- Home
- Conserve Objects
- Standards in Collections Care
Standards for Collections Care
The Standards for Collections Care series was originally published by the Museums & Galleries Comission (MGC), now the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA). Written by experts in the conservation and care of different types of collection, there are eight standards in the series: Some of the standards have been updated and it is hoped that others will follow.
- Standards in the Museum Care of Collections: Archaeological Collections
- Standards in the Museum Care of Collections: Biological Collections
- Standards in the Museum Care of Collections: Geological Collections
(Mick Stanley, editor of revised edition, 2004) - Standards in the Museum Care of Collections: Larger & Working Objects
- Standards in the Museum Care of Collections: Touring Exhibitions
(Go to updated web pages containing the Standards for exchanging exhibitions commissioned by MLA from the Touring Exhibitions Group and completed in 2006) - Standards in the Museum Care of Collections: Photographic Collections
- Standards in the Museum Care of Collections: Musical Instrument Collections (Patricia Andrew, editor of revised edition, 2005)
- Standards in the Museum Care of Collections: Costume & Textile Collections
Use of the standards
The standards will be used for a number of purposes by professional curators, collection managers and others who run institutions, for bench–marking, aiding audits, ensuring correct conditions and for advocacy. For example:
- A curator/manager may be asked to draw up a schedule of objectives and performance indicators for the care of collections. This publication provides national standards against which achievement may be measured, and which can also be used for benchmarking and ‘best value' exercises.
- An auditor (internal or external) may wish to review how a local authority is looking after its collections. This publication gives defined national standards against which achievement may be measured.
- A curator is trying to persuade a museum governing body to make more resources available for curation of specific collections. These standards will help make the case.
- A local museum run by volunteers is reviewing its acquisition policy, and is looking for professional guidance on the implications of acquiring various classes of material. These standards and guidance will help in drawing up a sensible policy reflecting the constraints posed by the museum's resources.
- A non-specialist is responsible for curating specific collections. These standards will provide an authoritative introduction to the special needs of the collections and sources of specialist advice.
- An architect is asked to design new premises for a particular collection, or a designer is working on a new display or store to contain certain kinds of object. The required standards of security and environmental control that should be attained are detailed here.
- A grant-giving body needs reassurance that a museum applying for a grant will use the money responsibly. These standards enable it to judge whether the museum is likely to do so.
While these standards are addressed primarily to museums, they are also intended for use by private collectors and any other institution that holds collections covered by the standards.
