Addresses the arguments and experiences of quantitative versus qualitative measures for managing museum collections

1. Paintings by numbers Does sustainable collection management require statistics?

3. 1974-

4. 1974-1982- Rayo Raynor Scrutiny - museums

5. 1974-1982-1988-

6. 1974-1982-1988-1989- The Cost of Collecting Lord, Lord & NIcks

7. 1974-1982-1988-1989- The Cost of Collecting Lord, Lord & NIcks

8. 1974-1982-1988-1989-1990’s-

9. 1974-1982-1988-1989-1990’s-1998-

10. 1974-1982-1988-1989-1990’s-1998-1999-

11. 1974-1982-1988-1989-1990’s-1998-1999-2000-

12. 1974-1982-1988-1989-1990’s-1998-1999-2000-2002-

13. 1974-1982-1988-1989-1990’s-1998-1999-2000-2002-2004-

14. 1974-1982-1988-1989-1990’s-1998-1999-2000-2002-2004-2005-

16. Performance indicator: thickness? 2000 - 10cm 2004 - 15cm 2012? 2012 - 25cm?

17. And from the Netherlands …

20. So are all numbers bad, or are there good numbers?

25. How to make sense of the number soup and create useful numbers? a) Think systems b) Think risks c) Think public value

26. a) For good numbers, think system

29. b) For good numbers, think risks - Rob Waller, Canada

31. c) Think public value Preserved for everyone Visited by many Inspiration to some Piv otal experienc e to a significant f ew

32. Kinds of public value Instrumental Institutional Intrinsic “ capacity + potential of culture to affect us” public services, trust and mutual respect eg, employment education creative economy ‘ inclusion’

39. Useful numbers 200 m. objects 80% of collections are used by less than 10 people a week 97% of museums report a steady or increasing demand for access to collections 5 - 10% of objects are on display 2,000 museums Benchmarking via basic census, rarely taken Statistics for specific museum