Guides for the volunteer registrar
Plain answers to the record keeping jobs of a small museum or historical society: numbering accessions, accessioning an object step by step, keeping the accession register, labels and catalogue cards, receipts and condition reports, moving off a spreadsheet, and choosing collection software.
Museum accession number format, explained with examples
The usual museum number is year, accession and object: 2026.14.3, with parts as 2026.14.3a-b. How it works, why the year goes first, and padding choices.
Last reviewed 28 September 2026
How to accession museum objects, step by step
Accessioning in seven steps: receipt, decision, transfer of title, the register line, numbering, cataloguing and marking. With a worked example from a gift.
Last reviewed 28 September 2026
The accession register: what a small museum should record
The accession register is the permanent list of every accession, one line each: number, date received, source, method and description. What goes in it and why.
Last reviewed 28 September 2026
Museum object labels, storage tags and catalogue cards
What goes on a storage tag, an exhibit label and a catalogue card, how numbers are marked on objects, and how to print labels on common label sheets.
Last reviewed 28 September 2026
Incoming receipts and condition reports for museum objects
An incoming receipt records things left in your care before you own them; a condition report records an object's state on a date. What each should include.
Last reviewed 28 September 2026
Moving a museum catalogue from a spreadsheet to a catalogue
How to move a collection kept in Excel or Google Sheets into a catalogue: tidy the numbers, save as CSV, match the columns, check the import, keep a copy.
Last reviewed 28 September 2026
Collection software for small museums, compared with prices
Collection software for a small museum or historical society compared: Windows software, hosted plans, free tools and servers, prices checked September 2026.
Last reviewed 28 September 2026
Questions about the museum catalogue
Short answers on where the catalogue is kept, the catalogue file, numbering, valuations, spreadsheets and what is free.
Do it in the catalogue
Open the catalogue to number an accession and its objects, add photos and locations, and print the register, labels and receipts. Everything stays in this browser; nothing is uploaded and there is no account. Save the catalogue file after every session.