What Does a Curator Do?

The word Curator can mean anything from a person who looks after an entire museum on their own, to someone who just specialises in one subject such as a curator of Roman Archaeology. Here at Hull Museums we have several curators who look after particular areas of the collections, such as art, archaeology, social history, maritime history, transport, natural history, slavery and costume. There is also a Collections Curator who looks after the documentation and care of collections across the whole service. Caring for the collections is a continuous process and includes a large number of different tasks.

When you visit a museum you may not realise that we are as busy behind the scenes as we are with the objects you see on display in the galleries. As a service we provide access to collections through: Public enquiries Pre-booked visits from researchers wanting to see specific objects Arranging loans of objects to other venues which allows people in other parts of the UK or the world to see our collections Constantly adding new records and images to our website Permanent and temporary exhibitions Family activities during the school holidays, or other events

What you don't see:

Documenting objects onto our database

Finding out more information about the collections so we can hand this information on to the public

Packing items for storage or transport

Preparing objects for loan

Cleaning storage areas and objects on display

Creating exhibitions (these can be up to 2 years in the planning)

Carrying out condition reports on vulnerable objects so we know if there is a problem with their condition

Pest management checks to ensure the collections are not being damaged by insects or rodents

Maintenance of long-term displays

Ensuring gallery and storage areas do not become too damp or dry, too hot or cold

Photography and scanning of collections

Addressing accessibility issues to allow everyone to enjoy the collections

A large number of individuals and organisations need daily access to collections and information, whether through visits to the museums, image and information enquiries, research visits, loan requests, temporary exhibition applications, educational visits, lectures and family holiday activities, so sometimes it is not always possible to respond to enquires immediately.