Angela Kipp is a name that is likely to sound familiar – her excellent blog Registrar Trek has become an essential companion to anyone working in museums since she started it in 2013. Primarily about museum documentation, the everyday stories and articles highlight just how relevant collections management is to us all.
By day, Kipp is the collections manager at the Technoseum in Mannheim, Germany, and an independent museum consultant. It is her experience of working with a number of collections in varying states of management that led her to write this absorbing and valuable book.
At some point in our careers, those of us working in collections care are likely to be confronted with one that has not been cared for to the expected standards. Managing Previously Unmanaged Collections is intended as a practical guide to address these situations. Those of us who have been there will know that it can be a daunting task.
Working from the position of inheriting a collection that has had no documentation or conservation work, the opening chapters outline a practical approach to bringing order to it. Kipp makes the welcome point that work such as this requires a change in mindset even before anything is done with the collection. She states that “you are not a collections management machine”. In a profession where we (rightly) focus on the highest standards even in situations where we know it’s impossible, this is reassuring to read.
The book leads readers through the practical process of bringing an unmanaged collection under control. Kipp says that this does not immediately start with focusing on the collection, but on the environment it is stored in. Considerations of personal safety, security and even access to electricity are given prominence. Again, as a collections specialist, I know we can be guilty of focusing on individual objects to an unreasonable degree, so this advice is valuable.
Although the starting point for the book is having a large collection with no management work done on it, I found Kipp’s advice to be relevant to other aspects of collections work in different contexts.
While few of us will have a whole collection that needs work, we will certainly have odd groups of objects that we wish we could organise or create better conditions for (we all have accession backlogs, right?). The advice and examples given here are relevant to all scales of this work.
The watchword for the book is practicality. It is short, at only 180 pages. The language is mercifully accessible and shorn of irrelevant buzzwords, yet always clear, knowledgeable and coherent. This alone is remarkable, considering it is written in the author’s second language.
Another welcome element is Kipp’s concept of “logical exits”. These are points in the process where the work can pause, either to be handed over to someone else or so that other duties away from the project can be given attention. This is another practical solution to a common problem.
It is clear that the book is not just the result of one person’s experience. Kipp invited contributions and advice from museum professionals on her blog throughout the process of writing the book. This has resulted in a rich base of experience from which to address issues. The real-world examples from contributors across the globe give a realistic context to Kipp’s advice and a different voice to the text, all of which adds to the book’s accessibility.
Even for those yet to confront an unmanaged collection on a meaningful scale, this book is essential for anyone caring for museum objects. Its clear and supportive language, coupled with the many practical nuggets of advice, will make it a valuable companion for all.
Simon Brown is the curator of community history and world cultures at Nottingham City Museums and Galleries. He is also the Museums Association representative for the East Midlands
By day, Kipp is the collections manager at the Technoseum in Mannheim, Germany, and an independent museum consultant. It is her experience of working with a number of collections in varying states of management that led her to write this absorbing and valuable book.
At some point in our careers, those of us working in collections care are likely to be confronted with one that has not been cared for to the expected standards. Managing Previously Unmanaged Collections is intended as a practical guide to address these situations. Those of us who have been there will know that it can be a daunting task.
Working from the position of inheriting a collection that has had no documentation or conservation work, the opening chapters outline a practical approach to bringing order to it. Kipp makes the welcome point that work such as this requires a change in mindset even before anything is done with the collection. She states that “you are not a collections management machine”. In a profession where we (rightly) focus on the highest standards even in situations where we know it’s impossible, this is reassuring to read.
The book leads readers through the practical process of bringing an unmanaged collection under control. Kipp says that this does not immediately start with focusing on the collection, but on the environment it is stored in. Considerations of personal safety, security and even access to electricity are given prominence. Again, as a collections specialist, I know we can be guilty of focusing on individual objects to an unreasonable degree, so this advice is valuable.
Although the starting point for the book is having a large collection with no management work done on it, I found Kipp’s advice to be relevant to other aspects of collections work in different contexts.
While few of us will have a whole collection that needs work, we will certainly have odd groups of objects that we wish we could organise or create better conditions for (we all have accession backlogs, right?). The advice and examples given here are relevant to all scales of this work.
The watchword for the book is practicality. It is short, at only 180 pages. The language is mercifully accessible and shorn of irrelevant buzzwords, yet always clear, knowledgeable and coherent. This alone is remarkable, considering it is written in the author’s second language.
Another welcome element is Kipp’s concept of “logical exits”. These are points in the process where the work can pause, either to be handed over to someone else or so that other duties away from the project can be given attention. This is another practical solution to a common problem.
It is clear that the book is not just the result of one person’s experience. Kipp invited contributions and advice from museum professionals on her blog throughout the process of writing the book. This has resulted in a rich base of experience from which to address issues. The real-world examples from contributors across the globe give a realistic context to Kipp’s advice and a different voice to the text, all of which adds to the book’s accessibility.
Even for those yet to confront an unmanaged collection on a meaningful scale, this book is essential for anyone caring for museum objects. Its clear and supportive language, coupled with the many practical nuggets of advice, will make it a valuable companion for all.
Simon Brown is the curator of community history and world cultures at Nottingham City Museums and Galleries. He is also the Museums Association representative for the East Midlands