The current edition of SPECTRUM is SPECTRUM 4.0, published in March 2011.

Download SPECTRUM 4.0 as individual procedures:

• Pre-entry
• Object entry
• Loans in
• Acquisition
• Inventory control
• Location and movement control
• Transport
• Cataloguing
• Object condition checking and technical assessment
• Conservation and collections care
• Risk management
• Insurance and indemnity management
• Valuation control
• Audit
• Rights management
• Use of collections
• Object exit
• Loans out
• Loss and damage
• Deaccession and disposal
• Retrospective documentation

Download other sections from SPECTRUM 4.0:

• Introductory pages

Museums & Galleries Commission Guidelines for Good Practice, assisting curators and managers in developing their museum services to a high standard beyond the basic minimum by producing a forward plan.

This guidance was published in 1996 and still contains useful information for museums developing a forward plan. You may find this useful if you are preparing for Accreditation.

This document offers guidance relating to the Accreditation Standard, section three - users and their experiences. This second version of the section three guidance has been published after reviewing comments from museum practitioners collected during 2012. Elements which have been revised are clearly highlighted. The Accreditation Standard itself has not changed.

A print friendly version is available on the Arts Council's website: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/supporting-museums/accreditation-scheme/guidance-documents/.

Read more about the resource on this website (external link)

Bibliography

This document offers guidance relating to the Accreditation Standard, section two - collections. This second version of the section two guidance has been published after reviewing comments from museum practitioners collected during 2012. Elements which have been revised are clearly highlighted. The Accreditation Standard itself has not changed.

A print friendly version is available on the Arts Council's website: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/supporting-museums/accreditation-scheme/guidance-documents/.

Read more about the resource on this website (external link)

Bibliography

By Nick Poole, CEO, Collections Trust. 01.02.2012

In August 2011, for 3 days, London was overtaken by a series of spontaneous riots. As disaffected children and young people took to the streets, looting shops and damaging property, the television news sent pictures of burning buildings and angry mobs around the world.

In the aftermath of the riots, people of all ages and faiths came together in angry condemnation of the senselessness of the riots and with a renewed spirit of unity and community. When things like this happen, society needs to understand them, to learn from them and ultimately learn how to avoid them in the future.

This document offers guidance relating to the Accreditation Standard, section one - organisational health. This second version of the section one guidance has been published after reviewing comments from museum practitioners collected during 2012. Elements which have been revised are clearly highlighted. The Accreditation Standard itself has not changed.

A print friendly version is available on the Arts Council's website: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/supporting-museums/accreditation-scheme/guidance-documents/.

Read more about the resource on this website (external link)

Bibliography

This document offers introductory guidance relating to the Accreditation Standard. This second version of the introductory guidance has been published after reviewing comments from museum practitioners collected during 2012. Elements which have been revised are clearly highlighted. The Accreditation Standard itself has not changed.

This guidance outlines:

- benefits
- scalability
- process
- expectations
- how decisions are made

A print friendly version is available on the Arts Council's website: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/supporting-museums/accreditation-scheme/guidance-documents/.

Read more about the resource on this website (external link)

Bibliography

This document provides specific guidance on how to create the three new collections related policies required by the UK Accreditation Standard 2011.

Documentation Policy
Care and Conservation Policy
Access Policy statement

The guidance does not give specific wording but it explains the role and purpose of a policy, and provides section headings with explanations for what should go in each section. These sections and explanations are drawn from the Accreditation guidance and represent the minimum standard for each of the policies.

As a freelance consultant and trainer, I was involved in the development of the Accreditation standard and guidance and previously spent nearly eight years as Accreditation Manager and assessor in Scotland. I have produced this guidance to support training courses that I run along with my colleagues Margaret Harrison and Heather Lomas of Collections Management Network. We are happy to share this resource with the wider sector.

Bibliography

A list of resources for museums and galleries working towards an application for Accredited status or existing Accredited Museums.

Read more about the resource on this website (external link)

This template sets out the principles that will provide the governing bodies and the workforce of museums with a framework for responsible and ethical acquisition and disposal of collections. It provides clear procedures and decision-making processes common to Accredited museums.

Read more about the resource on this website (external link)

Bibliography

The Accreditation Scheme sets nationally agreed standards for museums in the UK. The standard supports museums in identifying opportunities for further improvement and development. Accreditation began as the Museum Registration Scheme in 1988, initially with an emphasis on ethical governance and collections management.

Bibliography

A questionnaire is for organisations that wish to apply for Accredited status. Existing participants do not need to complete this form. The specific eligibility criteria are published within the Accreditation Standard (2011).

Read more about the resource on this website (external link)

Bibliography

Presentation given by Susanna Hillhouse, Museum Consultant, and Laura Whitton, Partnerships Manager at the Collections Trust, at the MA Conference, October 2011.

Read more about the resource on this website (external link)

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust was one of the museums invited to help pilot the 2011 New Museum Accreditation Scheme. In this presentation, Collections Manager Paul Fraser Webb explains how the Trust responded to the challenge, the changes they made, and the resources they found helpful in the process.