Heritage Resources Management (HERM) 322

Heritage Collections (Revision 1)

HERM 322

Revision 1 is closed for registrations, see current revision

Delivery Mode: Individualized study online

Credits: 3

Area of Study: Humanities

Prerequisite: None

Faculty: Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences

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HERM 322 is not available for challenge.

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Overview

The activities of museums, archives, and many historic places are built primarily around collections of material objects. The concern of this course is with the management of heritage in its material manifestations in collections, primarily within museum and archival collections.

Collections cannot endure without care and management. Heritage Resources Management 322: Heritage Collections deals with the acquisition, documentation, storage, and preservation of collections. Attention is also given to discarding materials from collections and issues surrounding access to collections. These activities require an understanding of how and why collections are formed, why an object is significant and worth keeping, how a collection is documented and organized, and the balance that needs to be struck between using and conserving the materials in a collection.

As noted above, conservation of collections is discussed in this course, but students should be aware that a more specialized course, Herm 339 Conservation, is available for those requiring a more in-depth study of conservation of collections.

Outline

Part I. Understanding Collections

  • Unit 1: Heritage Collections: The Historical Legacy
  • Unit 2: Collections: Types and Uses
  • Unit 3: Archival Collections
  • Unit 4: Special Types of Collections: Archaeological, Palaeontological and Historic Place Collections

Part II Methodologies of Collections Management

  • Unit 5: The Process: Collecting and Documenting
  • Unit 6: Managing Collections Data.
  • Unit 7: The Process: Artifact Storage and Conservation
  • Unit 8: Managing Collections: Assessing, Culling, Deaccessioning
  • Unit 9: Access and Collaboration

Evaluation

To receive credit for HERM 322, you must complete all of the assignments and achieve a minimum composite course grade of D (50 percent). The chart below summarizes the course activities and the credit weight associated with each assignment.

Activity Weighting
Assignment 1 Report 15%
Assignment 2 Report 15%
Assignment 3 Collection Proposal 30%
Assignment 4 Research Paper 40%
Total 100%

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbook/Resource Books

Museums Alberta [Alberta Museums Association]. Standard Practices Handbook for Museums. Edmonton: Museums Alberta. 2003 (2nd edition).

Important note: The Standard Practices Handbook is used in other courses in the Heritage Resources Management Program. You must keep your copy of this book if you intend to take other courses in the program. Conversely, if you have already taken HERM 301 or HERM 501, you will have received this book in the course package for that course and it will not be included in the HERM 322 course package.

Other Materials

The course materials include a reading file. All other materials are available online.

Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized-study counterparts.

Opened in Revision 1, August 12, 2009.