The Collections Trust is an independent UK-based charity that works with museums, libraries, galleries and archives worldwide to improve the management and use of collections. It was established in February 1977 as the Museum Documentation Association and re-launched as the Collections Trust in 2008. Its head office is in Shoreditch, London.
Mission and aims
The Collections Trust is a registered charity. The charitable purposes were set out in 1977 and are:
To promote the education of the public by the development of museums and similar organisations by all appropriate methods;
To develop, promote, maintain and improve standards of collections and information management in museums, art galleries, heritage organisations and other collecting institutions;
To provide services and resources which improve the standards and methods of collections management and use.
Work
Standards and publications The Collections Trust developed the SPECTRUM Standard – the Museum Collections Management Standard – in 1994. The standard details how to manage collections and what to do with artefacts at each stage of their lifecycle in a collection. The Standard is now in its fifth edition and is used by the majority of museums. It has been translated into several languages including Dutch and Flemish. The organisation also produces collections management best practice guides and benchmarking tools. It has particular expertise in digital collections management and the use of new technology for museums, such as 3D imaging. Many of its resources are freely available on its website. Events The Collections Trust hosts a number of practical workshops and seminars for collections management professionals and an annual conference. At this conference the Collections Trust’s Awards are presented. Previous award winners include: 2012
Young Collections Professional Award - Jenny Webb of The Lightbox
Funded projects The Collections Trust works on many projects that are funded by Arts Council England and by the European Commission. It is currently managing 20m Euros worth of EC projects, including Athena Plus, Digital Cultural Heritage Roadmap for Preservation ], EEXCESS, EU Collections Competencies Project ], EuropeanaFood and Drink and Europeana Inside. The Collections Trust leads the UK’s involvement in the Europeana project.
Taniah Simpson, Assistant Collections Manager in the Registrar’s Office at The British Museum.
Irene Walsh, former Managing Director, Deloitte Financial Advisory Services.
History
The early team at the MDA was led by Martin Porter and included researchers Andrew Roberts and Richard Light. Early achievements included the production of the Social History and Industrial Classification Scheme in 1983, the MDA Data Standard in 1991, and the SPECTRUM standard in 1994.
