Collections Development Opportunities

Collection Reviews

There are many reasons why a museum may wish to carry out a collections review, for example:

to understand it better
to increase the use of a collection
to prioritise objects for display
to assess objects for loan, transfer or disposal
to tackle collections care and storage requirements

Renaissance North West will support museums that are interested in carrying out a collections review. This can include:

Sourcing a subject specialist or a peer reviewer
Brokering a partnership with another museum reviewing a similar collection
Providing advice about the process and related training
Funding to support the above

For more information about collection review, contact Sarah Cooper, Accreditation, Standards & Review Officer

Sarah also provides advice and support for the Accreditation Standard for museums in the North West. This includes one to one advice on applications as well as the provision of suitable training days on related subject areas. She will also help museums across the region get ready for the new Accreditation standard which comes into effect from Spring 2011

Click here for more information about the new Accreditation Standard.

Natural science collections development projects

The North West holds in excess of 10 million natural science specimens, spread between 60 institutions. While some larger museums may have specialist staff, the vast majority of these institutions have no naturalists, and so the collections are marginalised or perceived as difficult to use. Renaissance North West is committed to improving the use and profile of these collections regionally and nationally.

Through staff development, innovative projects, and improved communication within and outside of the sector, museums in the region can raise public awareness of green issues and tap into public interest in the natural world.

Our work on natural sciences can be seen as three strands, all of which feed into the broader goal of raising the profile: Building Capacity, Sharing Knowledge, and Improving Access.

For more information contact David Craven, Collections Development Officer: Natural Sciences

Collections Care & Emergency Response Networks

Recent flooding in Cumbria has gone to show the importance of setting up networks of Emergency Responce and Collections Care accross the region. The Armitt Museum in Ambleside had over 1000 photographic plates damaged in the extreme weather and with the aid of conservators from the Whitworth Art Gallery, Lancashire Conservation Studios and National Museums Liverpool many of these objects were successfully salvaged.

Renaissance North West is hoping that in setting up such networks events such as this will altogether be avoided in the future.

Renaissance North West is supporting museums that have highlighted areas for improvement relating to section 4.5 of the Accreditations Standard (Collections Management).

The programme aims to provide individuals and the museums they work in with the equipment, skills and confidence to achieve and maintain Accreditation Standards in Collections Management including: