In her recent post for the UCL Museums and Collections blog, Rachel Sparks sets out her top 10 'crimes' committed against good practice in curating archaeology collections.

Film and video materials need special care if they are to be enjoyed now and on into the future. All types of moving image material are susceptible to damage and require particular handling and storage. Making them accessible through cataloguing, careful viewing and digitisation is vital. 'The Screen Heritage UK (SHUK) Moving Image Collections Handbook' is a practical guide for anyone working with a collection of film and video material but without specialist training in this field. All the advice given is in line with current best practice in the UK as agreed by the SHUK partners. The handbook provides a basic 'starter's guide' to key aspects of moving image management, preservation and access. It contains overviews, detailed advice, history and context and comments and tips from specialist archivists. A range of solutions is offered to suit different organisational priorities and budgets. It contains advice and practical guidance on:

Launched in 2009, SYNTHESYS is a joint project to increase access to 337,204,000 Natural History specimen in 20 Natural History museums across Europe both physically and virtually through online Collections Databases.

As well as enhancing access to and research use of this material, a Joint Research Activity will enable researchers to extract important DNA samples from archival material.

ICOM International Committee for the Museums and Collections of Costume, Vocabulary of Basic Terms for Cataloguing Costume

Available in English, German and French

Whether you are working in museums, teaching, researching or studying, Museum Ethnographers Group is the central point of contact for museum ethnography.

Professional Guidelines concerning the storage, display, interpretation and return of human remains in ethnographical collections in the United Kingdom.

The aim of these guidance notes is to inform the conduct of workers in museums who have responsibility for ethnographic collections, to create an awareness of areas of concern particular (although not exclusive) to ethnographic material.

A list of useful online information resources for enquiries and research, produced for a workshop at the Social History Curators Group conference. The list is also available via Delicious.