Inventorying Cultural Heritage Collections - by Sandra Vanderwarf & Bethany Romanowski (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

This is the first book to walk collections practitioners through this foundational collections stewardship function. Rooted in best practice theories, the book is based on the premise that collections preservation, security, and access are anchored in a sound inventory practice.

Review Quotes

Aimed at practitioners such as registrars and collections managers in museums, historical societies, archives, and other collections-based institutions, Vanderwarf and Romanowski's volume conveys the significance of inventories as the backbone of heritage documentation. They address the value of inventories as the key method for gaining physical and intellectual control of collections, but also point to them as only one facet of collections care. The book is divided into two sections, "Executing Project-Style Inventories" and "Inventories in Action." Seeing inventories as an ongoing, evolving collections-care function, the authors underscore the ways in which the term "inventory" is understood as both a noun and a verb. Many of the chapters include bibliographies, notes, and illustrations. The volume will interest those involved in curatorial studies, museology, heritage management, historical administration, archival studies, and related fields. Recommended. Professionals.

Inventories are foundational to effective collections stewardship yet are so often overshadowed by competing needs within an institution, and planning for them can seem daunting, especially given the dearth of professional literature that focuses specifically on inventories. This book provides critical support to collections professionals by helping them craft compelling arguments for administration about the importance of inventories and by helping them create an inventory plan, both through general advice on tools, resources, timelines, and deliverables, and also through extensive case studies involving a variety of collection types. I wish that I had such a helpful resource when planning past inventories but am thrilled to be able to use it when planning future ones!

About the Author

Sandra Vanderwarf earned an M.A. in conservation from Fashion Institute of Technology and a B.A. in criminal justice from John Jay College. Inventory illustrates one way these disciplines have converged during her 15 years of practice in cultural heritage preservation. Most recently, in collaboration with National Museum of Mongolia and the U.S. Department of State, she provided expertise to enhance inventory protocols as part of Mongolia's self-determined strategy to deter unlawful trafficking and sale of heritage. Prior to that, her seasoned perspective was honed through intersecting roles of conservator, registrar, and collections manager at a corporate archive, the Smithsonian, American Museum of Natural History, and Brooklyn Children's Museum. Sandra's varied contributions--as inventory taker, author of winning (and rejected) inventory grant proposals, inventory project manager, and researcher referencing historic inventories--engendered a multi-faceted appreciation for inventory. Her presentations at CIDOC-ICOM'S International Committee for Documentation, the Association of Registrars and Collections Specialists, and through continued partnerships with the U.S. Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation have emphasized the significance of inventory as preventive conservation.

Bethany Romanowski is head registrar at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. She holds a B.A. in anthropology from Indiana University and an M.A. in social sciences from the University of Chicago. She has over fifteen years' experience managing collections at New York City institutions, including the South Street Seaport Museum and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Bethany recently oversaw the 9/11 Memorial Museum's first wall-to-wall inventory of tangible collections.