Collections Trust takes on Find an Object service

The Collections Trust has taken on the Find an Object platform, a service previously managed by the Museums Association (MA) for about 15 years. 

More than 200 items from museums across the UK are already listed on the Collections Trust website. 

Current listings on the MA website will remain live until 18 May, after which the service will be taken offline. 

Museums with active listings on the are encouraged to repost these to the new site as soon as possible.

The platform lists deaccessioned items from museum collections that are available for transfer to other museums or organisations within the public domain.

Users can upload items they plan to dispose of, as well as search for objects that might find a place within their collection. They can also make speculative requests for items that they are looking to acquire. 

It is free to upload items to the listings, but users will need to register with Collections Trust in order to do this.

Objects are presented with image and text descriptions that include their current location and condition. 

Collections Trust chief executive officer David Gelsthorpe said: “The platform has been more than a year in development and contains lots of new features such as a new search, easy bulk uploads from the Museum Data Service and other files and a map function that shows what’s on offer near you.

"It will hopefully make life a bit easier for everyone who wants to find a new home for objects that aren’t treasured.”

The Collections Trust's Find an Object website also holds links to resources about the deaccessioning and disposal of objects, including to the MA's Code of Ethics and Toolkit for Ethical Transfer.