What makes the precious collections held across Australia in galleries, museums, libraries and archives significant?
It is a question that the Collections Council of Australia has sought to define in its new publication, Significance 2.0: a guide to assessing the significance of collections.
Mr Noel Turnbull, Chair of the Collections Council of Australia, said the second edition of Significance is timely.
“Australia’s collections shape the way Australians think and live. The potential that collections hold for further innovative thinking across Australia is enormous which is why it is critical that our collecting organisations regularly consider the question of significance.”
“Significance 2.0 is about helping the organisations improve their decision making in areas like preservation, physical and digital access, and funding support,” he added.
An initiative of the Collections Council of Australia, funding has been made available through the Federal Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.
The Collections Council of Australia is providing the publication at no cost to 2,900 collecting organisations across the country. In time, the publication will be supported by an online Forum, an e-learning module and technical studies.
This edition includes new criteria for the assessment of items of national significance, to better support the Community Heritage Grants Program and the Commonwealth Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986, as well as helpful diagrams, an index, and an extensive glossary.
According to Veronica Bullock, the Collections Council’s Development Officer, significant items and collections discussed in Significance 2.0 are held in small and large collecting organisations around Australia, from Ned Kelly’s sash at the Benalla and Districts Historical Society, to the palaeontological collections of great scientific research value at the Australian National University, to the Torres Strait Island artworks of Margaret Lawrie held by the State Library of Queensland.
“Our collections capture our sense of national spirit and identity which is why it is important that collecting organisations put in place dynamic and contingent practices.”
“Significance 2.0 is contributing to shaping our identity for today and tomorrow by providingan industry-wide standard for making sure collections are relevant.”
Significance 2.0 - a guide to assessing the significance of collections (2009) has been prepared by Roslyn Russell and Kylie Winkworth for the Collections Council of Australia.
The publication has been put together with extraordinary input from the collections sector, including a survey, a workshop and online comment.
“Through this process, four guiding statements emerged which are seen as common across libraries, galleries, museums and archives,” said Ms Bullock.
These are:
- Nothing can be kept forever therefore significance assessment is vital to make the best use of our scarce resources for collecting, conserving, documenting and digitising our collection materials.
- Significance is not an absolute state—rather, it is relative, contingent and dynamic. Views on significance depend upon perspective and can change over time.
- In assessing significance, collection custodians have a responsibility to consult and seek alternative views in recognition of the fact that significance decisions inevitably privilege some memories and marginalise or exclude others.
- It is vital to understand, respect and document the events, activities, phenomena, places, relationships, people, organisations and functions that shape collection materials.
The Collections Council is Australia’s national peak body representing the shared interests of archives, galleries, libraries and museums. The organisation was initiated and is supported by the Cultural Ministers Council. The publication of Significance 2.0 will help to ensure that Australia’s collections will inspire, amaze, inform and delight future generations.
Click HERE to access the website for Significance 2.0.
Click HERE to read about the Collections Council's development of the Significance 2.0 project.
The Collections Council provides the secretariat for Blue Shield Australia.
The Collections Council of Australia Ltd was initiated by the Cultural Ministers Council, an intergovernmental forum for ministers responsible for culture and the arts in Australia and New Zealand, and is supported by the Australian Government.