The curation and care of museum collections / edited by Bruce A. Campbell and Christian Baars.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Campbell, Bruce A., editor.

Baars, Christian, editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Museums--Collection management.

Museums.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (227 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York, New York : Routledge, [2019]

Summary:

Museum curators enter the profession with a specialist subject qualification and yet at some point in their career, many curators find themselves in charge of a range of collections outside of their expert knowledge. Interpreting, curating and caring for mixed collections demands of curators a wide range of knowledge and understanding. The Curation and Care of Museum Collections is designed to give curators the fundamental information and confidence they need to manage and care for all of the collections within their responsibility, regardless of their previous training and experience. Comprising two sections - Museum Collections, and Collection Development and Care - the chapters cover archaeology, art, history, military and natural sciences collections, as well as heritage properties. Every chapter in the book is focused on one type of collection, but all chapters in the collection management section contain advice on topics such as organisational philosophy, documentation, legal issues and materials in order to provide a useful and comprehensive guide to managing collections. The collection care section is structured in the same way, considering the issues of storage; display; handling; moving; packing; housekeeping; health and safety; emergency preparedness; and pest, pollution, environmental, light and vibration management. The contributors to this book are experienced museum professionals, each with their own specialism and a deep understanding of what it means to work in the context of mixed collections. Providing a highly practical guide, The Curation and Care of Museum Collections is essential reading for curators working in all types of museums, galleries and heritage sites, and for students of museology courses around the world.

Contents:

Cover

Half Title

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication Page

Table of Contents

List of illustrations

List of contributors

Acknowledgements

Individuals

Institutions

Introduction

Part I Museum collections

Chapter 1 Archaeology collections

The nature of archaeological collections

History

Range and composition of archaeological collections

Organisational philosophy

Documentation

Legal issues

Materials

Access

Summary

References

Additional resources

Chapter 2 Art collections

History of art collections in museums

Legal aspects

Chapter 3 Heritage properties

Maintenance of buildings

Pest management

Surveys

Cleaning

Income generation

Chapter 4 History collections

The nature of history and its collections

Ethical issues

Chapter 5 Military collections

The nature of military collections

Storage

Chapter 6 Natural science collections

The nature of natural science collections

Range and composition of museum collections

Part II Collection development and care

Chapter 7 Collection development strategy: Potentially everything is useful and interesting

Introduction.

Museums as collecting institutions

The twenty-first century collection

Why collect?

How museums collect

Reviewing collecting practice

Collection development strategies: some case studies

Developing a collection fit for the twenty-first century - Amgueddfa Cymru-National Museum Wales' collection development strategy

Conclusions

Chapter 8 Collection care and conservation

Collection care: why?

Collection care: how?

Gaps in knowledge

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-429-95899-4

1-138-58920-9

9781138589209

OCLC:

1089930848