description: This is a print replica reproduction of "The Museum Handbook," a reference guide on how to manage, preserve, document, access and use museum collections produced by the National Park Service. There are three parts to the NPS Museum Handbook: Part I, Museum Collections * Part II, Museum Records * Part III, Museum Collections Use. As a bonus, this reproduction also includes a historic document produced in the 1940s, "Field Manual for Museums" by the Chief of the National Park Service Museum Division.  Part I, Museum Collections - It focuses on standards and procedures of preventive care for museum collections with information on: Preservation and conservation; Emergency planning; Handling and shipping objects; integrated pest management; Security and fire protection; Storage buildings, equipment and techniques. It also includes numerous appendices on techniques for the preservation of specific types of materials found in museum collections including: Archeological objects * Cellulose nitrate film * Ceramics, glass and stone * Leather and skin objects * Metal objects * Paintings * Paper objects * Photo collections * Textiles * Wooden objects Part II, Museum Records - It provides guidance on documentation and accountability for the following types of objects: Archeology * Ethnography * History * Archival and manuscript collections * Biology * Geology * Paleontology. It addresses the following topics: Accessioning * Cataloging * Inventorying * Marking objects * Record photography * Incoming and outgoing loans * Deaccessioning Part III, Museum Collections Use - It addresses the following topics: Evaluating and documenting museum collections use * Legal issues * Publications * 2-Dimensional reproductions * 3-Dimensional reproductions * Special uses of museum collections * Using museum objects in exhibits * Furnished historic structures * Research * Guidance for planning research space * Reference interview process In 1895, George Browne Goode, Director of the Smithsonian Institution’s United States National Museum, defined a museum as “…an institution for the preservation of those objects which best illustrate the phenomena of nature and the works of Man, and the utilization of these for the increase in knowledge of the people,” (Goode, 1895). The United States Congress, in the Museum and Library Services Act (Title II of P.L. 94–462), defined a museum as “…a public or private nonprofit agency or institution organized on a permanent basis for essentially educational or aesthetic purposes, that utilizes a professional staff, owns or utilizes tangible objects, cares for the tangible objects, and exhibits the tangible objects to the public on a regular basis.” Both definitions have important qualifiers that distinguish museums from exhibit galleries, curio collections, and other types of property that an institution may manage. Professional museum associations offer additional variations on these basic definitions. Museums collect, preserve, study and interpret, and provide appropriate public access to natural and cultural materials that have been assembled according to a plan. The collection must have a written scope statement. The items in the collection, whether cultural or natural, and their associated documentation are valuable for the information that they convey about people, processes, events, and interrelationships within cultural and natural systems. Placing objects within a broader context, through research, analysis and documentary records, provides the greatest public enjoyment and benefit. With few exceptions, after their founding, museums continue to collect within their stated scope. All activities in the museum revolve around the collection. Collecting, and documenting the resulting collection, is the first responsibility.
language: English
title: National Park Service Museum Handbook - Complete Version, Three Parts with Quick Reference - Collections, Records, Use, Preservation, Conservation, Emergency Plans, Handling, Pest Management, Storage
publisher: Progressive Management