Disposal

Disposal is key to a healthy museum

More than 10 years ago, I published an article in Cultural Trends about a research project I had undertaken as part of my Clore Leadership Fellowship. I was concerned that museums were continuing to increase their collections, while complaining that stores were full.  Object disposals were still relatively infrequent, partly because justifying them seemed based …

Disposal case study: Tiverton Museum of Mid Devon Life

Nick Booth and Pippa Griffith on a small museum rationalisation project

Disposal case study: Royal College of Physicians Museum

Lowri Jones on the challenges and rewards of a rationalisation project

Disposal case study: Royal Albert Memorial Museum

Jenny Durrant shares the learning from a disposal project that came out of a wider collections review

Disposal case study: National Museums Scotland

Tacye Phillipson explains why looking at past disposals can help inform future work

Disposal case study: Science Museum

Hannah Brignell shares an ongoing collections review of 7.3 million items

Disposal case study: Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

Rosalyn Sklar shares an ambitious collections review project

Disposal case study: Bristol Culture

Andy King shares two positive examples of disposal

Moving forward with disposal

Practical ways museums can embrace the D word

Are we there yet? Tackling the sector’s resistance to disposal

How can museums overcome some of the key barriers?

Thomas Cook liquidators seek museum buyer for artefacts

3,000-year-old Egyptian statue one of six items for sale from travel firm’s collection 

How to conduct a collections review

What do you need to think about when you carry out a collections review?