Reviews

Things Great and Small: Collections Management Policies, Second Edition by John E. Simmons

cassimiranda's review

informative fast-paced

4.0

This is a wonderful reference on building a useful Collections Management Policy.

bogbodyanon's review against another edition

5.0

Well-written, east to digest guide to creating collections management policies. Good reference for museum professionals.

rhymeswithlisa's review against another edition

Not an exciting read, but remarkably helpful for my update to our Collections Management Policy.

farkle's review against another edition

5.0

All things collections management. The reference book I go back to again, and again, and again.

doriastories's review

5.0

When was the last time you read a textbook for a class that you looked forward to reading? It’s rare, in my experience, but not impossible. This book, besides being an invaluable resource for museum registrars, is well-written, handily organized, and even occasionally funny. Each chapter is pithy and to-the-point, offering valuable overviews of relevant topics (i.e., intellectual property, collections management, etc), as well as appendices of necessary forms and sources for specifics.

Best of all, your reward at the end of each chapter is a short example of a relevant policy portion written for an imaginary entity, such as the Museum of Contrafactual Science, or the Museum of Mediocre Art. Believe me, when studying something as dry as museum registrarial techniques - integrated pest management, anyone? - a little humor goes a long way. Insurance coverage for traveling exhibitions? No worries. Federal Wildlife Regulation Compliance? Bring it on. Deaccessioning protocol? Have at it, and enjoy!

When paired with the exhaustively encyclopedic doorstop MRM5, these two tomes will render museum registrars invincible.