Although museums have existed on the American landscape since the time of Thomas Jefferson, museum science—the practice of using a standardized methodology for accessioning, cataloging, and maintaining museum collections—is a relatively new discipline. This being the case, many long-established museums and historical societies across the country find themselves playing catch-up in their record keeping and collections care practices.

The reasons to implement standard museum practices are both practical and philosophical. On the practical level, a museum must physically keep track of its collections for research, exhibition, and insurance purposes. If a museum does not know what the collections hold or where the materials are located, innumerable man-hours can be lost searching for objects or information. In the event of a catastrophic incident, the lack of a comprehensive inventory is disastrous when attempting to determine the extent of losses and file an insurance claim to pay for the recovery of surviving objects.

Philosophically, knowing that a museum or historical society has inventory and cataloging practices in place,

reassures donors that the items they give are both respected and valued by the institution. Further, while a collections management system will not guarantee the receipt of grant monies, adopting good practices helps assure granting agencies that the institution is making a good-faith effort to follow sound and ethical principles to protect its collections.