Collections Research for Museums is offering a one- or two-week course in basic curatorial and cataloging procedures for small museums. The course is designed for those museums which have small, non-professionally trained or volunteer staffs. It covers the basics of marking, handling, measuring, and cataloging, plus general care and storage for all types of objects and materials.
The course is individualized to suit the needs of each museum. Classes are given on site at the museum and utilize the museum's own collection.
Specific areas to be covered by each class are based on a survey of the museum's collection and will include a sampling of the materials and object types present in the collection. Discussions on policy, creating forms, and proper record keeping can also be included, if desired. The length of the course will depend on the number of topics to be discussed.
The course is priced according to length and may include up to 10 people.
A list of suggested reference material, general supplies, and suppliers is provided, along with samples of cataloging worksheets for ethnographic/historical/art, geological, natural history, and photographic collections.
 The advantages of this type of training are two-fold: the classes will allow the museum to begin to implement a collections management program as they learn proper procedures with students receiving hands-on training with many different types of objects, all of which will be representative examples from their own collections. Second, the classes will allow smaller museums to include more staff and/or volunteers in the learning and collections management process since a museum can enroll up to ten individuals for the same expenditure of funds.
COURSE OUTLINE: FULL TWO-WEEK COURSE (Museums may choose from the topics listed in the full course outline to design their own course work based on their training needs.)
Administered through Museum Classes Online, part of the Northern States Conservation Center. For more information, or to sign up, check the Museum Classes Online website at www.museumclasses.org.
The Basics of Museum Registration
This course will cover the basics of museum record keeping. The role of the mission statement as the foundation for the museum will be discussed along with the importance of establishing set policies and procedures. The terms ‘registration’ and ‘accession’ will be defined and the process discussed. Three common types of numbering systems will be reviewed and the answer to the question "Why do museums put those little bitty numbers on all their artifacts?" will be revealed. The Museum Registration Manual, its importance for the museum and what it should contain will be reviewed.
Participants will be asked to create a mission statement, collection policy and acquisition policy for a ‘new’ museum; comment on one of the selected readings about museum missions; complete an accessioning exercise; and for the final class project create a sample registration manual for our ‘new’ museum.
The Mission Statement: Is It Really That Important?
This is a Short Course designed to concentrate on a single topic--in this case the Museum Mission Statement. Participants will create a mission statement for a 'new' museum, review numerous mission statements from existing museums, and discuss issues relating to the most important document in a museum--the mission statement.
Collections Management: Cataloging Your Collection
This workshop will cover the basics of collections cataloging. Cataloging procedures will be discussed in detail. Sample forms to support these procedures will be available. Best practices for numbering artifacts will be presented, as well as how to perform inventories and condition reports. Procedures for handling, measuring, and describing of all types of objects and materials will be discussed. Students will be asked to describe an everyday object and practice cataloging several items from their own collections or households.
NEW COURSE! Collection Inventories
Collection inventories are an important part of collections management and collection security. This class will discuss everything you ever wanted to know about collection inventories....how to set up for a collection inventory, how to conduct a collection inventory, what to look for during the inventory, how to reconcile the information gathered during a collection inventory and how often inventories should be done.
The Basics of Museum Registration March 8 through April 2, 2010
Collections Management:Cataloging Your Collections July 5 through 30, 2010
The Mission Statement: Is It Really That Important? July 12 through 16, 2010
Collection Inventories November 1 through 30, 2010
The Basics of Museum Registration February 22 through March 21, 2011
Collections Management:Cataloging Your Collections July 1 through 31, 2011
The Mission Statement: Is It Really That Important? July 18 through 22, 2011
Collection Inventories November 7 to December 2, 2011
The Mission Statement: Is It Really That Important? November 14 through 18, 2011
Collections Research for Museums has teamed up with the Westend Training Center in Estes Park, Colorado for a 5 day workshop in Collections Management for Small Museums entitled Collections Management in Times of Change.
Collections Management in Times of Change
This workshop will cover the basics of museum record keeping. The role of the mission statement as the foundation for the museum will be discussed along with the importance of establishing set policies and procedures. The terms ‘registration’ and ‘accession’ will be defined and the process discussed. The importance of creating a registration manual for the museum and what it should contain will be reviewed. Sample forms to support the various procedures will be available. Three common types of numbering systems will be discussed and the answer to the question "Why do museums put those little bitty numbers on all their artifacts and how do I do it?" will be revealed. Procedures for handling, measuring, and cataloging of all types of objects and materials will be discussed. Hands-on exercises and a tour of local museum facilities will round out the workshop.
Collections Management in Times of Change
COURSE OUTLINE
SIGN-UP SHEET AND COURSE DESCRIPTION
Westend Training Center: Directions and information.
Collections Research for Museums offers a one or two day training course in the basics of creating and working with databases in FileMaker® Pro.
COURSE OUTLINE
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