Online course on collection management policy

MS209: Collections Management Policies for Museums and Related
    Institutions

Instructor: Cherie Cook
Dates: May 16- June 3, 2005
Price: $350

The Northern States Conservation Center
(<URL:http://www.collectioncare.org>) is pleased to announce a new
on-line course in its collection management series.  Collections
Management Policies for Museums and Related Institutions was a
popular Oklahoma Museums Association workshop, now available on-line
by Northern States Conservation Center at
<URL:http://www.museumclasses.org>.

   "Our museum has artifacts that have been in the collection for
    years, but we aren't sure if the museum owns them.  Can we
    remove them from the collection?"

   "How can we reject artifacts without offending donors?"

   "How can our directors avoid conflicts of interest?"

A well-written collection management policy is the key to answering
these questions.  Collections Management Policies for Museums and
Related Institutions addresses why you need a collection management
policy.  Participants will learn about the various aspects of
collection policies.  Discussions of everyday situations will help
participants learn to resolve questions and problems fairly and
without public embarrassment. The course emphasizes policies
suitable for small and mid-sized institutions.

The course will last for three weeks. The course format is
self-paced. The instructor will be available at predetermined
intervals throughout the course. Students will be working
individually and interact through forums and scheduled on-line
chats. Materials include web versions of reading materials and
lecture notes. Supporting resources include message forums, weekly
online chats, email support, projects, quizzes, and links to
relevant websites. This course will include handouts, on-line
literature and student-teacher/group-teacher dialog. The course is
limited to 20 participants.

If you are interested in the course, please sign up at
<URL:http://www.museumclasses.org> and pay for the course at
<URL:http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html>.  If you have
trouble with either, please contact Helen Alten at
helen<-a t->collectioncare< . >org.

About the instructor: For more than sixteen years, Cherie Cook
worked with museums across the state of Oklahoma, first as Field
Services Coordinator (1988-1993) and then as Executive Director of
the Oklahoma Museums Association (1993-2004). While in those two
positions, Ms. Cook had contact with hundreds of museums, tribal
cultural centers, and historic sites, assisting them with a wide
variety of issues including improving their collections management
practices. As a result of her work with OMA, the organization
developed into one of the most active state museum associations in
the nation, offering a year round calendar of seminars and other
training opportunities.

She has also worked as a Curator for a county historical society and
as an Historic Site Interpreter. Ms. Cook holds an MA in Historical
Administration from Eastern Illinois University and a BA in History
from Kansas State University. She has presented more than sixty
seminars, authored seven technical bulletins, and edited "The
Source: A Museum Reference Manual," an 800-page guide produced for
museums in Oklahoma. In her current work as an independent
professional, Ms. Cook is committed to helping museums, especially
small ones, implement professional practices and become energized,
leading institutions within their communities.


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 18:46
                   Distributed: Sunday, April 3, 2005
                       Message Id: cdl-18-46-019
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