Open Forum

Hello Wise Ones,

I am hoping to put my hands on current metrics for the annualized cost of maintaining museum collections.  Do any of you happen to have this info readily available or know where I might be able to find it?  Thanks, as always, for your help and expertise.

Sincerely,

Tracy Bidwell

Chief Registrar

Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art

University of Oklahoma

555 Elm Avenue

Norman, OK  73019

405-325-5388 | http://www.ou.edu/fjjma

Admission is always free, thanks to the generous support of the

OU Office of the President and the OU Athletics Department!

Hi Tracy,

Trevor Jones has an excellent short piece titled, "Do You Know What It Costs You to Collect?" in the 2018 book Active Collections. Trevor does a great job of putting together some basic formulas for calculating estimates for the costs involved with museum collections. His advice is sound, especially since we all know that there is no one magic unicorn for determining the cost of maintaining object – especially since there are so many changing variables from institution to institution, and also from object to object. That said, it find his approach very easy to understand, thoughtful, and practical if you want to start crunching some numbers for your specific institution.

Jessica D. Jenkins

Curator

Minnetrista

1200 N. Minnetrista Parkway

Muncie, IN 47303

765-287-3517

www.minnetrista.net