The Collections Trust & SPECTRUM

Norsk kulturråd Oslo, September 2013

Introducing Collections Trust!

Independent, UK-based not-for-profit organisation working to support best practice in Collections Management worldwide.

Key objectives:

•Connecting the public with collections•Developing the collections workforce•Demonstrating the value of good collections management•Building digital capacity for galleries, libraries, archives and museums •Delivering an excellent organisation

Discover Refine Manage Deliver Engage Improve

Acquisition

Strategic Planning

Research

Interpretation Collections Management

Facilities Management

Environmental Control

Integrated Pest Management

Integrated Risk Management

Collections Development

Disaster Planning & Resilience

Conservation

Loans & Mobility

Exhibition Planning

Digital Content

Web/mobile

Audience Engagement

Strategic Marketing

Outreach

Education/ Learning Support

Commerce/ retail

Fundraising

Business administration

Key Performance Indicators

Process improvement

Cost reduction

Collections Trust core competencies

Digitisation

Digital Asset Management

Licensing/IPR

What is SPECTRUM?

• SPECTRUM is an open, and freely-available standard which defines and promotes best practice in the management and use of collections in museums, archives, galleries and similar cultural organisations.

• Now in its 4th edition, SPECTRUM is used by more than 8,000 museums in 40 countries worldwide to improve the management, sustainability and use of their Collections.

The core elements of SPECTRUM

• SPECTRUM Standard including translations/ localisations, SPECTRUM Digital Asset Management, the SPECTRUM Schema and the Archive of previous versions of SPECTRUM

• SPECTRUM Labs, including new ideas and potential applications of the SPECTRUM Standard

• SPECTRUM Resources which support the application of the standard

• SPECTRUM Community which includes anyone who uses the standard nationally or internationally

STANDARD

WORLDWIDE COMMUNITY (7,600)

COMPLIANCE(23,000)

GUIDANCEPDF/XML/PRINT+ SCHEMA

NEW IDEAS

SPECTRUM Mission

• Our mission as the international community responsible for the development, localisation, promotion and support of SPECTRUM worldwide is to ensure that wherever collections are, they are managed accountably, professionally and with due regard to public interest.

• SPECTRUM is an open standard, developed by, with and for the international cultural community on behalf of the audiences we serve.

The SPECTRUM Community

The development, localisation, promotion and support of SPECTRUM is the responsibility of an international network of partners, each of whom have a role to play, depending on their relationship to the standard.

SPECTRUM National Partners• Publicly or state-funded organisations with a

charitable or public-benefit remit

• In a position to sign the SPECTRUM National Partners Agreement on behalf of their Community

• In a position to support the development of SPECTRUM on an ongoing basis

• In a position to promote SPECTRUM to their national community

• Share responsibility for the direction & sustainability of SPECTRUM worldwide

SPECTRUM Champions• Willing to commit voluntary time and effort to

promoting and supporting SPECTRUM in their national community

• Able to lead or support translation and/or localisation of SPECTRUM

• Able to promote SPECTRUM to the appropriate organisation to act as the National Partner for their community

SPECTRUM Users• Willing to commit voluntary time and effort to

promoting and supporting SPECTRUM in their organisation

• Committed to best practice and to managing their collections accountably, professionally and with due regard to public interest

• Able to contribute ideas and knowledge to the future development of SPECTRUM

SPECTRUM Partners• Developing and supporting commercial

products which support Collections Management & make use of the SPECTRUM standard

• Committed to the development and promotion of SPECTRUM and standards of best practice to their client communities

• Able to contribute expertise and knowledge to the future development of SPECTRUM

Role & responsibilitiesSign National Partnership Agreement?

Download & distribute free of charge?

Translate & localise (under Share Alike)?

Distribute for commercial use?

Validate for compliance (or submit for validation)?

SPECTRUM National Partner SPECTRUM Champion SPECTRUM User SPECTRUM Partner

SPECTRUM Facts & Figures

• 8,000 licensed users

• 23,000 museums using SPECTRUM Compliant™ systems

• 17 SPECTRUM Partner systems

• Translations in the Netherlands, Belgium, Flanders, Germany

• Active communities in the Nordic countries

• Under developing in Qatar and China

Process for adoption

There isn’t one process for adopting SPECTRUM in a new region, but most museums go through a process something like this…!

“I’ve never heard of SPECTRUM”

“I’ve heard of SPECTRUM, but I’m not sure I like it”

“It’s ok, but I don’t have time for anything new right now”

“I’ll give it a go, but only the one procedure…”

“Actually, we’re doing most of this already”

“SPECTRUM is great”

More than just the standard...

National Museum Strategies/Policy

Museum Development programmes

Accreditation/validation

SPECTRUM Standards

Supporting materials (eg. Procedural Manual)

Training & professional development

Evidence/impact evaluation & improvement

New ideas: Create Once, Publish Everywhere (COPE)

• An object record is a nugget of digital content

• Able to be re-flowed dynamically across platforms

• Prepared for responsive design

• Collections that are mobile, social and in the Cloud

• “Get your content ready to travel anywhere, because it’s going to go everywhere” (thanks to Paul Rowe, Vernon Systems)!

SPECTRUM & the CIDOC CRM

CIDOC CRM

LIDO, ESE, ?

Abstraction layer

Collections management layer

Data interchange layer

By mapping up to CIDOC CRM from SPECTRUM, we can support COPE by supporting a richer & more future-proof data interchange layer

Collections Management Skills Framework

• What professional skills will the sector need in future to maximise the impact and sustainability of their collections- based services?

• Developing a skills framework to inform teaching and training at a higher academic level and provide employers with a structure for professional development

ENTRY-LEVEL ACADEMIC MID-CAREER LEADERSHIP LEGACY

CORE VALUES Integrity, accountability, openness, honesty, diversity, efficiency

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

Housekeeping, handling, packing

Collections theory, research, documentation

Environment, IPM, security, labelling etc.

Strategic CM, Collections

development

Organisational knowledge

transfer, research

MANAGEMENT Time-management

Project Management

PPM, Risk, HR, Finance,

Marketing

Strategic planning, advocacy

Continuity planning

SUBJECT EXPERTISE Broad interest General subject

focusPractice-based

expertise

Specialist academic

knowledge

Subject knowledge

transfer

SOFT SKILLS Mentoring, facilitation, negotiation, communication, networking

ENTRY-LEVEL ACADEMIC MID-CAREER LEADERSHIP LEGACY

CORE VALUES Integrity, accountability, openness, honesty, diversity, efficiency

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

Housekeeping, handling, packing

Collections theory, research, documentation

Environment, IPM, security, labelling etc.

Strategic CM, Collections

development

Organisational knowledge

transfer, research

MANAGEMENT Time-management

Project Management

PPM, Risk, HR, Finance,

Marketing

Strategic planning, advocacy

Continuity planning

SUBJECT EXPERTISE Broad interest General subject

focusPractice-based

expertise

Specialist academic

knowledge

Subject knowledge

transfer

SOFT SKILLS Mentoring, facilitation, negotiation, communication, networking

Collections Management Performance Indicators

• A framework of Key Performance Indicators to demonstrate the value and impact of SPECTRUM-based Collections Management

SPECTRUM Digital Asset Management

• NOT a standalone DAM standard

• A guide to integrating the management and use of digital assets into a SPECTRUM-based collections management workflow

• Ultimate aim is to bring the management & preservation of digital collections into same context as physical ones

Thank to the SPECTRUM Community!

SPECTRUM is the work of hundreds of practitioners just like you. It is owned and developed by the community, for the community. Thank you for all of your work testing, evaluating & improving SPECTRUM

Take it further…

http://www.collectionslink.org.uk/programmes/spectrum