A large natural history museum, for example, would have specialists in birds, fishes, insects, and mollusks. Furthermore, in large institutions, most curators specialize in particular functions. Some maintain the collection while others perform administrative tasks. Registrars, for example, are responsible for keeping track of and moving objects in the collection. In small institutions, with only one or a few curators, they are responsible for almost everything, from maintaining collections to directing the affairs of museums.
Museum directors formulate policies, plan budgets, and raise funds for their museum.
They coordinate activities of their staff to establish and maintain collections. Conservators oversee, manage, examine, care for, and preserve works of art, artifacts, and specimens. They coordinate the activities of workers engaged in the examination, repair, and conservation of museum objects. This may require substantial historical and archaeological research. They use X-rays, microscopes, special lights, and other laboratory equipment in examining objects to determine their condition, the need for repair, and the appropriate method for preservation.