Disposal toolkit and training
A step by step guide to help you hone your collection
As part of the Effective Collections programme, the MA has developed the Disposal Toolkit, published in February 2008, to provide more practical guidance for museums considering disposal.
It provides detailed advice on the process of identifying appropriate candidate items for disposal, and ensuring that their removal from a museum collection is ethical.
The Disposal Toolkit is available to download below in both English and Welsh. A digest is also available as an introduction to the main stages in the disposal process.
Disposal Toolkit (2008) (pdf)
Disposal Digest (2008) (pdf)
Pecyn Cymorth Gwaredu (2008, Welsh language version) (pdf)
If you are unsure about a proposed disposal we urge you to contact us for confidential advice at an early stage, especially in difficult areas where practice is evolving, such as proposed sale of collections.
In the first instance please contact:
Charlotte Holmes
Museum Development Officer
(e) charlotte@museumsassociation.org
(t) 020 7426 6955
Disposal and Collections Review training
In 2008 the MA provided free training in each UK nation and region for use of the Disposal Toolkit, through the Effective Collections programme.
In 2009-10 collections review training was also provided free of charge as part of Effective Collections.
The training in planning and undertaking a collections review was delivered in partnership with UCL and based on their case study.
Collections reviews are increasingly used by museums to gain an understanding of collections, both to create strategies for the development of collections and priorising resources, and to aid collections interpretations and use.
The UCL case study, and several more practical examples of how to undertake a collections review, featured in an edition of Museum Practice in August 2010.
Click here to read case studies of collections reviews
It provides detailed advice on the process of identifying appropriate candidate items for disposal, and ensuring that their removal from a museum collection is ethical.
The Disposal Toolkit is available to download below in both English and Welsh. A digest is also available as an introduction to the main stages in the disposal process.
Disposal Toolkit (2008) (pdf)
Disposal Digest (2008) (pdf)
Pecyn Cymorth Gwaredu (2008, Welsh language version) (pdf)
If you are unsure about a proposed disposal we urge you to contact us for confidential advice at an early stage, especially in difficult areas where practice is evolving, such as proposed sale of collections.
In the first instance please contact:
Charlotte Holmes
Museum Development Officer
(e) charlotte@museumsassociation.org
(t) 020 7426 6955
Disposal and Collections Review training
In 2008 the MA provided free training in each UK nation and region for use of the Disposal Toolkit, through the Effective Collections programme.
In 2009-10 collections review training was also provided free of charge as part of Effective Collections.
The training in planning and undertaking a collections review was delivered in partnership with UCL and based on their case study.
Collections reviews are increasingly used by museums to gain an understanding of collections, both to create strategies for the development of collections and priorising resources, and to aid collections interpretations and use.
The UCL case study, and several more practical examples of how to undertake a collections review, featured in an edition of Museum Practice in August 2010.
Click here to read case studies of collections reviews
