usually most common in art museums due to the high monetary value of art collections.
A controversial example occurred when the last complete dodo installed in the museum's collection at Oxford University had been damaged due to its decline in 1775. Another case was the sale of JMW Turner's paintings in the Royal Holloway collection, University of London to the Getty Museum to fund the maintenance of the building, despite the fact that the original donor had expressly requests that the collection remain intact.
Many ethical guidelines for deaccessioning require that the funds generated by removing collection items be used only to add or maintain the remaining collections. For example, the Code of Ethics of the International Council (ICOM) states that:
"Money or compensation received from the cessation and disposal of objects and specimens from museum collections should be used only for collection purposes and usually for acquisition to the same collection".
In the United Kingdom, guidelines governing cessation and other ethically difficult issues can be found in the Museum's Code of Ethics. In the United States, guidelines on these matters are issued by the American Alliance of Museums.
The American Alliance of Museums Code of Ethics takes the position that "nothing will happen [discontinuation] is used for anything other than the collection or direct maintenance of the collection".
Other museums may have additional restrictions on the use of funds from termination. For example, in some museums, funds from discontinuation of artwork can only be used to purchase works in similar styles or periods (for example, funds from 20th century American print sales can not be used to buy 17th century Italian painting books) and donor names the work being sold remains linked to the artwork purchased.
Selling artwork to fund budget deficits and paying salaries is like "burning your house to heat the kitchen."
See also
- Conservation-restoration
- Archive
- Receivers
- Invasion suffix
References
Further reading
- Malaro, M. (1998) Primary law in managing museum collections . Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBNÃ, 1-56098-787-1
- Weil, S. (2000) Deformation reader . Washington D.C.: Association of American Museums. ISBN 978-0-931201-50-9
External links
- "Developing a Collection Program" from the Smithsonian Institution Archives
- Code of Ethics, International Museum Conference
- Collection at the University of California Paleontology Museum
- [1] Center for Registration of Museum Type Collections (CES) under the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic
- CHIN Guide to Museum Standards Includes standards for metadata, vocabulary and classification, data content, data exchange, and museum procedures.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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