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HERM 322: Heritage Collections (Rev. A1 and C2/B2) Report a Broken Link

Effective collections management ensures that an institution’s collections are aligned with its mission and mandate, and that the needs of the source communities are understood and respected. At the same time, accepted methods and techniques must be applied in the cataloguing and management of collections data, and in the conservation, storage, and use of artifacts within those collections. HERM 322: Heritage Collections discusses standards, practices, and procedures used—and challenges faced—in collections management in major conservation and museum organizations in Canada and the United States.

Note: To access certain articles, you will be prompted to log in to the library database system; simply use your name and library ID number.

Required Readings

Unit 1

Heritage Collections: The Historical Legacy
Michael M. Ames. “The Development of Museums in the Western World.” In Cannibal Tours and Glass Boxes: The Anthropology of Museums. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1992, 15-24. 
Michael M. Ames. “How Anthropologists Stereotype other People.” In Cannibal Tours and Glass Boxes: The Anthropology of Museums. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1992, 49-58.
Susan Pearce. “Museums: The Intellectual Rationale and Bibliography.” In Museums, Objects, and Collections. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993, 89-117, 274-287.
Eilean Hooper-Greenhill. Museums and the Shaping of Knowledge. London and New York: Routledge, 1992, 191-228. 

Unit 2

Collections: Types and Uses
Ellis Burcaw. “Scientific Collecting and Collecting Theory: History Museums.” In Introduction to Museum Work. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press, 1997, 59-62.
Ellis Burcaw. “Collecting Theory: History Museums.” In Introduction to Museum Work. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press, 1997, 63–72.
Understanding the Future: Museums and 21st Century Life – The Value of Museums. London: [UK] Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Museums and Cultural Property Division, 2005.
[UK] Museums Association. “Effective Collections: Making Better Use of Stored Collections.” In Making Collections Effective. [UK] Museums Association, London: Museums Association, 2007. Read pages 7 to 16.

Home page: [UK] Museums Association http://museumsassociation.org/
Samuel J. M. M. Alberti. “Objects and the Museum.” Isis 96, no. 4 (December 2005): 559-571. 
“Imaginings,” at Glenbow [video]

Unit 3

Archival Collections
Hans Booms. “Society and the Formation of a Documentary Heritage: Issues in the Appraisal of Archival Sources.” Archivaria 24 (Summer 1987): 69-107.

Home Page: Archivaria: The Journal of the Association of Canadian Archivists http://journals.sfu.ca/archivar/index.php/archivaria/
Laura Coles. “Bringing Material Into Your Archives: Acquiring, Appraising, and Accessioning.” [A manual for small archives.] Vancouver, BC: Archives Association of British Columbia, 1988. Follow the links to the sample forms (Deed of Gift, Transfer, Loan; Sample Accession Record, and Appendix).

Home page: Archives Association of British Columbia http://aabc.ca/
Jean Dryden and Kent M. Haworth. Developing Descriptive Standards: A Call to Action. Occasional Paper No. 1. Ottawa: Bureau of Canadian Archivists, 1987, 1-15.
Wendy M. Duff and Marlene van Ballegooie. “The Foundation of RAD.” In RAD Revealed: A Basic Primer on the Rules for Archival Description. Canadian Council of Archives, 2001, 1-11.
Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler. “Creating a Sympathetic Environment.” In Preserving Archives and Manuscripts. Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1993, 51-66. Read pages 51 to 66.

Unit 4

Special Types of Collections:
Archaeological, Palaeontological, and Historic Place Collections
Susan M. Pearce. “Approaches to Storage.” Archaeological Curatorship. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1990, 88-102.
James Muhly. “The Problem of Unpublished Archaeological Excavations.” International Journal of Cultural Property 9, no. 1 (2000): 158-161.
Douglas H. Erwin and Willi Ziegler. “Paleontology in Museums and Institutes in the 21st Century.” Frankfurt: Paleo21 Organizing Committee, Natural History Museum, 1997.

Home page: [UK] Natural History Museum http://www.nhm.ac.uk/
John M. Groff. “To Thine Own Self Be True: The Small Historic House Museum in the 21st Century.” Paper presented to American House Museums, Athenaeum of Philadelphia Symposium, 1998.

Home page: The Athenaeum of Philadelphia http://www.philaathenaeum.org/
Cassie Palamar. “Recreating Historical Environments: The Furnishing Design Process in Historic Site Development.” Alberta Museums Review 12, no. 1 (Spring 1987): 9-10.
Catherine Cooper Cole. “Determining Whether to Use Original or Reproduction Artifacts at Historic Sites.” Alberta Museums Review 10, no. 2 (Fall 1985): 6-9.

Unit 5

The Process: Collecting and Documenting
Nova Scotia Museum. Collection Management Policy for the Nova Scotia Museum. Nova Scotia Museum Tourism and Culture, October 2002.

Home page: Nova Scotia Museum https://museum.novascotia.ca/
Ellis Burcaw. “Registration and Cataloguing.” In Introduction to Museum Work. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press, 1997, 93-101.

Unit 6

Managing Collections Data
James R. Blackaby, Patricia Greeno, and The Nomenclature Committee. The Revised Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging: A Revised and Expanded Version of Robert G. Chenhall’s System for Classifying Man-Made Objects. Nashville: American Association for State and Local History. AASLH Press,1998, pages I-1 to I-5 and II-1 to II-7.
Canadian Heritage Information Network: “Collections Management.” Table of Contents.
Canadian Heritage Information Network: “Collections Management.” Collection Management Software Criteria Checklist
Mary C. Dyson and Kevin Moran. “Informing the Design of Web Interfaces to Museum Collections.” Museum Management and Curatorship 18, no. 4 (2000): 391-406.
James R. Blackaby and Beth Sandore. “Building Integrated Museum Information Retrieval Systems: Practical Approaches to Data Organization and Access.” Archives and Museum Informatics 11, no. 2 (1997): 117-146.

Unit 7

The Process: Artifact Storage and Conservation
Steven H. Miller. “Museum Storage. Out of Sight, Out of Mind?” Museum News (January/February 2006): 57-59.
American Association of Museums. “Conserving Collections.” In Caring for Collections. Strategies for Conservation, Maintenance, and Documentation: A Report on an American Association of Museums Project. Washington, DC: American Association of Museums, 1984, 11-16.
American Association of Museums. “Priorities for Collections Care.” In Caring for Collections. Strategies for Conservation, Maintenance, and Documentation: A Report on an American Association of Museums Project. Washington, DC: American Association of Museums, 1984, 22–31.
Mauro Mandrioli. “Insect Collections and DNA Analyses: How to Manage Collections?” Museum Management and Curatorship 23, no. 2 (June 2008): 193-199.
Lisa Mibach. “Collections Care: What to Do When You Can’t Afford to Do Anything.” History News Technical Leaflet #198 (1997): 1-8.
Dennis Slater. “Visible Storage: The Glenbow Experiment.” Museum International 47, no. 4 (1995): 13-18.

Unit 8

Managing Collections: Assessing, Culling, Deaccessioning
Ainslie, Patricia. “Introduction,” “The Deaccessioning Process,” “Going Public,” and “Making the Decision.” In The Deaccessioning Strategy at Glenbow, 1992–1997, 2–13 & 20–29. Calgary: Glenbow Museum, 1995.
Marie C. Malaro. “Deaccessioning: The American Perspective.” Museum Management and Curatorship 10, no. 3 (September 1991): 273-279.
Steven H. Miller. “Selling Items from Museum Collections.” In A Deaccession Reader. Edited by Stephen Weil. Washington, DC: American Association of Museums, c1997, 51-61.
Canadian Museums Association. “Section E4.” In CMA Ethical Guidelines 1999. Ottawa: Canadian Museums Association, 1999. Read section E4.

Home page: Canadian Museums Association http://www.museums.ca/

Unit 9

Access and Collaboration
Miriam Clavir. “First Nations, Preservation, and Conservation: Personal Perspectives.” In Preserving What Is Valued: Museums, Conservation, and First Nations. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2002. Read pages 114 to 216.
Nancy B. Rosoff. “Integrating Native Views into Museum Procedures: Hope and Practice at the National Museum of the American Indian.” In Museums and Source Communities: A Routledge Reader. Edited by Laura Peers and Alison K. Brown. London: Routledge, 2003. Read pages 72 to 79.
Michael M. Ames. “Are Changing Representations of First Peoples in Canadian Museums and Galleries Challenging the Curatorial Prerogative?” In The Changing Presentation of the American Indian. Museums and Native Cultures. Washington, DC and Seattle: National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution and University of Washington Press, 2000, 73-88. Read pages 73 to 88.
Peers, Laura. “Sharing Knowledge.” Museum Journal 102, no. 5 (May 2002): 24–25, 27.
Slideshow of Haida Artifacts held by museums.