MDA announces the publication of the Condition Assessment Tool (CAT) on the Collections Link website at:
http://www.collectionslink.org.uk/conserve_objects/cat The CAT is a downloadable database developed by the Scottish Museums Council (SMC), designed to enable heritage organisations to record information about the condition of objects in their collections and prioritise conservation work or improve collection care. SMC's user guidance notes and a comprehensive set of supporting fact sheets are also available to download alongside the database. The CAT was designed to be used by people with a wide variety of experience and skills, and who work with all types of collections, from local community museums to professional conservation teams in a large service. Once downloaded, users are able to adapt the database to ensure that it suits the specific needs of their own organisation and collections. Gill Findlay, Collections Development Manager at SMC, commented, "Museums in Scotland have already found the Condition Assessment Tool to be an extremely effective and easy to use resource which helps them to achieve best practice in the care of their collections. We are delighted to be working with Collections Link to make it available to the wider heritage community." Peter Winsor, Collections Link Project Director, commented, "The CAT database is an important addition to the range of conservation and collections care resources already available through Collections Link. It complements the [Benchmarks in Collection Care] assessment tool that is also available as a download from the website, and will be invaluable to collections managers planning the long-term care of their collections." ******************************************************* Gordon McKenna e-mail: gordon at mda.org.uk MDA The Spectrum Building, The Michael Young Centre, Purbeck Road Cambridge CB2 2PD, UK Tel: +44 1223 415760 Fax: +44 1223 415960 MDA (Europe) Ltd, Company Registration No: 1300565 *************** http://www.mda.org.uk/ ****************
