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HERM 322: Heritage Collections 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.

Unit 1: Heritage Collections: The Historical Legacy

Ames, Michael M. “The Development of Museums in the Western World.” In Cannibal Tours and Glass Boxes: The Anthropology of Museums, 15–24. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1992.
Pearce, Susan. “Museums: The Intellectual Rationale and Bibliography.” In Museums, Objects, and Collections, 89–117, 274–287. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993.
Hooper-Greenhill, Eilean. “A Useful Past for the Present.” In Museums and the Shaping of Knowledge, 191–208. London and New York: Routledge, 1992.
Alberti, Samuel J. M. M. “Objects and the Museum.” Isis 96, no. 4 (December 2005): 559–571.
Weil, Stephen E. “From Being about Something to Being for Somebody: The Ongoing Transformation of the American Museum.” Daedalus 128, no. 3 (1999): 229–258.

Unit 2: Museum Collections and Conciliation

Canadian Museums Association. “Section 1: Historical Considerations,” Moved to Action: Activating UNDRIP in Canadian Museums. Ottawa: Canadian Museums Association, 2022, pp. 10–32.
Task Force on Museums and First Peoples. Turning the Page: Forging New Partnerships Between Museums and First Peoples, 3rd ed. Ottawa: Assembly of First Nations and the Canadian Museums Association, 1994.
UN General Assembly. United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Resolution/Adopted by the General Assembly. A/RES/61/295 (2 October 2007).
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Winnipeg: Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 2015. (At a minimum, please read pages 37–70, 183–190, and 246–258.)

Unit 3: Collection Types and Uses

Keene, Suzanne. “Chapter 3: Collections.” In Fragments of the World: Uses of Museum Collections, 38–58. Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, 2005.
Kress, John. “Valuing Collections. Editorial.” Science, 346, no. 6215 (2014), 1310
Cole, Catherine Cooper. “Determining Whether to Use Original or Reproduction Artifacts at Historic Sites.” Alberta Museums Review 10, no. 2 (Fall 1985): 6–9.
Cross, Sally, and Wilkinson, Helen. “Effective Collections (an Introduction): Making Better Use of Stored Collections.” In Making Collections Effective, 7–16. London, UK: Museums Association, 2007.

Home page: [UK] Museums Association
Pantalony, David. “What Remains: The Enduring Value of Museum Collections in the Digital Age.” HoST – Journal of History of Science and Technology, 14, no. 1 (June 2020): 160-182.

Unit 4: Archival Collections

Booms, Hans. “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

Coles, Laura. “3. Bringing Material into Your Archives: Acquiring, Appraising, and Accessioning.” In A Manual for Small Archives, 23–29. Vancouver, BC: Archives Association of British Columbia, 1999.

(Additionally, refer to the sample forms—Deed of Gift, Record of Transfer, Loan Agreement, Accession Record—pages 35–41, and to the Appendix.)

Home page: Archives Association of British Columbia
Duff, Wendy M., and Marlene van Ballegooie. “The Foundation of RAD.” In RAD Revealed: A Basic Primer on the Rules for Archival Description, 1–11. Canadian Council of Archives, 2001.
Fraser, Crystal, and Zoe Todd. “Decolonial Sensibilities: Indigenous Research and Engaging with Archives in Contemporary Colonial Canada.” In Decolonising Archives, 32–39. L'Internationale Online, 2016.

Unit 5: The Process: Collecting and Documenting

Nova Scotia Museum. Nova Scotia Museum. Nova Scotia Museum Collection Management Policy. Halifax: Department of Communities, Culture, and Heritage, 2024.

Home page: Nova Scotia Museum 
Burcaw, Ellis. “Registration and Cataloguing.” In Introduction to Museum Work, 93–101. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press, 1997.
Gardner, James B., and Elizabeth Merritt. “Collections Planning: Pinning Down a Strategy.” Museum News 81, no. 4 (July/August 2002): 30, 32–33, 60–61.

Unit 6: The Process: Managing Collections Data

Dunn, Heather and Paul Bourcier. “Nomenclature for Museum Cataloging.” Knowledge Organization 47 (2020), no. 2: 183–194.
Canadian Heritage Information Network. Making Up the Rules: New Documentation Standards for Canadian Museums. Ottawa: Department of Canadian Heritage, 2020 [2012].
Zetterström-Sharp, Johanna, Niala, J. C., and Ondeng, Juma. “Methodologies for International Access and Collaborative Collections Research in Museums: Challenges and Opportunities.” In Collections Management as Critical Museum Practice, edited by Cara Krmpotich and Alice Stevenson, 385–400. London: UCL Press, 2024.
Proctor, Nancy. “The Google Art Project: A New Generation of Museums on the Web?” Curator: The Museum Journal 54, no. 2 (April 2011): 215–221. 

Unit 7: The Process: Collections Care

Miller, Steven H. “Museum Storage: Out of Sight, Out of Mind?” Museum News (January/February 2006): 57–59.
Ostritsch, Peter. “No Hidden Treasures!” ICOM Voices, International Council of Museums, February 21, 2023.
Michalski, Stefan. “Care and Preservation of Collections.” In Running a Museum: A Practical Handbook, edited by Patrick J. Boylan, 51–89. Paris: International Council on Museums (ICOM), 2004.
Podany, Jerry. “Sustainable Stewardship: Preventive Conservation in a Changing World.” In Reinventing the Museum: The Evolving Conversation on the Paradigm Shift, 2nd ed., edited by Gail Anderson, 239–249. Lanham: Altamira Press, 2012.

Unit 8: Managing Collections: Rationalizing and Deaccessioning

Miller, Steven. “The Ethics of Deaccessioning.” The New Criterion, 37, No.4 (2018): 32–34.
Durrant, Jennifer. “Humanising Collections Disposal.” In Collections Management as Critical Museum Practice, edited by Cara Krmpotich and Alice Stevenson, 103-119. London: UCL Press, 2024.
Canadian Museums Association. “E4: Disposals.” In CMA Ethical Guidelines 1999, 8–10. Ottawa: Canadian Museums Association, 2006.

Home page: Canadian Museums Association 
Canadian Museums Association. Deaccessioning Guidelines. Ottawa: Canadian Museums Association, 2014.  

Home page: Canadian Museums Association 

Unit 9: Access, Collaboration, and Repatriation

Weaselhead, Frank. “Repatriation Experiences of the Kainai.” In We are Coming Home: Repatriation and the Restoration of Blackfoot Cultural Confidence, edited by Gerry T. Conaty, 151–181. Edmonton: Athabasca University Press, 2015.
Clavir, Miriam. “First Nations, Preservation, and Conservation: Personal Perspectives.” In Preserving What Is Valued: Museums, Conservation, and First Nations, 114–216. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2002.
Rosoff, Nancy B. “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, 72–79. London: Routledge, 2003.
Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute. “Beyond Property and Trade: Establishing a Community Loans Program.” Ottawa: Canadian Museums Association.

HERM 322 Bibliography

HERM 322 Bibliography

Assignment Rubrics

Assignment 1: Reflection – Rubric
Assignment 2: Summary – Report Rubric
Assignment 3: Collection Proposal – Rubric
Assignment 4a: Policy Overview and Draft Bibliography – Rubric
Assignment 4b: Policy Assessment – Rubric