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Collectors talk about the latest acquisition, trends, treasures, and exhibitions. But they rarely, if ever, talk about collection management. On the surface, it doesn't sound too interesting. But if you get involved in the mechanics now it will save you time, money, and, ultimately, add to your collecting pleasures.
Collection management is part of the job of being a good steward. And, in this wonderful world of management, you're the boss-o say nothing of the fact that it's fun, too. You'll need some simple record-keeping tools, like a notebook, calculator, and so forth. Those of you with a computer will delight in the possibilities afforded by the wonderful electronic tools available. I've even seen some interesting databases for collectors. There's lots I can tell you about electronic collection management. But, that's getting ahead of things.
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The term "steward" is an important one, because stewardship is what collection management is all about. The very concept is important, because a collection represents many things. It can represent your values, your point of view, your taste, an historic perspective, a certain artist's works, and so on. What you collect and how you organize it is unique to your way of thinking. And you are the caretaker of those objects that comprise your collection. You're doing it for yourself and for generations to come. This is contrary to the collecting experience in general, because collecting is a self-centered activity. This new perspective has caught many collectors by surprise, because they never thought-at least when they began-that their collections would be either important or valuable. It's like the old guy on the park bench who says if he'd known how long he was going to live, he'd have taken better care of himself. Hope you got the point here.
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Part 2 - Insurance & Alarm Systems |
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One of the most important parts of your collection management activities is selecting and maintaining an insurance policy. Remember to allocate a portion of your annual collecting budget to this essential item. Some objects are covered under a blanket or umbrella policy as part of your standard homeowners insurance plan. Usually a certain amount will be covered automatically, say $10,000 worth of fine art and jewelry. That sounds comforting, but wait. You would be astonished at how small a figure $10,000 really is when you start adding everything up. Take the time to ascertain the real value of your collection.
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"It is as if one had believed that the important thing was the act of 'saving' a collection by acquiring it; that, once this was accomplished, one could ignore it. In short, after having made a noble gesture, one found the collection turely a nuisance."
Jean del Gagniers, La Conservation du Patrimoine Muselogique du Quebec.
Hopefully by now, you're getting the idea that collection management can be considerably easier if you know, ahead of time, what is expected of you as a responsible steward.
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I promised to cover two relatively important areas; computer management and making your collection pay for itself.
But I forgot to mention one important addition to your collection; appraisals. I can't stress the importance of appraisals. They are just as important as any other part of your collection management arsenal.
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Part 5 - Last, But Not Least... |
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Even though computers are part of our everyday life today, many people still have an uneasy feeling about them. Much of that feeling, incidentally, is the fault of the computer people themselves. For one thing, there is no standard operating system. Your friend with an IBM still has glitches to cope with in communicating with your Macintosh, and so forth. Thankfully, most systems are learning to intercommunicate by now, and the walls between the systems are coming down so fast none of us can keep up.
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