Overcrowding is a prevalent problem for many professionals working within the Museum, Galleries and Heritage Collections sector. Continuous growth of collections can lead to overcrowding even with the most stringent of accessioning rules. The obvious implications are damage to objects and items entrusted to your care, but there are other equally far reaching consequences that can be avoided with the help of a thoroughly considered store plan.
The first and foremost thing you need to do before the formalisation of your plan is to conduct an audit of your existing collection and catalogue the items into appropriate storage categories, by type and by size. Remember the way these items are currently stored might not be optimising your storage space, but with the right storage solution there is no reason they should not remain in their original groupings if desired.
Next step is to consider to what extent your collection grows each year and then to multiply this by the number of years expansion you are planning for. Ideally the storage solution you settle upon, will not only accommodate your existing collection, but should leave enough space for newly accessioned objects and items to be added without causing the same issue of overcrowding.
A cleverly designed storage solution should work to use every available space in your store to its optimum capacity. However, even the most innovative solutions can’t prevent overcrowding if the area your store is located in is simply too small to house your collection. Therefore, it always wise to survey your existing space to make sure you have enough.
Download our vcard