Collections Research News Collections R esearch News Collections Research News Fall 2010

SPRING 2006 SPRING 2006

WHAT IS THAT? WHAT IS THAT? THE IMPORTANCE OF DONOR RECORDS. THE IMPORTANCE OF DONOR RECORDS.

Elements of SuccessfulBy Jeanne Co Kaufmannllections Management By Jeanne Kaufmann Part 7 There are nine major elements of successful collections management in museums and all of these elements should be Thinkingpresent to about insure puttingyour museum up a isnew fulfilling exhi bitits public and need trust andsome collection ideas? stewardship Take a look obligations. through These the keymuseums’ elements Thinking about putting up a new exhibit and need some ideas? Take a look through the museums’ collectionsare: and see all the wonderful objects that are just waiting to be put on display. collections and see all the wonderful objects that are just waiting to be put on display.  Clear Museum Mission Statement  Mission-driven Policies and Procedures But wait, what is thatKnowledge? of proper handlingWhat wasprocedures it used for? But wait, what is that? What was it used for?  Thorough and accurate documentation of collections You’re not sure aboutKnowledge what ofan safe obj andect properis or itsnumbering use so methodsyou go to the accession or donor records to get You’re not sure about what an object is or its use so you go to the accession or donor records to get  the answer, but allInventory you find control is the donor’s name and an object number. Where is all the information the answer, but all you find is the donor’s name and an object number. Where is all the information  Safe and stable environment that should tell you Consistent what the and item sound is access and the procedures story behind it? Where is the donor record? Did it ever that should tell you what the item is and the story behind it? Where is the donor record? Did it ever exist?  Safe and secure exhibition practices exist?

Collections Research News addressed the first five elements in previous issues. In this issue we will look at the Doimportance you really of inventorythink it controlis that in easy museums. to perform a quick internet search and get all the answers? What Do you really think it is that easy to perform a quick internet search and get all the answers? What happens if after an exhaustive The amount Importance of research of Periodic you still Inventoriescannot find the information? Maybe you happens if after an exhaustive amount of research you still cannot find the information? Maybe you decide to contact the donor only to find that they don’t remember or worse yet, have passed away. decide to contact the donor only to find that they don’t remember or worse yet, have passed away. HowWhat can IS soyou important tell a story about ifdoing you that do inventorynot know of thethe collection?history or Whybackground should you associated put other duties with aside an object? and perform How can you tell a story if you do not know the history or background associated with an object? this unglamorous task? For one thing, how can you successfully perform all those glamorous tasks, such as exhibits and Thepublic inability programs, to findif you information do not know whator just you the have lack in your of information collection? Secondly, is not only how dofrustrating, you know thatbut wonderfulcould also The inability to find information or just the lack of information is not only frustrating, but could also ‘whatzit’ is still where it was the last time you saw it 10 years ago? Is it even still in the museum? By the way, what is leadthat to pile a significantof dust sitting loss in the of place historical where thatknowledge. lovely black It silkis important hat used to be?to gather as much information about lead to a significant loss of historical knowledge. It is important to gather as much information about an object as possible when it is offered to the museum for consideration to avoid future time an object as possible when it is offered to the museum for consideration to avoid future time consumingPerhaps you research can see where trying this to is figure going. outPeriodic what inve thentories mysterious of your collectionsitem is and are what critical it towas fulfilling used yourfor. consuming research trying to figure out what the mysterious item is and what it was used for. stewardship obligations as a repository of public trust. ‘Visiting’ with your collections will remind you of the wonderful Enterthings the you importance have in the museum of Donor and Records. may spark a new idea or two about how to improve or change your exhibitions or Enter the importance of Donor Records. public/educational programs. It will also allow you to monitor your collections for condition and stability, telling you that a change may be needed in the storage/exhibition environment, that the method of housing a particular artifact needs Donorto be improvedrecords ornot changed, only transfer or that no ownership changes at all to are the needed. museum Periodic via inventoriesa Deed of also Gift, play they a large can partcapture in the and Donor records not only transfer ownership to the museum via a Deed of Gift, they can capture and recordsecurity historical of the museum value. and If itsyou collections. decide that If you the never item look in questionin that storeroom, is valuable how will to have you ever in yourknow if something is record historical value. If you decide that the item in question is valuable to have in your missing and, if it is missing, was it stolen or just misplaced? A misplaced artifact is as good as stolen forContinued all practical on pa ge 2 Continued on page 2 purposes. COLLECTIONS RESEARCH FOR Check the Museum Classes Online website at COLLECTIONS RESEARCH FOR Check the Museum Classes Online website at Now that I know why I should be doing an inventory, how do I do it?www.museumclasses.org Inventories, in fact, are not or hard contact to do, us but for you more www.museumclasses.org or contact us for more mustMUSEUMS be systematic in HAS how you A go WEBSITE! about it and always finish what youinformation. start. Begin Other with classesone section are of available. one room and MUSEUMS HAS A WEBSITE! information. Other classes are available. start atNow the top you and can work visit down us (or onthe thebottom web and at work up, if you prefer). Each room, section, shelf or drawer should be Now you can visit us on the web at assignedhttp://museumco a location name or llectionmgmt.comnumber (ex. Storeroom. 1, Shelving UnitOUR [or Cabinet] 2006 M 1,USEUM Shelf [orC Drawer]LASSES 1). O NLINE With bothSCHEDULE the http://museumcollectionmgmt.com. OUR 2006 MUSEUM CLASSES ONLINE SCHEDULE numbering and the inventory, begin at a logical point in the room andJuly proceed 5 through in a logical 31, 2006 pattern: MS around 207: the Museum room (ex. July 5 through 31, 2006: MS 207: Museum left to right, right to left or row by row, etc.). You may find that someCollections of the artifacts Management: you come Catalogingacross do not Your have Collection Collections Management: Cataloging Your Collection numbersNEW TRAININGon them. They have OPPORTUNITIES either deaccessioned themselves (numbers wore or fell off) on the shelf or were missed NEW TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FROMduring the COLLECTIONSaccessioning process. For RESEARCH these items it is a good idea toLook establish for thea temporary Basics numberingof Museum system Registration with which in FROM COLLECTIONS RESEARCH Look for the Basics of Museum Registration in to track them (ex. T1, T2, T3.....T100, etc.). Attach an acid-free tag2007 to each. unnumbered item with the temporary 2007. number writtenFOR on it so MUSEUMS you can find it again when it comes time to reconcile the inventory with the museum’s records. FOR MUSEUMS Keep a temporary number log, similar to your accession number log,H toANDS track-ON the TnumbersRAINING youS EMINARSare assigning. IN E STES PARK, HANDS-ON TRAINING SEMINARS IN ESTES PARK, ONLINE TRAINING CLASSES COLORADO ONLINE TRAINING CLASSES COLORADO CollectionsThe information Research we are for looking Museums for during has teamedthe inventory up is the AccessionCollections number Research (or tempor hasary teamednumber, upif necessary), with the Collections Research for Museums has teamed up Collections Research has teamed up with the with the Northern States Conservation Center to Westend Training Center in Estes Park, Colorado for with the Northern States Conservation Center to Westend Training Center in Estes Park, Colorado for offer two new Online classes: The Basics of Continued(Continued on page 2 on pg 2) offer two new Online classes: The Basics of (Continued on pg 2) Museum Registration and Collections Museum Registration and Collections Management: Cataloging Your Collections. Management: Cataloging Your Collections. Cont from page 1 assigned temporary numbers during the ______the type of artifact (its name, ex. spoon, inventory. Third, there are left over catalog 2011 TRAINING SCHEDULES photograph, etc), a short description (describe it records for which you found no corresponding so you can tell it apart from some other similar artifact. The solution: The artifacts in first two ONLINE TRAINING artifact in the collection), and the artifact’s categories need to be matched up with the records MS103: Basics of Museum Registration February 22 to March 21, 2011 condition (assuming everything is ‘Good’ unless in the third. Computerized records can make this circumstances dictate otherwise reduces writing task easier, but do not forget to check your MS207: Collections Management: Cataloging Your time). It can be helpful to leave a spot on your manual records too. They can hold valuable Collection paper/form for comments just in case there are information that will assist with this matching. July 1 to 31, 2011 some major conservation concerns that should be Start with the first item. It is a blue widget with MS007: The Mission Statement: Is It Really That addressed. Write the inventory location (room, red dots. Pull up on the computer or from your Important? shelving unit, shelf) at the top of each page and object catalog all the records for widgets, July 18 to 22, 2011 include the date and the name of the person doing concentrating on the records that have not yet November 14 to 18, 2011 the inventory. Each distinct location will be listed been matched to an artifact. Look for the record on separate sheet or sheets—new location, new that represents a blue widget with red dots. MS218: Collection Inventories sheet. Hopefully you will only have one such record. If November 7 to December 2, 2011 Cont from page 1  Writing Directly on the O bject ______You are now ready to begin your inventory.In addition to the traits lisnot,ted f olookr clea atr v athernis size,hes, shape, condition or other WESTEND2009 TRAININGTRAINING CENTER SCHEDU LES colored base coats shoulddistinguishing posses good adhe characteristicssion, The thi rtod mmatchethod f theor nu widgetmbering objects, writing  Reconciling an Inventory Collections Management in Times of Change be non-flaking, and be pitogm theent- bcorrectased rath record.er than Youthe numaymb eneedr direc totly physicallyon the object , is the preferred ONLINE TRAINING MayMS10 316-20,: Basic s2011 of Mu seum Registration dye-based. The followincompareg are accep tallabl eyour color ewidgetsd tec tohn itheque catalogfor marki nrecordsg paper a tond photographs and Following the process above we havebase coats: Acryloid B-72 with pigment colorant could be considered as an option for plastics. Look for it in January, 2010 be sure of the match. When the correct record for Check our website for details: systematically gone through our storagesuch as and titan ium dioxide (Liquid Label); or water- Bear in mind, however, that any number applied MS207: Collections Management: Cataloging Your exhibition spaces and made lists ofb allase dthe prod itemsucts s uinch as Rtheotrin widgetg white a hasrtist cbeenolor found,dire cupdatetly to pl athestic ocatalogbjects sh ould be considered http://museumcollectionmgmt.comCollection ______our collection. Now what do we doo pwithaque wallat ethoserproof acrylirecordc; Golde n;with or A itsqu acurrent-tec. locationpermane nand,t sinc eif s onecessary,lvents and ev en water can be July 6 to August 1, 2009 A note of caution, water-based products may not damaging. pieces of paper we generated? That is the second number or re-number the widget with the correct SERVICESMS 0 0 7 : T he Mission Statement: Is It Really That be as durable as solvent-based varnishes and Important? phase of the inventory process–the wreconciliation.hen dry must still be remaccessionoved with snumber.olvents. I f ContinueFor pa pthiser, u smatchinge a #2 (HB ) or softer (#1) pencil andF ILEMAKER® PJROuly C13ATALOGING to 17, 2009 This reconciliation phase cannot takeyou place use a w untilhite b ase coatprocess always a puntilply a cyoulear either prunress out light ofly. artifacts If possibl eor, m ark the mat (if TEMPLATES barrier layer first and thencatalog apply th records.e white ov e r it . present) rather than the work itself. Always place MS218: Collection Inventories an inventory of the entire collection has been Collections Research forNo Museumsvember 2 to can30, 2 0assist09 small You may wish to conside r using a white ink, the number on the reverse side of the wmuseumsork. For with computerizing their collection completed. acrylic paint or watercolor to write the number two-sided works, mark both sides in the margin If you find you have more artifacts than records, a WESTEND TRAINING CENTER instead of using a white base coat and black with a different number (ex. 1234.a anddocumentation 1234.b). using off-the-shelf database software. more thorough search of your donor, accession or Collections Management in Times of Change The first part of the reconciliation isnu relativelymber. The r esults will be much less obtrusive If there is no clear area to mark the work, mark its April 5 to 10, 2010 simple whether you are using a manualand m orore esthetically pleotherasing. records may be in corder.ontaine r .If you find the Training is available for our database and in computer catalog. Since the inventory sheets records for the artifact, process it now by general FileMakerChec Prok ou techniques.r website for d etails and next year’s schedule: http://museumcollectionmgmt.com include the accession number and aT shorthe mo st common solveassigningnts are: A caneto nappropriatee, F oaccessionr marking p numberhotograph ands a # 2 or softer pencil is which can dissolve paint, ink, plastic and recommended. The Schwan All Stabilo pencil ___O__N__-S___ITE___ __TRAINING______description of the artifact, go throughcoa ttheings ; Toluene, whichadd is m ituc toh m yourore to xcollectionic wcatalog.orks well oIfn ryouesin -findcoate dno ph otographic paper. SERVICES records, process the artifact as “Found in Collections Research for Museums offers classes for inventory sheets and update the catalogthan ac recordsetone and dissolves the same kinds of (This pencil also comes in white whichsmall works museums inF ILCatalogingEMAKER® P ROand CAT ACollectionsLOGING with the current location of each artifact.materia l sSimple,; Ethanol , whicCollection”h can dissolve seitherhellac underw itsell assignedfor marking temporary dark papers like old bManagement.lack photo The course T isEM PL designedATES for those right? Sure it is, IF all the artifactsv arearni snumberedhes on furni ture, innumberks, paints aornd other plastic appropriates; album accession pages). Th enumberre is a nic e 100% graphite Collections Research for Museums can assist small Petroleum benzene and related petroleum pencil available, which is wonderful fomuseumsr hard to whichmuseu m haves wi th small,comp ute non-professionallyrizing their collecti on AND all the numbers and descriptionsdisti lmatchlates su ctheh a s Napthanda or addMin eitr atol S yourpirits , collectionmark pcatalog.apers and artifacts. Again, presstrained very or volunteerdocumenta t staffs.ion usin g It o ff covers-the-she lf the dat a basicsbase sof tw ofa re. catalog records AND all the catalogw hrecordsich are a lareso to xic and c an damage waxes and lightly so as not to damage the emulsiomarking,n or make handling, measuring, and cataloging, plus present and accounted for! Unfortunately,waxed surf mostaces b ut usuallIfy lyoueave findmost pyouaint shave, morean irecordsmprint. N thanumbe rartifacts only on t htoe b ack ngeneralear an care Tandrain istorageng is av aforila ballle ftypesor ou rof dobjectsatabase andand in plastic and other surface treatments alone. edge and away from the image portionmaterials. of the general FileMaker Pro techniques. of us will find that we don’t have perfect records match to them, then you may have some serious issues regarding the securityphoto gofrap yourh. collection. PROJECT SERVICES and some of our artifacts are not numberedProper ma toreri als for applying the number to these ON-SITE TRAINING The records may reflect artifacts that have been We also offerC ao llvarietyections R ofes eotherarch fo servicesr Museum sto of fmuseums,ers classes f or have deaccessioned themselves on bthease shelfcoats w orer e discussed in the Fall 2008 A wax pencil (Berol China Marker) malargey be u sed and s small.mall m u seu Thesems in Crangeatalog ingfrom and Csimpleollectio ns there is some other problem that cropsNew sup.lette rWe. Go lden’s Fluidlost, Ac stolenrylics in or Ca removedrbon fromto ma rthek pl acollectionstics. It also can be used for resin- Management. The course is designed for those Black or Titanium Whitewithout make the thebest properchoices paperc otrailated pbeinghotogr agenerated.phic papers i f Ath e Stabiinventorieslo pencil tom ucompleteseums wh iandch hthoroughave small, catalogingnon-professi oofna lly find that when we did our inventory we had to collections. Feel free to contact us for more for numbering inks and cseriousan be app reevaluationlied with a fine of thedoe smuseum’s not work, bu procedurest it can smear so care should be trained or volunteer staffs. It covers the basics of assign quite a few temporary numbersbrus hor o rwhen used in a TRIA Pen. Rotring’s Acrylic taken to interleave photographs with acinformation.id-free m Weark inprovideg, handl ina gfree, mea initialsuring, aconsultationnd cataloging, .p lus we go through the inventory sheetsA torti supdatets color #the597 137 Blashouldck is als obe undertaken. paper or place them in individual Myla r sleeves to general care and storage for all types of objects and materials. records we find that some of the numbersrecomme donde notd, as is China White watercolor prevent transfer. (Collections Research News is a service of paint. Correcting discrepancies in the museum’s paper PROJECT SERVICES Collections ResearchWe also offe rfor a v arMuseums,iety of other seInc,rvice s4830 to mu seEum s, match any existing catalog record. Now what?! trail, properly managingD youro not ucollectionse inks or p aandints on paper or Kansas Dr, Denver,large an dCO sm 80246all. T(303)757-7962,hese range from Tollsim ple If your object is subject tounderscoring excessive hand ltheing oimportancer photog ofrap followinghs. If necess ary, acrylic paint or inventories to complete and thorough cataloging of During the reconciliation process you will find free: 1-877-757-7962, the number is likely to beprocedures worn off by a regardingbrasion, a handlingwatercol oandr can security be used o nof p ltheasti c, but the number collections. Feel free to contact us for more that you have three categories of ‘problems’.top coat can b e applied over the number. It has should be applied in an inconspicuous loEmail:cation [email protected]. We provide a free initial consultat ion. collection are just a few of the reasons for First, artifacts with seemingly correctbee naccession suggested t hat the top coat be a different away from any maker's marks. Website: http://museumcollectionmgmt.com. material than the barrier lconductingayer, so that th periodice top coat inventories. The sooner you (Collections Research News is a service of numbers have no corresponding catalog record or Questions, comments or story suggestions are and number can be removbegin,ed with otheut di moresturbi ncomfortableg Next tyouime wwille w ifeelll dis caboutuss a few new innovative Collections Research for Museums, Inc, 4830 E the catalog record that does not match. Second always welcome.)Kansas Dr, Denver, CO 80246 (303)757-7962, Toll the barrier layer, but this youris not stewardshiprequired. of yourm ecollection.thods of nu mbering and tracking museum are the artifacts with no numbers which were objects. Sorry we did not have room to finish the free: 1-877-757-7962,

discussion this time. But stay tuned! Email: [email protected] Website: http://museumcollectionmgmt.com. Questions, comments or story suggestions are always welcome.)