Guidance for bulk accessioning
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This resource outlines bulk accessioning and how to apply it to different collections.
Acquisition and accessioning
Here you can find further resources to help with the Spectrum procedure Acquisition and accessioning. For the procedure itself follow this link.
Guidance for secure and tamperproof accession records
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This resource offers guidance on looking after your accession records to ensure they are secure and tamperproof.
Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts) Act 2017
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This Act puts into UK law the 1954 Hague Convention and its two Protocols. Section 17 creates the offence of dealing in unlawfully exported cultural property.
Transfer of title forms
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Collections Trust supplies pre-printed, triplicate forms that support the Spectrum Acquisition procedure (a Spectrum Primary Procedure) and are used to transfer the ownership of an object from the owner to the museum.
Part of: Acquiring, Acquisition and accessioning
Accession registers
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Collections Trust supplies registers which are used by museum practitioners worldwide to manage museum collections. Accession registers support the Spectrum Acquisition procedure (a Spectrum Primary Procedure). They are used to create a permanent record of accessions to the museum’s long term collections.
Part of: Accessioning, Acquisition and accessioning
National Museums Liverpool acquisitions and disposal policy
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This resource from National Museums Liverpool (NML) shows their full acquisition and disposal policy, including the policies and collecting priorities of different NML divisions and departments.
Museum Ethnographers Group
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Whether you are working in museums, teaching, researching or studying, the Museum Ethnographers Group (MEG) is the central point of contact for museum ethnography.
Part of: Acquisition and accessioning
Acquiring objects – due diligence checklist
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This checklist will help you follow up lines of enquiry to establish the ownership and history of the object you are acquiring. It is a useful checklist for both cultural heritage and commercial organisations.
Buying from online sources
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This resource provides a checklist for buying collections from online sources. It is list of considerations when purchasing a work of art or an antique from an online auction house.
Part of: Acquiring, Acquisition and accessioning
Labelling and Marking Museum Objects booklet
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These guidelines on the labelling and marking of museum objects were developed by the Collections Trust with the help of Vivien Chapman at the National Conservation Centre, National Museums Liverpool (NML).
MDA codes
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As part of its work with documentation standards the Collections Trust (and its predecessor body MDA) has, since the 1970s, been developing and maintaining a scheme which allows the identification of UK collection-holding organisations and their collections through “codes” which are unique to each organisation.
Treasure Act 1996
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This Act deals with finds of treasure in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is relevant to museums which are offered treasure as potential acquisitions, often as a result of a chance find or as part of an archaeological archive.
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora 1973
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CITES is an international agreement between governments. This multilateral treaty aims to protect endangered plants and animals and relates to the acquisition of biological and geological material in developing collections.
Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006
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This legislation applies to museums holding or intending to hold human remains under 100 years old. The Act regulates the acquisition, storage, use and disposal of human bodies, organs and tissue.
Part of: Acquiring, Acquisition and accessioning
Human Tissue Act 2004
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This legislation applies to museums holding or intending to hold human remains under 100 years old. The Act regulates the acquisition, storage, use and disposal of human bodies, organs and tissue.
Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act 2003
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This legislation refers to the acquisition of cultural property and makes it an offence to acquire, dispose of, import or export ‘tainted’ cultural objects, or agree or arrange to do so; and for connected purposes.
UNESCO 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property
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This legislation from United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a multilateral international agreement dedicated to fighting the illicit trafficking of cultural property.
Guidance for the care of human remains in museums
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This resource from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport outlines good practice guidance for museums acquiring and holding human remains from any period and aims to offer practical support in the care of human remains in museums.
Code of ethics for museums
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The Museum Association Code of Ethics defines the ethical principles which guide museum practice and underpin policy and practice regarding the development of museum collections.