Best Practices for Managing Federal Museum Collections

Section B. - Provide Good Customer Service

B-3 Know discipline-specific standards for managing Federal museum collections

In addition to government-wide standards for managing Federal property, each discipline represented in Federal museum collections may have its own requirements and specific standards. The links below provide examples of discipline-specific standards.

Anthropology
American Anthropological Association
http://www.aaanet.org/resinet.htm
American Association for State and Local History
http://www.aaslh.org/

Archeology
Code of Ethics (Archaeological Institute of America)
http://www.archaeological.org/pdfs/AIA_Code_of_EthicsA5S.pdf
Curatorial Care of Archeological Collections (National Park Service)
http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/publications/MHI/AppendI.pdf
Principles of Archaeological Ethics (Society for American Archaeology)
http://www.saa.org/aboutSAA/committees/ethics/principles.html
Standards and Guidelines for the Curation of Archaeological Collections (Society for Historical Archaeology)
http://www.sha.org/publications/curation.htm

Archives
Facility Standards for Records Storage Facilities (National Archives and Records Administration)
http://www.archives.gov/about/regulations/part-1228/k.html
Society of American Archivists
http://www.archivists.org/governance/handbook/app_ethics.asp

Art
Association of Art Museum Directors
http://www.aamd.org/about/#Code

History
American Association for State and Local History
http://www.aaslh.org/
American Historical Association
Standards for Museum Exhibits dealing with Historical Subjects
http://www.historians.org/info/museumstandards.htm
Professional, Research, and Teaching Standards
http://www.historians.org/governance/pd/ProfessionalIssues.htm

Museums
American Association of Museums
Ethics
http://www.aam-us.org/museumresources/ethics/index.cfm
Assessment Program
http://www.aam-us.org/museumresources/map/index.cfm
Expectations Regarding Collections Stewardship
http://www.aam-us.org/museumresources/accred/upload/Collections%20Stewardship%20ACE%20(2005).pdf

Natural History
Natural Science Collections Alliance
http://www.nscalliance.org/about/index.asp
Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections
http://www.spnhc.org/
Guidelines for the Care of Natural History Collections
http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byorg/spnhc/spnhc1.html

Zoology
Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles
http://www.ssarherps.org
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
http://www.asih.org/curation
American Malacological Society
http://erato.acnatsci.org/ams/conservation/index.html
Florida Museum of Natural History
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/malacology/
The American Society of Mammalogists
http://www.mammalsociety.org/index.html
The Society for Marine Mammalogy
http://www.marinemammalogy.org/
American Ornithologist's Union
http://www.aou.org/
Cornell Lab of Ornithology - Conservation
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/LabPrograms/conservation/index.html
International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature
http://www.iczn.org/
American Entomological Society
http://www.acnatsci.org/hosted/aes/
Curation of Insects
http://entomology.unl.edu/lgh/insectid/insect_collecting_and_curation_stuff.htm

Botany
International Code of Botanical Nomenclature
http://www.bgbm.org/iapt/nomenclature/code/SaintLouis/0000St.Luistitle.htm

Botany Societies and Associations
http://www.il-st-acad-sci.org/botsoc.html

Botanical Society of America
http://www.botany.org/newsite/conservation/ (conservation)
http://www.botany.org (website homepage)

American Botanical Council
http://www.herbalgram.org/default.asp

Geology
American Federation of Mineralogical Societies
http://www.amfed.org/the_afms.htm

Mineralogical Society of America
http://www.minsocam.org/

Paleontology
Society for Vertebrate Paleontology
http://www.vertpaleo.org/index.html
http://www.vertpaleo.org/policy/ethics.html (ethics)