Collection manager

Collection managers ensure the care and preservation of objects within cultural institutions, like museums, libraries, and archives. Collection managers, along with exhibition curators, and conservators, play a very important role in collections care. They can be found in most large museums and those with a history and natural history focus whose diverse collections require experienced assessment to properly sort, catalog, and store artifacts. A collection manager may oversee the registrar, archivist, curator, photographer, or other collection professionals, and may assume the responsibilities of these roles in their absence within an organization.

A collection manager has the following duties and responsibilities (non-exhaustive list)

• Manages all aspects of collections care, following and implementing accepted museum professional standards and practices. Directly manages the acquisition, documentation, care, maintenance and handling, use and access, copyright, security, environmental monitoring of objects and facilities, and object-based database development, paper files and archives.
• Reviews and interprets financial and operating information, as appropriate; coordinates and develops periodic financial and/or operating analyses, and prepares financial/business reports for senior university officials; may participate in the preparation of contract and/or grant proposals, and other reports provided by the unit.
• Collaborates on exhibition planning, including preparing budgets for related costs, preparing checklists and images of objects for exhibitions, publications, and research. Is responsible for loans and traveling exhibition organization, documentation, and logistics, shipping, receiving, packing, and condition reports, and object security for collections exhibitions and for incoming and outgoing loans and traveling exhibitions
• Manages and negotiates copyright permissions for collections and exhibition publications, archives, publicity, marketing, catalogues, websites, e-communication, and related uses.
• In collaboration with other senior museum staff, establishes object conservation priorities and plans/implements the safe storage of all works in the collection.
• Manages database development for all collections materials. Is responsible for system security, digitization of images to be included in the database, periodic software upgrades and database system migrations, metadata development and development of database search capabilities.
• Performs archival research on collection materials and/or artifacts for inclusion in records and databases including provenance research in coordination with curators and director.
• Assists in preparing proposals and grant applications for special collections-oriented projects.
• Administers loan agreements and ensures adherence to established policies. Responsible for Art on Campus collection loans.
• Supervises access to artwork for study, exhibition, and research. Supervises the conservation and preservation of artwork including managing and coordinating conservation treatments. Determines appropriateness of preparation methods in order to assure preservation of artwork and museum standards.
• Serves on Art Museum Acquisitions and Loans Committee; and serves on Art Museum Exhibition Planning Subcommittee, Exhibitions Committee, Conservation Planning Committee, and Long Range and Strategic Planning Committees. Coordinates activities and time-lines of the Acquisitions and Loans Committee. Represents the Museum through public programs, teaching, and guest lectures, workshop presentations and participation in national professional groups including, but not limited to, the American Association of Museums Registrar’s Committee, the New Mexico Association of Museums, and Mountain-Plains Museums Association.
• Interacts with national and international scholarly and museum community, responding to loan, research, and publication requests relating to the collections. Interacts with potential donors and other museum patrons to negotiate proposed gifts to the Museum’s collections.
• May train and supervise staff and student employees, interns, and/or volunteers performing related work; may participate in the recruitment of volunteers, as appropriate to the area of operation.
• May curate exhibitions as required.
• Performs miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned.

Collection managers usually work full time in museums, art galleries, and other similar cultural institutions.

The following job titles also refer to collection manager:

conservator
museum technician
curator
collections manager

A bachelor’s degree in the institution’s specialty area, such as art, history, archeology, or a related field is generally required to work as a collection manager.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Collection manager is a Skill level 4 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to collection manager.

archive manager
exhibition registrar
art restorer
conservator
museum scientist

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of collection manager.

• Conservation techniques: The procedures, instruments, techniques, materials and chemicals used in conservation and archiving.
• Collection management software: Be familiar with specialised collection management software used to document and keep record of the museum collection.
• Art history: The history of art and artists, the artistic trends throughout centuries and their contemporary evolutions.
• Museum databases: The tools and processes involved in working with museum databases.

These skills are necessary for the role of collection manager.

• Create collection conservation plan: Create a comprehensive, high-level overview conservation plan for the collection.
• Compile detailed collection inventory: Compile a detailed inventory of all items in the collection.
• Supervise artefact movement: Oversee the transport and relocation of museum artefacts and ensure their security.
• Establish high standards of collections care: Establish and maintain high quality standards in collection care, from acquisition to conservation and display.
• Implement risk management for works of art: Determine risk factors in art collections and mitigate them. Risk factors for artworks include vandalism, theft, pests, emergencies, and natural disasters. Develop and implement strategies to minimise these risks.
• Provide project information on exhibitions: Provide information on the preparation, execution and evaluation of exhibitions and other artistic projects.
• Use ICT resources to solve work related tasks: Choose and use ICT resources in order to solve related tasks.
• Monitor museum environment: Monitor and document environmental conditions in a museum, in storage as well as exhibition facilities. Make sure an adapted and stable climate is guaranteed.
• Assess object condition: Work together with the collection manager or restorer, to evaluate and document the condition of a museum object for a loan or an exhibition.
• Advise on loans of art work for exhibitions: Evaluate the condition of art objects for exhibition or loan purposes and decide whether an artwork is able to withstand the stresses of travel or exposition.
• Respect cultural differences in the field of exhibition: Respect cultural differences when creating artistic concepts and exhibitions. Collaborate with international artists, curators, museums and sponsors.
• Interact with an audience: Respond to the reactions of an audience and involve them in the particular performance or communication.
• Document museum collection: Record information about an object’s condition, provenance, materials, and all of its movements within the museum or out on loan.
• Cope with challenging demands: Maintain a positive attitude towards new and challenging demands such as interaction with artists and handling of artistic artefacts. Work under pressure such as dealing with last moment changes in time schedules and financial restraints.
• Handle art: Work directly with objects in museums and art galleries, in coordination with other museum professionals, to ensure that artworks are safely handled, packed, stored and cared for.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of collection manager. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Art-historical values: The historical and artistic values implied in examples of one’s branch of art.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of collection manager. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

• Coach employees: Maintain and improve employees’ performance by coaching individuals or groups how to optimise specific methods, skills or abilities, using adapted coaching styles and methods. Tutor newly recruited employees and assist them in the learning of new business systems.
• Manage budgets: Plan, monitor and report on the budget.
• Coordinate operational activities: Synchronise activities and responsibilities of the operational staff to ensure that the resources of an organisation are used most efficiently in pursuit of the specified objectives.
• Present exhibition: Present an exhibition and give educational lectures in a comprehensible way that is attractive to the public.
• Evaluate art quality: Correctly evaluate the quality of art objects, artefacts, photographs and documents.
• Train employees: Lead and guide employees through a process in which they are taught the necessary skills for the perspective job. Organise activities aimed at introducing the work and systems or improving the performance of individuals and groups in organisational settings.
• Contribute to specialised publications: Write or redact contributions for a specialised publication in your field.

There are numerous professional organizations of interest to collection managers and other museum professionals. These organizations provide opportunities to network, share information, and participate in continuing education.

• American Alliance of Museum (AAM)
• Association of Registrars and Collections Specialists
• Collections Trust
• Connecting to Collections
• Committee on Museum Professional Training
• CurCon
• Heritage Preservation
• International Council of Museums (ICOM)
• National Association for Museum Exhibition
• Preparation, Art Handling, Collections Care Information Network (PACCIN)
• PIC Green Network
• Registrars Committee of the Association of Museums (RCAAM)
• Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC)
• SYNTHESYS
• Local and Regional Associations such as
  • Texas Association of Museums (TAM)

2621 – Archivists and curators

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References

1. ESCO
2. Collection manager – Wikipedia
3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics