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]
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