Collections care is a core responsibility for all museums that own, care for, or use collections. The foundation stone for good collections care is a good collections management policy. Things Great and Small is the first to comprehensively address how to write such a policy for any type of museum. Drawing on his extensive experience - as director of the University of Kansas museum studies program, collections manager at the university's museum of natural history, and surveyor for AAM's Museum Assessment Program - John Simmons reviews the issues that a collections management policy should address and the pros and cons of choosing one policy option over another.

Considering collections management policy -- Compiling collections management policies -- Introductory sections -- Authority -- Scope of collections -- Categories of collections -- Acquisitions and accessions -- Deaccessions and disposal -- Loans -- Objects in custody -- Documentation -- Collections care -- Access and use -- Risk management and insurance -- Intellectual property -- Additional collections stewardship issues -- Ethics -- Appraisals, identifications, and research services -- Policy review and revision -- Epilogue : when policy meets reality.