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Training
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Online Museum Classes
Description::
Acquiring and holding collections impose specific legal, ethical and professional obligations. Museums must ensure proper management, preservation and use of their collections. A well-crafted collections management policy is key to collections stewardship. Collections Management Policies for Museums and Related Institutions helps participants develop policies that meet professional and legal standards for collections management.
Collections Management Policies for Museums and Related Institutions teaches the practical skills and knowledge needed to write and implement such a policy. The course covers the essential components and issues a policy should address. It also highlights the role of the policy in carrying out a museum's mission and guiding stewardship decisions. Participants are expected to draft collections management policies.
Course Textbook:
John E. Simmons, Things Great and Small: Collections Management Policies, American Association of Museums, 2006, $40 non-member, $30 member, 208 pages, ISBN: 1-933253-03-7, available from the AAM bookstore
Course Outline:
1. The Principles of Collections Management
2. Collections Stewardship: The Role of a Collections Management Policy
3. Policy Versus Procedure
4. Issues to Consider When Developing a Collections Management Policy
5. Essential Components of a Collections Management Policy
· Statement of Purpose
· Statement of Authority
· Definition and Scope of Collections
· Acquisition and Accessioning
· Deaccessioning and Disposal
· Preservation
· Collections Information
· Inventory
· Risk Management and Security
· Access
· Loans
· Intellectual Property Rights Management
· Staff Responsibility / Ethics
6. Monitoring and Revision
7. Potential Problems
8. Emerging Issues
9. Drafting a Collections Management Policy
Logistics:
Participants in Collections Management Policies work through sections at their own pace. Instructor Bill Tompkins is available for scheduled email support. Materials and resources include online literature, textbook readings, slide lectures and dialog between students and online chats led by the instructor. The course is limited to 20 participants.
Collections Policies runs for twelve weeks. To reserve a spot in the course, please pay at http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html If you have trouble please contact Helen Alten at helen@collectioncare.org
Student Comments for MS209: Collections Management Policies:
The online chat provided a personal touch to the class. Bill's comments were very helpful. The required readings were a good length and complemented the section overview and PowerPoint presentations. The class was extremely flexible for dates and times.
Bill's readings were very helpful, more so than the textbook. The PowerPoint slides provided a nice overview of the section.
I enjoyed the readings, and applying what I read to writing the City policies. The class helped write policies in a logical and practical manner, which will ultimately help in the overall goal - developing policies for our institution.
Bill did a great job and I really enjoyed the chat times and reviewing his comments.
The reading materials, slide shows and feedback given by Bill were outstanding in quality.
Bill's reviews of the assignments were thorough and detailed.
Bill's lecture notes provided a good summary of the topics covered in each section. I found them very helpful when I wrote my cmp.
I learned a great deal about cmps and am confident that I have the tools to put my cmp in good form.
The Instructor:
William G. (Bill) Tompkins is the national collections coordinator for the Smithsonian Institution. Bill serves as a principal advisor to senior Smithsonian management and staff on collections-management policies, procedures and standards. He develops, implements and interprets Smithsonian collections management standards. This includes reviewing and approving the policies of the Smithsonian's individual museums to make sure collections are maintained according to policy, professional standards and legal obligations. Previously, Bill was assistant director of the Smithsonian's Office of the Registrar. He is also a former collections manager at the National Museum of American History. With nearly thirty years experience in the museum profession, Bill regularly speaks at professional meetings, workshops and university programs.
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