PAS 197 Code of practice for cultural collections management
The UK’s museums, archives and libraries hold some of the world’s richest and most diverse cultural collections. These collections are used to educate, to inform and to entertain. They provide a rich resource for research and innovation.
Museums, archives and libraries are responsible for striking a balance between the preservation of collections and the provision of access to them, so that they can continue to be accessible for future generations.
A new generation of practitioners are bringing new expertise to cultural collections management, in areas such as project and programme management, knowledge management and fundraising. Driving this multi-disciplinary approach is an understanding that the sustainability of collections is a holistic issue.
Sponsored by the Collections Trust (formerly MDA), this Publicly Available Specification aims to codify a holistic approach to the management of cultural collections by setting out a series of recommendations relating to good practice in the field. It gives recommendations for the management of cultural collections by collecting organizations such as archives, libraries, museums and other public and private collecting organizations that hold cultural collections.
PAS 197 covers the provision, implementation and maintenance of a collections management framework, including policies, processes and procedures for:
a) collections development
b) collections information
c) collections access
d) collections care and conservation.
It is applicable to all types and sizes of cultural collections.
