Managing Previously Unmanaged Collections: A Practical Guide for Museums

by Angela Kipp

Overview

This book is a practical guide for everyone who is confronted with a collection that hasn’t seen any preventive conservation or cataloging before. It helps gaining an overview, defining priorities, and organizing the work in a way it is safe for the objects and the people involved. It defines “logical exits”, goals to work towards where the collection is in a state the next steps can wait without risking the progress made. Later on, readers learn to define their own “logical exits” that fit their specific situation.

Compared to other books about collections management it doesn’t focus on the details of collections care, but rather on the big picture of managing such a project. It assumes that at the beginning there is nothing but the reader and an unmanaged collection, so that part of the project is to source money, material, and people to help.
The second edition has a new chapter on setting up collections management systems, the original text was reworked and in parts enhanced, there are additional success stories in the last chapter with references to them in the text, and the bibliography now contains some resources for natural history, indigenous, and archaeological collections.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538190647
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	11/19/2024
Pages:	260
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Angela Kipp is currently professional services specialist at Gallery Systems helping clients transitioning their workflows into TMS Collections and an independent museum consultant. She graduated as Diplom-Museologin (FH) in Museum Studies from the Fachhochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft (University of Applied Sciences) in Berlin. Starting off as travelling database troubleshooter and project assistant for various exhibitions, Kipp has worked in the museum field since 1998 for museums of all sizes. Since then she has seen, worked for, and advised about many unmanaged or only partly managed collections. From 2004 until 2019 she was collections manager of the TECHNOSEUM, one of the three largest science and technology museums in Germany. Her job there encompassed optimizing storage and logistics and moving one third of the collection to two remaining warehouses when one had to be closed in 2006 and incorporating various large, previously unmanaged collections, each with more than 1,000 objects, into the existing collection.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Chapter 1: Congratulations, It's YourMess Now!
Chapter 2: A First Glimpse
Chapter 3: Back at the Desk
Chapter 4: Getting Organized
Chapter 5: Diving into the Collection
Chapter 6: The Power of Coffee
Chapter 7: Getting Stuff Done
Chapter 8: Storage Wants and Storage Needs
Chapter 9: We Had Nothing
Chapter 10: Failing Successfully
Chapter 11: Success Stories
Bibliography
Index
About the Author

Editorial Reviews

It is her experience of working with a number of collections in varying states of management that led her to write this absorbing and valuable book. At some point in our careers, those of us working in collections care are likely to be confronted with one that has not been cared for to the expected standards. Managing Previously Unmanaged Collections is intended as a practical guide to address these situations.. . .The watchword for the book is practicality.. . .The language is mercifully accessible and shorn of irrelevant buzzwords, yet always clear, knowledgeable and coherent. This alone is remarkable, considering it is written in the author’s second language.. . .It is clear that the book is not just the result of one person’s experience. Kipp invited contributions and advice from museum professionals on her blog throughout the process of writing the book. This has resulted in a rich base of experience from which to address issues. The real-world examples from contributors across the globe give a realistic context to Kipp’s advice and a different voice to the text, all of which adds to the book’s accessibility. Even for those yet to confront an unmanaged collection on a meaningful scale, this book is essential for anyone caring for museum objects. Its clear and supportive language, coupled with the many practical nuggets of advice, will make it a valuable companion for all.

Museums Journal

This book not only serves as a useful guide on how to approach unmanaged collections, but it also leaves the reader with a sense that they are not alone in their situations. Every collection has room for improvement, and any improvement, no matter how small, can be considered a success.

AASLH History News

Managing Previously Unmanaged Collections is a must have for the library of any collections caretaker! This book takes the ideas of project management and applies them to those messy collections that we all face at least once in our career. Kipp provides guidelines that will help both the new collections manager and veterans work their way through those unmanaged collections.

Deborah Rose Van Horn

It is her experience of working with a number of collections in varying states of management that led her to write this absorbing and valuable book. At some point in our careers, those of us working in collections care are likely to be confronted with one that has not been cared for to the expected standards. Managing Previously Unmanaged Collections is intended as a practical guide to address these situations. . . .The watchword for the book is practicality. . . .The language is mercifully accessible and shorn of irrelevant buzzwords, yet always clear, knowledgeable and coherent. This alone is remarkable, considering it is written in the author's second language. . . .It is clear that the book is not just the result of one person's experience. Kipp invited contributions and advice from museum professionals on her blog throughout the process of writing the book. This has resulted in a rich base of experience from which to address issues. The real-world examples from contributors across the globe give a realistic context to Kipp's advice and a different voice to the text, all of which adds to the book's accessibility. Even for those yet to confront an unmanaged collection on a meaningful scale, this book is essential for anyone caring for museum objects. Its clear and supportive language, coupled with the many practical nuggets of advice, will make it a valuable companion for all.

Managing Previously Unmanaged Collections is a must have for the library of any collections caretaker! This book takes the ideas of project management and applies them to those messy collections that we all face at least once in our career. Kipp provides guidelines that will help both the new collections manager and veterans work their way through those unmanaged collections.

This book not only serves as a useful guide on how to approach unmanaged collections, but it also leaves the reader with a sense that they are not alone in their situations. Every collection has room for improvement, and any improvement, no matter how small, can be considered a success.

From the Publisher