Why Collect?
Why Collect? is a collaboration between a number of key collecting institutions, dedicated to exploring the rationales that drive the building of public collections. The member organisations are Ballarat Fine Art Gallery; Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, and Information Services, the University of Melbourne; National Archives of Australia; National Archives of Singapore; Public Record Office of Victoria; State Library of Victoria; and Western Australian Museum.
The Why Collect? Research Group is interested in identifying and exploring the key issues reflected in collection building activity and in developing a framework in which to assess this critical question. This task implies an assessment of some fundamental questions, around which we will foster debate, and bring scholarly and professional focus.
- What processes govern collection building?
- How are collections built and used?
- What are the consequences of collection building?
- What impact do gaps and losses have on collections?
This project responds to important reports that relate to cultural heritage collections, in particular:
- 2002's A Study into the Key Needs of Collecting Institutions in the Heritage Sector;
- The much earlier but still relevant 1975 Piggott Report - Report of the Committee of Inquiry on Museums and National Collections and;
- The National Conservation and Preservation Policy and Strategy for Australia's Heritage Collection 1998
Recent projects from the Productivity Commission exploring knowledge transfer and conservation of historic heritage places are also of interest to the research group.
Key Needs identified documentation and conservation as the top priorities for collecting institutions in Australia, reflecting the Piggott Report: "major museums of Australia now face a conservation crisis on a massive scale". The collections sector has sought to improve the housing and management of these collections, with massive infrastructure development, and enquiries, reports and forums aimed at a more strategic approach. A large range of support mechanisms (policies, strategies, papers) and products (handbooks and manuals, professional development programs, websites) has resulted, aiming to support access, preservation and interpretation of collections (Key Needs 2002:19).
The organisations involved in this project are seeking to understand how collections contribute to an evolving national identity, how innovation in collection development can be harnessed across sectors, and how best to manage future infrastructure development within the collecting sector. This project will examine:
- The rationale and processes that govern institutions collecting and impacts of collecting practice (across the standard "memory" institutions; indigenous/settler communities; public/private) and the role of collections in fostering a sense of national identity;
- How collections are valued by examining their use and development, with a focus on the "economic/community benefit" paradigm dominating display and documentation practices, and in focussing debates about physical preservation vis-a-vis the ICT revolution;
- The consequences of collecting and ways in which collections are identified as asset or impost.
The partners in this program welcome the involvement of anyone interested in contributing to the discussion on this topic. You can email comments, notes or even papers to:
Robyn Sloggett
Director
Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation
The University of Melbourne
Victoria 3010
rjslog@unimelb.edu.au