Collection Development

Advanced support for established collections

Collection development is designed to support archives, museums, and cultural organizations in their efforts to grow and refine an existing collection program. We ensure continuity between your collection and organizational mission and across policies and procedures. Collection development can also function as an audit of company practices and institutional biases when the end goal is to establish a more inclusive program. Our service is geared toward leaders who are motivated to reconsider existing frameworks, modernize their approach, and evolve their strategies.

Whether you’re looking to better engage your audience, expand your community impact, or recalibrate your collection to serve your mission, our team will ensure your program aligns with your vision.

Reach out to Get Started

Stewarding stories well in today’s world means providing more than just compelling artifacts and evidence. It demands being responsive to a global audience. It means not only preserving but amplifying diverse voices and rectifying past harm.

Navigating the landscape can be highly complex and emotional, but we’ll make sure every facet of your collection and institution is a testimony to what you stand for (and against).

So, if you’re committed to…

Holding space for voices in marginalized communities
Getting stakeholders as excited as you are about program possibilities
Cultivating quality donor relationships to secure future funding
Working smarter with an optimized deaccession strategy

We’ve got you.

Bring Relicura on Your Team

At your service

Our Collection Development service is tailored to the specific needs of your organization. Here are some of the ways we help you meet the goals of your program.

Collecting Policy Assessment

Review past iterations of collecting policies
Gather information on documented & undocumented items
Identify material types & subject matter

Staff Workshop

Interview stakeholders
Discuss collecting principles
Train on methods of care & handling
Outline documentation protocol
Advise on collecting policy and deaccession best practices
Hold Q&A

Collection Recommendations

Identify strengths & weaknesses in the collection
Define challenges & opportunities
Determine collecting priorities
Align archival standards with the Society of American Archivists (SAA) or American Alliance of Museums (as applicable)

Deaccession Plan

Review inventory, organizational structure, finances, etc.
Provide a findings summary
Define collecting objectives
Establish policies & procedures
Offer an updated plan

Program Strategy

Produce a comprehensive report
Present findings and recommendations to your team

Frequently Asked Questions

We want to diversify the voices represented in our collections but know this can be a controversial topic. How can we make positive change within the confines of our community?

How do we gently educate our Board and donors that deaccessioning is a normal part of the collection management practice?

Our organization has operated for 30+ years accepting anything and everything and without paperwork. Much of it is not unique, nor “museum worthy,” but we’re not sure how to properly deaccession it without the records.

Not quite ready to get to work? No problem!

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