Managing Museums Collections: the Role of the Registrar and the Use of Collections Management Systems (CMSs)

Abstract

The thesis investigates from a dual perspective the broad topic of collections management within museums. On one hand, it proposes an analysis of the largely unknown role of the museum registrar, by reporting the profile’s main characteristics and major tasks involving collection management. On the other hand, following a brief presentation of collections management processes, there will be an attempt to examine how these activities are now carried out in an almost fully automated way by means of the so-called “collections management systems” (CMSs). The thesis concludes with a short presentation of the Italian company Comwork and of their “Museum”, a software for the digital management of museums collections.