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A Museum Registrar - also called a collections manager in some institutions - is responsible for the care and maintenance of all objects in a museum's collection. The Registrar tracks the movements of objects in and out of the museum, whether on loan or exhibition or for other treatment, and also keeps track of an object's information file in the museum's database. A primary responsibility of the Registrar is to uphold the museum's Collections Policy, the guiding tenet of the museum explaining why the institution is in operation, dictating the museum's professional standards regarding the objects left in its care.

Responsibilities
Registrars or Collections Managers perform a wide range of tasks that ensure the museum's collections are properly maintained and cared for. A Registrar's staff is responsible for organizing all aspects of transporting objects to and from the museum - including the coordination of shipment to and from domestic or international institutions; ensuring packing and crating of artworks follows any conservation requirements; securing insurance and indemnity coverage; scheduling couriers when they are needed to oversee the artwork during transportation; and managing facility reports and contracts.

The Registration staff is also responsible for the safe movement of artworks within the museum itself and monitoring their condition during exhibition installation or breakdown. Overseeing the adequacy of the storage facilities, proposing any additional improvements when needed, as well as monitoring the environmental conditions within storage and exhibition areas are critical tasks in the staff's day to day activities.

A Collection Manager or Registrar also oversees the maintenance of the museum's centralized collections database system, documenting curatorial, conservation, and administrative information. The database system generally serves the entire museum staff and acts as a repository for object data and media, linking artwork with corresponding conservation reports, exhibition and loan history, location history, shipping records, and any associated publications. The ability to add, edit, or otherwise manipulate object records usually rests solely with the Registrar or one of its staff. The Registrar, in maintaining the database, will also touch on ethical and legal issues the museum may face concerning objects in its collection, such as an artwork's copyright, provenance information, or status of an object's ownership.

Education and Training
Individuals looking to begin a career in the Collections Management field generally possess a bachelor's degree in history, art history, fine arts, or a field related to museum interests. Many institutions now require a graduate education in museum studies or field relating to the museum's collections. Individuals are also expected to have hands-on experience in museum collection database management, object packing and handling, collections cataloguing, and accession and loan procedures.