Inventory (museums)

An inventory is an itemized list of objects that a museum has accessioned or received via loan(s) and must be physically located by an examiner.

[7] The completion and upkeep of and an inventory system helps to deter and aid in the early detection of theft of the collection.

"[8]The type of inventory system used by a museum will be dictated by the Collections Management Policy (CMP).

If all the items are accounted for in a random sampling, then it can be assumed that rest of the collections' records is just as reliable.

Items at the lowest position of the iceberg, below the water's surface, may only need to be inventoried annually.

[9] With this type of inventory system, the most important or most valued objects are accounted for on a regular basis.

Such a record might contain the following: – Albeit the book focuses on Information Management, it still has useful tips on how to conduct an inventory (referred to as an audit) of a collection.

– The subject of inventories is mentioned throughout the book and in particular has part of one essay covering the topic, "Registration in a Historic House Museum", by Diane Green Taylor.

However, Taylor discusses the topic more in depth, revealing that how smoothly an inventory goes is actually a reflection upon the institution.

– The subject of inventory was included in this essay as part of an overview to security issues within collections management.