HIST 668 Collection Management for Archives and Museums
Instructor: Susan McElrath
(Tuesday/Thursday 5:30-8:00 PM)
Tuesday – Bender Library - Classroom 306
Thursday – Bender Library - Archives Reading Room
Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday 4:30-5:30 (Bender Library Room 318)
Syllabus
Course Description:
This course is intended to provide an introduction to the basic theories and methodologies
of collections management in archives and museums. Some of the questions this course
will attempt to answer are as follows:
• What principles and concepts guide the work of archivists and museum
professionals?
• How are records arranged, described, and made available for use?
• How are artifacts cataloged and made available for use?
• What is the impact of new technologies on archives and museums?
Learning Goals:
• This course will introduce students to the basic theoretical principles and
methodologies and the various practices involved in managing archival and
museum collections.
• This course will demonstrate the importance of organizational and analytical skills
in the archival and museum setting.
• This course will introduce students to the challenges of balancing access and
preservation.
Required Books:
Boles, Frank, Selecting and Appraising Archives and Manuscripts (Chicago: Society of
American Archivists, 2005)
Buck, Rebecca A. and Jean Allman Gilmore, Museum Registration Methods, 5th Edition,
(Washington, DC: American Association of Museums, 2010)
Malaro, Marie C., A Legal Primer on Managing Museum Collections, (Washington, DC:
Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998)
Pugh, Mary Jo, Providing Reference Services for Archives and Manuscripts (Chicago:
Society of American Archivists, 2005)
Ritzenthaler, Mary Lynn, Preserving Archives and Manuscripts (Chicago: Society of
American Archivists, 2010)
Roe, Kathleen, Arranging and Describing Archives and Manuscripts (Chicago: Society
of American Archivists, 2005)
ALL OF THE ABOVE ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE FROM THE SOCIETY OF AMERICAN
ARCHIVISTS, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF MUSEUMS OR AMAZON. ALL TEXTS WILL
ALSO BE ON RESERVE IN THE LIBRARY.
Assignments:
Class Participation 50%: Includes active participation in class discussions and completion
of all in-class projects.
Digital Collection Review 25%: Written review and oral presentation. Students should
follow the instructions specified in the assignment.
Research Paper 25%: Students will submit a formal research paper of 10-15 pages in
length on some aspect of the museum or archival work. Students should select a topic of
interest to them in consultation with the professor. The paper should discuss and analyze
the issue thoroughly. Papers should draw on the assigned readings but some additional
research may be required.
Course Schedule:
Class will meet twice a week for seven weeks. The first class will consist of a lecture and
informal discussion of readings. During the second class, students will undertake collection
management tasks. There will be time set aside for the students to report back on their
projects.
May 15
Collection Management
• Scope/Definition - Includes setting and coordinating selection policies; assessing
user needs and studying use; selection, evaluation, and weeding; planning for
resource sharing.
• Range of collection management positions - Registrar; Collection Manager;
Archivist; Curator
Accessioning and Cataloging in Museums
• Provenance
• Accession Records
• Catalog Records
Required Readings:
Buck, Rebecca A. and Jean Allman Gilmore, Museum Registration Methods, 5th Edition.
(Washington, DC: American Association of Museums, 2010), pp. xxx.
Dunn, Heather. "Collection Level Description: The Museum Perspective." D-Lib Magazine
Volume 6 Number 9 (September 2000)
http://www.dlib.org/dlib/september00/dunn/09dunn.html
Rakes, Susan. "Is Collection Management an Art or Science?"Journal of Conservation and
Museum Studies, Vol. 1 (1996)
http://www.jcms-journal.com/article/view/jcms.1964/4
Web Resources:
NPS Museum Handbook, Part II: Museum Records
http://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/MHII/mushbkII.html
Cataloging Cultural Objects
http://cco.vrafoundation.org/
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Descriptive Standards and Applications in Memory Institutions
http://www.slideshare.net/e_murphy/descriptive-standards-andapplicationsinmemo
Categories for the Descriptions of Works of Art
http://www.getty.edu/research/publications/electronic_publications/cdwa/
May 22
Accessioning, Appraisal, and Description in Archives
• Values – evidential & informational
• Provenance – authenticity of records
• Organization of materials (What is original order?)
• Description continuum – collection to series to folder to item level – catalog records
and finding aids
Required readings:
Boles, Frank, Selecting and Appraising Archives and Manuscripts (Chicago: Society of
American Archivists, 2005), Chapters 1, 3
O’Toole, James M and Richard Cox., Understanding Archives and Manuscripts (Chicago:
Society of American Archivists, 2006), Chapters 2 & 4
Roe, Kathleen, Arranging and Describing Archives and Manuscripts (Chicago: Society of
American Archivists, 2005), Chapters2-4
Web Resources:
Pearce-Moses, Richard, A Glossary for Archivists, Manuscript Curators, and Records
Managers http://www2.archivists.org/glossary
May 29
Care of Collections
• Preservation vs. Conservation
• Key factors – temperature, humidity, and light
• Integrated Pest Management
• Occupational Health Issues – mold, contaminated artifacts
Required readings:
Buck & Gilmore, pp. XXXX
Ritzenthaler, Mary Lynn, Preserving Archives and Manuscripts (Chicago: Society of
American Archivists, 2010), Chapters 3-5
Web Resources:
Conservation Online - http://cool.conservation-us.org/
Council on Library and Information Resources - www.clir.org/pubs/pubs.html
New England Document Conservation Center Technical Leaflets –
http://www.nedcc.org/resources/leaflets.list.php
National Park Service Conserve O Grams–
http://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/cons_toc.html
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June 5
Reference/Education/Outreach
• Procedures – rights & reproductions
• Restrictions
• User expectations & education
• Exhibits
• Loan procedures
Required readings:
Buck & Gilmore, pp. XXXX
Ellis, Judith, ed. Keeping Archives (Port Melbourne, Australia: Australian Society of
Archivists, 1993), Chapter 11
Pugh, Mary Jo, Providing Reference Services for Archives and Manuscripts (2005),
Chapters 5-8
Recommended readings:
Danielson, Elena S., The Ethical Archivist (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2010),
Chapter 4
Trinkaus-Randall, Gregor, Protecting Your Collections: A Manual of Archival Security (1995),
pp. 21-27
Web Resources:
ACRL/SAA Joint Statement on Access to Research Materials in Archives and Special
Collections Libraries
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/standards/jointstatement.cfm
NPS Museum Handbook, Part III: Museum Collection Use
http://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/MHIII/mushbkIII.html
Museum Exhibition Design
http://museumplanner.org/museum-exhibition-design-2/
June 12
Donor Relations/ Collection Development
• Care and feeding of donors
• Donor imposed restrictions - balancing donor needs with access
• Monetary Appraisals
• Mission statements, scope of collection statements (NPS) & acquisitions policies How do these differ? Are there different approaches in archives and museum?
Required readings:
Ellis, Chapter 5
Ham, F. Gerald, Selecting and Appraising Archives and Manuscripts (Chicago: Society of
American Archivists, 1993), Chapter 5
Peterson, Trudy Huskamp, “The Gift and the Deed” in A Modern Archives Reader
(Washington: NARA, 1984)
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Web Resources:
Gardner, James B. and Elizabeth Merritt. " Collections Planning: Pinning Down a Strategy."
Museum News. July/August 2002.
http://www.aam-us.org/pubs/mn/MN_JA02_CollectionsPlanning.cfm
Grant, Daniel "How to say 'no thanks' to donors." Wall Street Journal May 19, 2010
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304222504575173803616852666.html
Kenney, Kim. Handling Museum Donors.
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art61265.asp
Miller, Beth J. Parker and Amy McKune. Museums as Donees: Standards, Best Practices, and
Ethical and Legal Responsibilities
http://www.aam-us.org/pubs/upload/gifts.pdf
NPS Museum Handbook, Part I: Museum Collections – Scope of Museum Collections
http://www.nps.gov/museum/publications/MHI/Chapter%202.pdf
June 19
New Technologies
• The Internet and Web 2.0 (Blogs, Wikis, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter)
• Digitization
o Technical requirements
o Metadata Schema – METS, MODS, Dublin Core
• What makes a good digital collection?
Required readings:
The Interactive Archivist: Case Studies in Utilizing Web 2.0 to Improve the Archival
Experience
http://lib.byu.edu/sites/interactivearchivist/
Crymble, Adam. "An Analysis of Twitter and Facebook Use by the Archival Community"
Archivaria 70 (Fall 2010): 125-151
Kelly,Linda. "How Web 2.0 is Changing the Nature of Museum Work" Curator: The Museum
Journal, Volume 53, Issue 4, pages 405–410, October 2010
Yasko, James “Museums and Web 2.0”
http://www.aam-us.org/pubs/mn/museumsweb.cfm
Web Resources
California Digital Library Guidelines for Digital Objects
http://www.cdlib.org/services/dsc/contribute/docs/GDO.pdf
Digital Conversion – Documents and Guidelines: A Bibliographic Reference
http://www.digitizationguidelines.gov/stillimages/documents/Guidelines_Bibliography2009rev.pdf
Kelly, Lynda. G. Brown Goode Smithsonian Education Lecture Series - “How WEB 2.0 Is
Changing the Nature of Museum Work” (May 21, 2011):
http://museumstudies.si.edu/webcast_052110.html
Library of Congress Standards
http://www.loc.gov/standards/
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Museums, Metadata and Standardizations
http://www.slideshare.net/fwahbeh/museums-metadata-and-standardizations
Qin, Jian and Marcia Lei Zeng, Metadata (New York: Neal-Schuman, 2008)
http://www.metadataetc.org/book-website/index.html
University of Colorado Digital Library – Digitization Best Practices
https://www.cu.edu/digitallibrary/cudldigitizationbp.pdf
Blog Posts on Twitter
http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2008/12/open-letter-to-museums-on-twitter.html
http://www.museumnext.org/2010/blog/research-museums-on-twitter
http://www.museumnext.org/2010/blog/what-do-museums-think-twitter-is-for
June 26
Legal Issues/Codes of ethics
• Copyright
• Intellectual property
• Privacy
• HIPAA, FERPA, NAGPRA
• Cultural sensitivity
Required readings:
Behrnd-Klodt, Menzi L. and Peter J. Wosh, eds., Privacy and Confidentiality Perspectives
Archivists and Archival Records (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 2005), pp.
82-92, 181-198, 246-256, Appendices 1-4
Buck & Gilmore, pp XXXX
Ellis, Chapter 4
Malaro, Marie C., A Legal Primer on Managing Museum Collections, (Washington, DC:
Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998), pp. 150-184, 198-203
Shapiro, Michael S. et al., A Museum Guide to Copyright and Trademark (Washington, DC:
American Association of Museums, 1999), pp. 15-56, 93-105, 134-143
Codes of Ethics:
Society of American Archivists Code of Ethics
www.archivists.org/governance/handbook/app_ethics.asp
American Association of Museums Code of Ethics
http://www.aam-us.org/museumresources/ethics/coe.cfm
Web Resources:
Hirtle, Peter, “Recent Changes to Copyright Law: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act,”
http://cidc.library.cornell.edu/Pub_Files/DMCA_Final.pdf
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
http://www.arl.org/pp/ppcopyright/copystatutes/dmca.shtml
Library of Congress Copyright Office Circulars and Fact Sheets
www.copyright.gov/circs
Copyright Website LLC
www.benedict.com
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World Intellectual Property Organization (Copyright and Traditional Knowledge)
www.wipo.int
In class projects:
Week One: Accession/catalog memorabilia and paintings
Week Two: Accession/catalog rare books and manuscript collections
Week Three: Arrangement and Description of an archival collection
Weeks Four-Five: Exhibition Design
Week Six: Presentation of findings of Digital Collection Reviews
Week Seven: Class discussion of archival and museum ethics case studies
Assignments (templates will be provided for catalog records and finding aid):
Accession & Catalog Records for memorabilia and paintings (May 19)
Accession & Catalog Records for rare books and manuscript collections (May 26)
Finding Aid (June 2)
Exhibit Proposal (June 16)
Digital Collections Review (June 20)
Research Paper (June 26)
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