Christina: I would suggest that anticipating growth in your collections is probably going to be a lot more difficult than merely calculating what has come in in the past. I have no idea how your collections growth was calculated by the contractor, but I am going to guess that what they did NOT do was a thorough analysis of your collection as it relates to your mission, note deficiencies in your collection that you should be filling, and assessing the landscape in your collecting area, to figure out what things you should be collecting in the future. I don't think this is anything that can be done by anyone other than the museum staff. And did they suggest any judicious deaccessioning? That is also something that will grow out of a collections assessment, and can be a useful tool in planning future space as well. (Museums do not collect in the same ways, or the same things, as they used to and are often bogged down with holdings that are no longer of any use to them). I also want to suggest that the decisionmaking surrounding "big collections that are not anticipated" be looked at by your staff too. Sometimes, you have to say no, no matter how great the big collection seems, if you don't have the resources (staff, money, space) to deal with it. And if you do decide to take the big collection, then you probably need to control your other collecting as a result (sometimes, you need to make trade-offs--you really can't take everything). Having said all of this, it is also true that any attempt to anticipate future growth (either to reconfigure your existing storage or to build or otherwise acquire new) almost always fails because other factors also come into play. When a museum moves into a new building with storage space envisioned to be adequate for at least the next 20 years, it will inevitably find a surge in collections offered--as the public learns of the new, great space, their confidence in the institution's ability to care for their family heirlooms grows. Changes in law might precipitate more gifts. And, finally, are you passive or proactive in your collecting? An institution that is proactive is much more able to control the growth of its collection, than one that engages in passive collecting. You must be able to justify everything you accept, not simply say that there is no reason NOT to accept it. We have all been in your position, and it is difficult and time-consuming to climb your way out of it. Good luck! Claudia J. Nicholson Curator-on-the-Loose ----- Original Message ----- From: "Christina Phillips" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2002 9:17 AM Subject: space needs & collections growth Several years ago a contracted company came into our Institution and helped create an anticipated 10 year growth plan for our collections. In some collections we have already exceeded the needed space requirements and it hasn't nearly been 10 years. I'm in the early stages of relooking at these figures and perhaps starting from scratch, but would anyone have any ideas or suggestions for me?? Is there a system or method commonly used to anticipate uncrowding and collection growth? Would you look at what came in over the past 5-10 years, come up with an average number and go from there? My only concern is that sometimes, out of the blue, we are given very large collections (which we never anticpated). How do you account for these possibilities? Please feel free to repond off list. Christina M. Phillips New York State Museum Museum Collections Coordinator CEC - Museum Operations Rm 3021 Albany, New York 12230 telephone: 518-485-8845 fax: 518-473-8496 e-mail: [log in to unmask] ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).