Getting Your House In Order: Cataloguing

Trainer: Anna Rhodes, Outreach Officer at Collections Trust

What will be covered?

In this bitesize session we will introduce the Spectrum 5.1 Cataloguing procedure, used for the ongoing process of recording and managing information about collections.

We’ll go back to basics and look at the requirements for the standard, policy guidance, and the suggested procedure. We will broadly consider themes from the procedure such as selecting and associating information, capturing and storing information, users and contributors.

There will be opportunities to discuss with colleagues and ask questions throughout, as well as signposting to further guidance.

Who should attend?

Staff, volunteers, managers, trustees and beginners

Learning objectives

By the end of the session, attendees will:

• Understand the Spectrum 5.1 Cataloguing procedure.

• Understand the importance of policy.

• Understand the role of the Spectrum standard in relation to museum Accreditation.

• Understand the difference and relationship between the Inventory and Cataloguing procedures.
• Know where to find more information and guidance.

Session preparation

Before the session, attendees should:

• Think about their organisation’s approach to cataloguing.

• Look at their organisation’s documentation policy and Cataloguing procedure, if these are available. It might be useful to have these for reference during the session.

• Ensure they have a working microphone to participate in discussions.

• Think about any specific questions, issues and priorities.

Please note: We require you to complete the full booking form in order to confirm your eligibility for the session. The main booking form questions will appear after you have been through the 'check out' process. If you do not complete this form we will be in contact and reserve the right to cancel your ticket if we do not receive a response.

MDSE is funded by Arts Council England (ACE) to support museums in the South East of England within ACE’s Accreditation scheme. The South East is defined as the local authority areas of:

• Bedfordshire (Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire and Luton Borough)
• Berkshire (Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor & Maidenhead and Wokingham)
• Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes
• Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
• Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock
• Hertfordshire
• Kent and Medway
• Norfolk
• Oxfordshire
• Suffolk
• Surrey
• East Sussex and Brighton & Hove
• West Sussex

We prioritise places on our training programmes for museums which are Accredited or officially Working Towards Accreditation. ACE publishes the official lists of Accredited and Working Towards Accreditation museums on its website. Where possible we will make places available for museums which do not meet these criteria but the number of places will vary depending on the event format.

London tickets

MDSE is working with Museum Development London (MDL) to deliver some of our training and development programmes.

If you are working or volunteering for a museum in London you are eligible to attend this session.

For full details of our programmes conditions, see our Terms and Conditions on our website

By booking a place on to a Museum Development South East training event, you are agreeing to the following terms and conditions:

• That you are from a South East museum which is in Arts Council England’s Museum Accreditation Scheme. Where this is not applicable you acknowledge that MDSE will facilitate your attendance if availability permits and that you or your organisation will pay any fees which may apply.
• It is a condition of receiving this ACE funded training that the online evaluation sent to the email address provided at the point of booking is completed by the specified deadline. This deadline is in the email notification unless a paper evaluation is specifically requested and submitted on the day of the training session.
• By booking a place you agree that you will make every endeavour to attend the event and you will give us at least 24 hours’ notice if you need to cancel your booking. If you repeatedly cancel your booking without sufficient notice you agree that we may exercise our right to remove you from future event bookings.

Event Venue

Online