1. Introduction

1.1 The purpose of the Collections Information and Access Policy is to set out the Museum’s responsibilities in relation to providing information about the collections and giving access to them, in line with the National Maritime Museum Act 1934, the Museum’s Mission Statement, and Corporate Plan. 

1.2 This policy is part of the National Maritime Museum’s (NMM) Collections Management Policy framework, which consists of:

  • Collections Development Policy, 2023-2028, NMM23/3635
  • Conservation Policy 2023-2028 NMM23/3130
  • Object Entry (Deposit) Policy 2022-2026, NMM18/24501
  • Object Exit Policy 2022-2026, NMM18/24551
  • Loans In Policy 2018-2023, NMM18/11323
  • Loans Out Policy 2018-2023, NMM18/10108
  • Location and Movement Control Policy 2022-2026, NMM18/24541
  • Cataloguing Policy 2022-2026, NMM18/24547
  • Due Diligence Policy 2022-2026, NMM18/24488
  • Collections Storage Policy 2022-2026, NMM18/24483
  • Digital Preservation Policy, NMM20/2000

​​​​​​​1.3 In line with the Arts Council England (ACE) Accreditation Scheme, this policy details how the Museum will:

  • improve accountability for collections
  • maintain at least minimum professional standards in documentation and collections information
  • extend access to collections and collections information
  • strengthen the security of the collections through accurate collections information.

2. Documentation

2.1 The Museum’s collections include both physical and digital collection items. Information about the collections and associated intellectual property is key to enabling access to the collections.

2.2 The Museum will create and maintain accurate, complete and up-to-date information about collection items in line with national and international standards. 

2.3 The Museum will record sufficient information about the objects for which it is legally responsible so that each object can be identified and located. This includes, but is not limited to, collection items, loans in, deposits, unaccessioned and previously undocumented items. 

2.4 Mimsy XG is the Museum’s collections management database system. It is the primary tool for recording and making accessible collections information, and for managing items for which the Museum is legally responsible. Accessioned and Working Collection library items are recorded in the library system, Symphony.

2.5 Adopting alternative systems for recording collections information is avoided and is only to be undertaken in consultation with the Collections Services Department (Collections Information team).  The Museum will take steps to incorporate collections information currently held in other systems into Mimsy XG.

2.6 The Museum will assess associated collections information held in paper form and safeguard it when it is of value, e.g. curatorial object files. The Museum will work towards incorporating this information into Mimsy XG or referencing it in Mimsy XG. Paper records will be retained when they provide evidence of an item’s provenance and history of use, e.g. acquisition slip books.

2.7 Mimsy XG records the following activities:

  • Object Location and Movement
  • Acquisition
  • Disposal
  • Exhibition
  • Audit
  • Conservation treatment
  • Condition checking
  • Object entry and exit
  • Loans in and out
  • Valuation
  • Hazard assessment

2.8 The Museum will continue to develop the use of its collections management system, Mimsy XG, to support these functions and other collections-related activities in line with the Spectrum Collections Management Standard and the business requirements of the Museum.

2.9 All staff responsible for creating collections information will receive appropriate training in the relevant data standards and use of the collections management system.

2.10 The Museum will maintain an audit trail regarding collections data by utilizing Mimsy XG’s ability to record the individual who has created, edited or deleted collections records, while also maintaining a record of past and present users and their permissions.

2.11 The Museum will ensure that information in the collections management database system is effectively backed up and that procedures are in place to restore the data in the event of system failure.

2.12 The Museum will take steps to ensure that the collections management systems it uses remain fit for purpose and that collections information is appropriately safeguarded against system and format obsolescence.

2.13 The Museum is committed to recording new information about collections, and to the continual improvement of incomplete, inadequate and inaccurate collections documentation.

3. Acquisitions

3.1 An acquisition record will be created in Mimsy XG for each item added to the NMM collections. Supplementary documentation will be stored in Content Manager, the Museum’s electronic documents records management system. Key legal documentation will be maintained, in hard copy, in the Museum Archive and Records Centre.

4. Cataloguing

4.1 A catalogue record adhering to agreed NMM data standards will be created as soon as possible after an item has been accessioned. The history of each collection item and a record of any activities associated with it will be kept. The curators are responsible for the catalogue record of each collection item in Mimsy XG.

4.2 The Museum has a Collections Information Plan to complete cataloguing gaps, as resources permit.

4.3 The Museum aims to create a digital image of each collection item or group of items. All new acquisitions should be photographed by a Museum photographer or have a ‘record shot’ taken by a member of staff. This photograph should be linked to the object record in Mimsy XG. The exceptions are archives, books or other large documentary collections where a representative image may be taken.

5. Location Control and Audit

5.1 The inventory level record should contain an accurate and up-to-date location for each item that the Museum is legally responsible for. The inventory for Museum objects and archive collections is recorded in Mimsy XG, which retains a history of moves. Symphony, the library system, records current locations for library material.

5.2 The Museum’s online library & archive ordering system, Aeon, facilitates public access to the library and archive collections. It is also used to maintain a record of public access to items in the Caird Library and, in conjunction with Mimsy XG, it provides greater location and movement control of library & archive material.

5.3 The Collections Information Team are responsible for carrying out spot checks and audits to verify the physical presence of items in locations as recorded in Mimsy XG. Specified areas of the collections are systematically audited at intervals and remedial action is taken by the responsible head of department following the identification of missing or wrongly-documented items.

6. Documentation Planning

6.1 The Museum’s Collections Information Plan identifies incomplete collections management procedures and cataloguing backlogs. It also identifies areas of collections information that are not in a readily accessible format, and areas of the collection where the information is below the Museum and SPECTRUM minimum standards.

6.2 The Museum will reduce these backlogs in line with available resources and institutional business needs.

6.3 Progress on reducing the Museum’s documentation backlogs and improving the quality of the collections information will be reviewed on a regular basis.

6.4 The Museum will ensure that current collections management procedures and minimum cataloguing standards are adhered to in order to avoid the development of further backlogs.

7. Access

7.1 The Museum is committed to offering the widest and most appropriate forms of access to its collections, expertise, facilities and services. The Museum is actively working to overcome any physical, intellectual, cultural, attitudinal, digital and financial barriers to its collections and collections information.

7.2 The Museum upholds and promotes the principle of free access to collections and collections information in order to stimulate curiosity and promote knowledge.

7.3 The principal means by which the NMM provides physical access to its collections is through:

  • Gallery displays
  • Special exhibitions
  • Loans to other heritage organisations
  • Education handling sessions

The Museum also provides physical access to stored collections at the following sites:

  • Caird Library & Archive, National Maritime Museum
  • No.1 Smithery, Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust
  • Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre, Kidbrooke (reading room and store)
  • Brass Foundry (off-site store)
  • Stores located on the NMM and ROG sites

7.4 The Museum will balance access with the needs of care, preservation and security and with the Museum’s obligations to third parties such as lenders and copyright holders.

7.5 The Museum identifies key target audiences and develops interpretation, informed by evaluation, to suit these audiences and delivers a wide range of learning programmes which are developed to suit different levels of knowledge, cultural and educational backgrounds, interests and learning styles.

7.6 The Museum provides online access to the collections through its website and online collection catalogues, which are updated regularly with new information as it becomes available. It is the Museum’s expectation that this form of access to information will be the first line of enquiry for visitors.

7.7 The Museum’s Collections Online provides free access to collection records and images. Content is made freely available to third parties, where no rights or data restrictions apply, subject to the Terms and Conditions of the site.

7.8 More detailed collections information is provided through catalogues (printed or unpublished) and through the Museum’s collections registers and indexes.

7.9 The Museum will answer legitimate enquiries regarding its collections in order to supplement information provided elsewhere.

7.10 The Museum supports lending and touring exhibitions to provide greater access to collections. It is generally predisposed to agree to reasonable loan requests providing the objects are in suitable condition to travel and are not already allocated either for loan or our own displays. In accordance with the practice of all national museums, the costs of such loans are charged to borrowers.

8. Policy renewal schedule

This policy was reviewed by the Trustees Collections and Research Committee and approved by the Strategy Delivery Group of the National Maritime Museum in April 2022. It was formally approved by the Board of Trustees of the National Maritime Museum in December 2023. It will be reviewed after five years.

 

Appendix 1: Legal, Ethical and Standards Framework

The Museum’s Collections Information and Access Policy is informed by legislation, ethical and sectoral standards including but not limited to:

  • The National Maritime Museum Act, 1934
  • The Museums and Galleries Act, 1992
  • The Public Records Acts, 1958, as amended 1967
  • The Data Protection Act, 2018
  • UK General Data Protection Regulation
  • The Freedom of Information Act, 2000
  • Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, UNESCO, 1970
  • Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988
  • Copyright and Related Rights Regulations, 2003
  • Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act, 2003
  • Equality Act, 2010

 

  • Code of Ethics for Museums, ICOM, 2004 (including the ICOM ‘Red List’)
  • Code of Ethics for Museums, Museums Association, 2015
  • Combating Illicit Trade: Due Diligence Guidelines for Museums, Libraries and Archives on collecting and borrowing Cultural Material, DCMS, 2005
  • Statement of Principles issued by the National Museum Directors Conference on spoliation of works of art during the Holocaust and World War II period, 1998

 

  • Spectrum 5.1: The UK Museum Collections Management Standard
  • PAS197:2009: Code of practice for cultural collections management, BSi and Collections Trust
  • ISAD(g): General International Standard Archival Description, International Council on Archives, 2007
  • Resource Description and Access ('RDA', 2010, revisions through 2013-)
  • MARC ('machine-readable cataloguing') data standards (Library of Congress, 1999, revisions through 2013-)
  • Art and Architecture Thesaurus, The J. Paul Getty Trust