Dynamic Collections
Preston Park Museum holds a collection of 100,000 objects, ranging from archaeology and fine art to costume and sculpture. However, without the time and space to display these treasures, much of the collection has been inaccessible to the public.
The museum has embarked on an ambitious redevelopment project, including building an open store that will make the collection more visible than ever before. The new space will enable the museum’s team to focus on building a stronger connection between the collection and the community, ensuring it remains relevant, accessible and inspiring for local people of all ages and backgrounds.
To prepare for this transformation, the museum started a collection rationalisation project, supported by a £249,802 grant awarded through our Dynamic Collections campaign.
What is rationalisation?
Rationalisation is about refining a collection, making it more accessible and effective as a public resource.
It often involves an audit which looks at the significance of items and whether they meet the museum’s mission, alongside reviewing condition, size and how feasible it is to preserve them in the long-term. Rationalisation also prompts museums to consider disposing of duplicates and damaged objects, or transferring those that can’t be used to their full potential to other collections.
The Museum Association’s Off The Shelf Toolkit for Ethical Transfer, Reuse and Disposal is a good starting point for organisations planning their own rationalisation project.
Making collaborative, community-led decisions
Preston Park Museum’s This House Sparks Joy project has embedded collaborative, community-led decision making at the centre of its curatorial practice.
The museum has invited two members of the community with a love of local heritage to join its collections development panel. The panel – which includes representatives from the museum’s collections team, council members and Tees Valley Museum Group – now shapes key decisions and policy changes, including adding to, maintaining or removing objects from the collection.
“I think having community representatives on the panel brings the process back down to earth and reminds everyone who we’re working for,” explains Dynamic Collections Officer Emily Coulthard. “We’re part of the community. Our panellists speak their minds and often have brilliant insights and ideas for the future of an object. That’s really exciting and helpful for us.”
The panel will be a permanent, evolving part of the museum’s team beyond the course of the current project, ensuring a community presence is kept at the heart of decision making.
Preparing your rationalisation project
Emily would advise any team at the start of a rationalisation process to put the hard yards in before getting underway – it’ll make all the difference further down the line.
“Complete as much of a collection audit as you can before you begin the full rationalisation. It makes things a lot smoother and easier. The information gathered can help you home in on the gaps and the overlaps, where the work needs to be done. The more you know, the less time you spend on prioritisation later.
“And don’t overlook the importance of documenting each decision. Capture the details; future colleagues will thank you for a clear record, so they can follow the exact path an object took from inventory to disposal or otherwise.”
An accessible collection, curated for its audience
The streamlined collection and new open store will provide renewed interest for the 500,000 people who visit the museum and its grounds each year. For the team, the project will also have a day-to-day legacy – in how they think about audience and how they manage the collection.
“We are not approaching the rationalisation as a one-off. Instead, it’s about constantly asking ourselves how we can make the best use of the new open store, the galleries and exhibition spaces. By reducing pressure on storage and resources, the rationalisation has created space – both physically and mentally – for our team to take a proactive, audience-focused approach. The result is a dynamic, accessible collection, carefully shaped to meet the needs of Tees Valley and beyond.”
Learn more about our Dynamic Collections programme or discover more projects that we’re supporting in museums, libraries and archives across the UK.
