A Historical Perspective on Collecting and Sorting Methods: Key Issues in the Development of a Small Local Museum’s Policy

Collecting is a significant element in museum work, and is characterized by two main parameters, the manner of collecting —active or passive, and the sorting methods used for sorting the items prior to accepting them as part of the collection. The combination of these parameters influences the collection’s quality, as well as reflects the museum’s development, its status, the way it functions, etc. In addition, dealing with the manner of collecting and sorting items reflects the management and curatorship processes, the financing issue and the professional ties the museum maintains. This review presents the history of the collecting policy in a small urban museum in central Israel, in an effort to understand the meaning of the above mentioned parameters regarding the quality of the museum’s collection.