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Comprising multiple specialist teams, Collections Services provides conservation, collections care, collections management, digitisation, analytical science, and library services expertise across the museum.
Take a closer look at featured objects from our collection, what we did with them, and the stories that they tell.
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Responsibility: Lucy provides administrative expertise across the many specialist teams working in Collections Services.
Jill leads the development and management of the Museum’s library services across all sites, including two publicly accessible reading rooms, the Research Library at National Museum of Scotland and National War Museum Library.
Responsible for: scientific research and investigation across the museum’s collections, management of the scientific laboratories at the National Museums Collection Centre.
Expertise: developing and implementing analytical research programmes across a broad and complex collection.
Pam leads the Collections Information team which comprises information, systems and photography professionals based at the National Museum of Scotland and the National Museums Collections Centre.
Anna leads the Collections Care team comprising preventive conservators and collection technicians.
Yvonne leads the Registrar team and is responsible for the strategic development, planning, management and delivery of collection loans, acquisitions, reviews and disposals programmes.
Lynn combines a management role with practical treatments and has a specific interest in developing upcoming conservators through placements and internships.
Jane leads the Artefact Conservation team working with conservation colleagues and multidisciplinary teams across the museum, on a wide range of exhibition, research, collections, and fieldwork projects.
Stuart leads the Engineering Conservation team based in two conservation workshops and one conservation hangar, at the National Museums Collection Centre and at the National Museum of Flight.
The Collections Services department is made up of the following eight sections:
What we do
Library Services support the research and learning needs of Museum staff, visitors and the wider external research community.
The team is responsible for maintaining three libraries across the Museum’s sites, with a collection of 300,000 printed items, and over 4,000 e-journals.
The library also holds and provides access to archive material associated with the history and object collections of National Museums Scotland and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, and the papers of notable archaeologists, antiquarians, and natural historians.
The team consists of:
What we do
Comprising information and systems specialists as well as expert photographers, the Collections Information Team, is responsible for strategic projects to develop, generate, digitise, and share information about the collections.
The information and system specialists lead the development of the Museum’s centralised Collections Information System and provide advice, support and training on cataloguing, data standards as well as sharing information across external digital platforms. They also manage audit and inventory programmes and support colleagues on procedural topics, Spectrum standards, and the Museum’s Accreditation Standard.
The expert photographers lead on imaging collections for record, conservation, publication, web, research, display and public relations purposes. The photographers also provide training to collection teams on how to photograph collections.
Externally the team supports the wider sector providing advice and support through documentation and photography training and skills sharing.
The team consists of:
What we do
Comprising Preventive Conservation and Collections Technicians, this team develops and implements programmes to ensure the holistic, long-term care of collections as well as the coordination and delivery of collection moves.
The Preventive Conservators advise and train teams across the Museum on Integrated Pest Management and run a collection quarantine facility at the National Museums Collection Centre. They also support the exhibition, display, and lending of collections through environmental monitoring, Oddy testing and advising on display protocols and standards.
The Collections Technicians plan, pack and move collections and provide advice and training to collections teams in object handling, packing and labelling.
The Preventive Conservators and Collections Technicians work together to carry out collections cleaning across all National Museum Scotland sites.
Externally this team supports the wider sector through training and skills sharing programmes and published collections care guidance and resources.
The team consists of:
What we do
The registrar team provides advice and expertise to enable collection acquisitions, reviews, disposals, and lending in line with best practice sector standards as well as legislative requirements.
This team provides support and training for curators and other collections teams in a range of areas including due diligence (provenance) training as well as courier training.
The team is proficient in assessing and advising on facilities, security, transport, logistics, customs, couriers, insurance, documentation, and contracts required to manage and care for a diverse range of collections.
The team consists of:
What we do
The Paper and Textile conservators provide expert conservation for a diverse range of objects from fashion to tapestry, embroideries to flags, prints to photographs and works of art to papyrus.
The team undertakes practical conservation treatments for exhibitions, loans and tours and work with colleagues in the curatorial teams, as well as preventive conservation and analytical science to care for and research the collections.
The team consists of:
What we do
The artefact conservation team works with objects from across the collections including archaeological, historical, ethnographic, and contemporary collections. Detailed object examination and investigation allows the team to contribute to the understanding of the object, including its manufacture and degradation, as well as previous conservation treatments.
The team works collaboratively, often finding innovative solutions to complex problems, and developing techniques to ensure the long-term stabilisation and preservation of the collections.
The team consists of:
What we do
The engineering conservation team works across a wide range of collections including industrial, transport, agricultural, aviation, scientific, horological, and furniture, and is responsible for the care and maintenance of working objects and heritage models.
Based at conservation facilities at the National Museums Collection Centre and at National Museum of Flight, this team applies expert skills to conserve and care for objects as diverse as large aircraft to fine scientific instruments.
The team holds particular expertise in managing hazardous materials in collections and provides advice and knowledge about practical engineering work particularly as it relates to collections.
The team engages volunteers, interns, and students to work on discreet projects, sharing skills, expertise, and experience in engineering conservation.
The team consists of:
What we do
This team develops and implements programmes of analytical research across the collections and manages a suite of scientific laboratories at the National Museums Collections Centre.
The team consists of:
The Collection Centre in Granton, Edinburgh is a specialist facility where we care for and research our collections. It is a hub for cutting-edge research and innovation, training and teaching, as well as the preparation of collections for exhibition, loan, and tour.
National Museums Collection Centre
Our free online training offers practical advice, good practice through case studies and demonstrations, along with resources and links to further learning. It is aimed at staff or volunteers new to caring for collections, or those looking for a refresher in the subject area.
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Collections Services department
