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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

1. Purpose

The purpose of Exhibitions and Displays at RMG is to engage a broad range of audiences with the Museum’s collections, sites and themes. They create space for new thinking and perspectives in relation to the Museum’s mission of connecting people to time, space, place and belonging.

2. Context

Royal Museums Greenwich (RMG) comprises the National Maritime Museum (NMM), Royal Observatory Greenwich (ROG), Queen’s House (QH), Cutty Sark (CS) and the Prince Philip Maritime Collections Centre (PPMCC). Our programmes of temporary exhibitions, galleries and displays form a vital part of the Museum’s work with audiences and of our mission, in Greenwich, Southeast England and more widely with our UK and international partners.

The Museum’s collections and subjects are many and varied, ranging from Tudor seafaring to modern astronomy. It is impossible to display all the collections or interpret all the subjects within our remit at any one time, so the Museum has rolling programmes of temporary exhibitions and of longer-term gallery renewal, that aim to meet this challenge and to retain existing audiences as well as to develop new audiences.

The content of our exhibitions and displays is aligned with the Museum’s guiding principles and thematic priorities as set out in Charting Our Course. Our strategic ambitions in terms of audiences will be set out through an Audience Development Action Plan, which will be created over the course of 2024.

3. Scope

The aim of this document is to provide a clear summary of RMG’s exhibition and display activities, its approach to ideas generation and selection, and to the management of exhibition, gallery and display projects including process and governance.

4. Types of Exhibitions:

4.1 Exhibitions – this term is used to mean large-scale temporary exhibitions staged onsite, including those that tour to other venues or are produced in collaboration with other institutions and external partners. Their purpose is to provide opportunities for diverse publics to engage with RMG collections, sites and/or subjects. Exhibitions may be focused solely on RMG collections or may include material or visual culture loaned to or deposited with the Museum from other institutions, private lenders and community partners as well as RMG collections. We may also use our spaces in more experimental ways with ‘shows’ that are not object-based. Exhibitions are staged in several spaces, but chiefly: an 815m² Special Exhibitions Gallery, a smaller 185m² ‘New Insights’ Gallery and the Queen’s House art gallery, where exhibitions are carefully co-ordinated with the permanent hang of the collection, and a programme of annual rotations. There is also an annual exhibition of RMG’s Astronomy Photographer of the Year (APY) competition, currently staged in a 265m² Photography Gallery. Over the period of this policy feasibility will be undertaken on the potential for more flexible exhibitions space in ‘Oceans Court’ at the heart of the National Maritime Museum site. Exhibitions have historically run for 3-6 months, but in the post-pandemic period, longer runs of 9-12 months have become standard to attract sufficient footfall and make a return on investment. It is important to keep a rhythm of shows over many years so that we build reputation and an audience of repeat visitors.

4.2 Galleries – this term is used to mean semi-permanent displays focused on RMG’s collections and long-term loans. In addition to thematic galleries at the National Maritime Museum, this definition includes interpreted spaces on Cutty Sark, such as the ‘Tween Deck and Lower Hold, and interpreted spaces within the historic fabric of the ROG such as Flamsteed House, the Meridian Building, Great Equatorial Telescope Building and the South Building/Astronomy Centre. Over the period of this policy, the primary focus for the programme of gallery renewal will be at the ROG. An important principle in this scheme will be to ensure a degree of flexibility in the display approach adopted in new and/or refreshed galleries to ensure that they can be maintained easily, and that content can be refreshed and updated over the lifespan of the gallery in response to new thinking and changing audience needs.

4.3 Displays – this term is used to mean smaller exhibits staged at any of RMG’s sites. These can vary from contemporary art installations, to single ‘object in focus’ or new acquisition displays, the display of vessels or artistic interventions on the Museum’s grounds, or the creative outputs of partnerships with community groups. Displays are often ‘agile’ projects, produced to shorter lead times. They may occasionally emerge opportunistically ‘in year’ rather than being defined in the annual planning process. Displays enhance the visitor experience, respond to emerging and/or contemporary issues and contribute to ongoing relationships with external stakeholders. They are likely to have an impact on Museum operations, as they are not confined to discrete gallery spaces or a set format. It is therefore important that the relevant Museum teams are consulted and engaged in a timely fashion (see 6. Process and Governance)

5. Forums for creative oversight and governance

5.1 Content Strategy Group – The Content Strategy Group (CSG) is the creative heart of the Museum. The group’s purpose is to define, develop, co-ordinate and deliver RMG’s Content Strategy in relation to research, interpretation, content development, programming, exhibiting and dissemination.

CSG’s strategic aim is to ensure all activity is aligned with RMG’s social purpose, approach and guiding concepts so that we maximize coherent outputs and outcomes, communicate effectively and work efficiently.

CSG’s creative aims are to nurture and support the development of ideas in line with the strategy and to ensure collections are made accessible to the public; are researched and interpreted in a way that is relevant to our visitors, communities and stakeholders.

Ideas generation: ideas are generated in a number of thematic sub-groups of CSG: Oceans (Environment); Oceans (Maritime Histories); Creativity; Society; Universe - and presented to the main group who actively contribute to development/shaping. They advise on potential outputs and interdependencies, ensuring clear cross team communication.

5.2 Exhibitions and Galleries Project Board – The EGPB is a sub-group of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and the Executive Committee (EC) to which the governance of live exhibition and gallery projects is devolved. Responsibility for project governance is passed to EGPB once project proposals have been generated, reviewed and refined at Content Strategy Group and its thematic sub-groups, selected for further development, and finally presented to EC for approval alongside an Activity Tracker detailing projected resource requirements and budget estimates.

The aims of the EGPB are to:

• ensure that the design and content development of exhibition and gallery projects are rigorously managed, and delivered within the budget and programme tolerances sanctioned by EC;

• to scrutinize, approve and monitor the business case for exhibition and gallery projects;

• to monitor risk levels associated with time, cost and resource across the exhibitions and galleries programmes;

• to provide executive decision-making when the Exhibitions team presents recommendations and options;

• to ensure that the exhibitions and galleries programmes are aligned with the guiding principles of the Museum’s content strategy;

• to grant permission for exhibition teams to pass through project ‘gateways’ at key milestones in the exhibition's lifecycle, at:

  • the end of stage 2 of the RIBA Plan of Work (Concept Design);

  • the end of stage 3 of the RIBA Plan of Work (Spatial Co-ordination);

  • Prior to procuring a Principal Contractor, the point where major financial commitments are made. Nb. This may be at end of stage 4 of the RIBA Plan of Work (Technical Design) or earlier in the process depending on whether a traditional procurement route or a ‘two-stage tender’ is being used.

EGPB meets ten times a year, at the end of each month, except August and December. Dashboards reporting on project progress, key risks and proposed mitigations are prepared in advance by individual Exhibition Project Managers and reviewed by the Head of Exhibitions and Design before being circulated to the attendees.

6. Process and Governance

Once green-lit, major exhibitions and gallery projects follow a well-established process from inception to project closure. Content and interpretative development progresses in co-ordination with design stages defined by the RIBA Plan of Work. Mid-stage and end-of-stage design reviews are conducted during Concept Design and Spatial Co-ordination, so that all design information can be assessed by the Design Manager and the Head of Exhibitions and Design before a more concise presentation of project progress is given at EGPB. Stakeholder Reviews are also undertaken and managed by the Exhibition Project Manager. On larger exhibition and gallery projects Quantity Surveyors are engaged to prepare cost plans at each stage of the design process and assist the Museum with value engineering, contract management and change control. This is supported by internal benchmarking against previous projects, pre-tender market engagement with specialist contractors, prototyping and sampling of materials.

On larger exhibition and gallery projects front-end, formative, and summative evaluation may be commissioned from external consultants to test audience understanding and interest and the success of the interpretative approach. ‘Wash up’ meetings are convened at the end of projects to collate lessons learned which can be applied to future projects. Closure reports are prepared for larger exhibition projects, which are submitted to the Board of Trustees.

Due to their agile nature and often short lead times, displays necessarily follow a lighter-touch process. With these initiatives, feasibility is undertaken before a commitment is made to a display project. Collections Services are consulted on the status of any material coming into the Museum from third parties and any preventative conservation considerations that may apply. Exhibitions & Design provide advice on design management, resource, and schedule. Timescales and parameters for text writing and editing are set in liaison with the Interpretation and Editorial teams. Art and Object Handling resource is ringfenced through early discussion at RMG’s regular Collections and Exhibitions Programme Schedule (CEPS) meetings. If a display is proposed in the main public/circulation spaces of the Museum, the Visitor Experience team is consulted to agree on any operational impact.

Over the first twelve months of this policy, and in time for its first review in January 2025, the Senior Leadership Team will actively review the process for display development and co-ordination.

7. Partnerships and Touring

RMG has a record of working with other museums and galleries to co-produce temporary exhibitions. This may result in a two-venue partnership or a wider tour, and benefits to the partners through sharing expertise, bringing together complementary collections and defrayment of costs. RMG has worked this way with both UK regional and international partners and is likely to do so during this policy period. Touring potential is assessed at project inception, but we do not have a ‘rolling’ or large-scale touring programme. Astronomy Photographer of the Year is often placed with receiving venues in the UK and abroad, but with rare exceptions we do not tour physical prints, preferring to transfer digital assets to our partners, for local production and installation.

In addition to its relationships with sectoral partners, RMG also collaborates with external stakeholders representing communities of identity, interest and/or place. These collaborations may result in co-curated displays and gallery interventions. The Museum also undertakes pilot projects to build relationships of trust and understanding with community stakeholders, and develop our interpretative approach, before setting a brief for major gallery projects.

Displays may originate from a wide variety of collaborations. These may include working with living artists on the display of newly commissioned pieces, either being acquired into the collection or loaned to/deposited with the Museum for a fixed period; working with community groups on displays associated with major annual festivals/events; working with external organisations and displaying the creative outputs of participation projects with underrepresented or marginalised groups.

8. Sustainability

In collaboration with the RMG’s Sustainability Manager, the Exhibitions and Design department is developing sustainable design guidelines to embed best practice. Where possible, temporary exhibitions and displays re-use infrastructure such as demountable and moveable showcases and modular display systems. Where graphic elements will be sacrificed at the end of a short-term project and do not require the robustness demanded of a longer-term gallery, the Museum uses fully recyclable graphic substrates. For capital projects we aim to review material specifications to understand and where possible mitigate their carbon impact across their whole life-cycle.

Authors: Matthew Lawrence, Head of Exhibitions and Design; Daniel Martin, Head of Collections Services; Helen Mears, Head of Curatorship and Research; Sarah Lockwood, Head of Engagement; Claire Warrior, Senior Content Curator