Registar

Position Description

Job Title:           Registrar
Department:    The Baker Museum
Reports to:       Director of Museum Exhibitions and Operations
FLSA Status:    Exempt
   
Job Summary  
The Registrar is responsible for the physical and documentary preservation and care of the permanent collection and the coordination and management of incoming and outgoing loans and multiple aspects of traveling exhibitions. Oversee and coordinate the full range of routine collections management activities, including but not limited to processing, inventory, storage, housing, location tracking, packing and transport, integrated pest management, environmental monitoring, disaster preparedness, condition reporting, records management, rights and reproductions, object and installation photography, policy and procedure creation and retention and troubleshooting both in storage and exhibition spaces. 

Supervises
Assistant Registrar

Essential Duties & Responsibilities (other duties may be assigned)

Collections Care 
•    Manages all aspects of collections care, following and implementing accepted museum professional standards and best practices as outlined in the American Alliance of Museums Collections Stewardships Standards and Core Standards for Museums.
•    Maintains and regularly updates the Collections Management Policy (CMP) in conjunction with other members of the museum team. Ensures standards as outlined in the CMP are followed by staff in conjunction with other members of the Artis—Naples staff.
•    Creates and updates Standard Operating Procedure documents for museum registration processes and collections management activities.
•    Creates and updates museum registration and collections management forms as needed.
•    Responsible for the maintenance and care of the museum archives, including the care of existing accession, exhibition and loan files and the creation of new accession, exhibition and loan files. Maintains and manages the digital assets and time-based media in the museum archives, including photographs, films, CDs, DVDs, floppy discs, ektachrome slides, VHS tapes, cameras, etc. Oversees and manages the digitization of the museum archive. Controls access to the museum archive for both staff and visiting researchers to ensure proper handling and records retention and confidentiality are maintained.
•    Organizes and maintains the museum’s digital files on the organizational shared drives.
•    Oversees monthly spot-check inventories and recurring 100% inventories of the permanent collection.
•    Coordinates with the Finance Department to complete the annual insurance audit of the permanent collection.
•    Tracks the total insurance value of the works in the museum’s custody, both permanent collection and on loan. Reports this number to the CFO prior to the start of the season and alerts her to any changes in this value throughout the season.
•    Tracks the location of all objects belonging to or in the custody of Artis—Naples, The Baker Museum, including but not limited to collection objects, acquisition candidates and incoming and outgoing loans.
•    Responsible for multiple aspects of processing proposed acquisitions including managing the acquisition timeline, creating Temporary Deposit receipts, coordinating packing and shipping, condition reporting, finalization of Acquisition Proposal forms, drafting of required Deed documents (Deed of Gift, Deed of Purchase, Deed of Transfer, Gift of Art Acknowledgement Letter, etc.), obtaining required signature on all title documents, creation of physical accession file in collection archive and creation of digital object records in collections management system.
•    Responsible for multiple aspects of the deaccession process including, the creation of board approval documents and disposal/transfer documents, the physical packing and shipping of the objects to their disposal location (transfer, auction, destruction, etc.) and record updates for deaccessioned objects both in the museum’s database and the museum archive. 
•    Responsible for environmental monitoring including, monitoring climate and artwork’s conditions in galleries and offsite storage locations using Hobo loggers, creation of climate condition reports using Conservation, coordination with Facilities team if issues arise, tracking of Hobo loggers and maintaining their software – upgrading as needed and training other staff on these systems.
•    Responsible for Integrated Pest Management including regular inspection of museum galleries and storage facilities for evidence of pest activity, coordination with Facilities Department for routine preventative maintenance, monitoring incoming works for signs of pest activity, treatment of pest outbreaks on objects or in their storage areas, ensuring quarantine procedure for works with active pest activity and coordinating treatment of works with pest activity or damage.
•    Performs preventative conservation on objects in the permanent collection. Coordinates the hire of conservators for interventionary conservation, stabilization and treatment of objects in the permanent collection and on loan to the museum. Maintains a record of conservation work.
•    Acts as Articheck administrator for digital condition reporting, maintains subscription, pays monthly invoices, creates and deletes user accounts, approves reports, troubleshoots issues as they arise and liaises with Articheck account manager as needed.

Exhibitions and Incoming and Outgoing Loans
•    Works in tandem with other members of the Museum team to create, coordinate and facilitate 12-15 exhibitions/installations per season.
•    Reviews exhibition contracts for collections and registration elements and provides notes and updates regarding Artis—Naples’ policies and needs.
•    Creates final object checklist documents in brand-approved template for all exhibitions. 
•    Reviews and edits gallery labels and texts for permanent collection exhibitions to ensure the correct labeling and crediting of objects.
•    Requests Certificates of Insurance from the Finance Department and the addition of add-on insurance waivers as required by lenders. Corresponds with Artis—Naples’ fine arts insurance policy representatives as needed.
•    Responsible for the management and facilitation of all incoming and outgoing loans to and from the museum (approximately 50-70 loans per season, comprised of approximately 600 objects) and all traveling exhibitions created by the museum. 
•    Updates the General Facility Report and prepares environmental readings for lending institutions.
•    Requests and reviews the General Facility Report and environmental readings from borrowing institutions and provides a loan recommendation based on the data.
•    Drafts Incoming and Outgoing Loan Forms and Traveling Exhibition Agreements using the brand-approved templates. Review and edits all loan agreement documents received by the museum from other institutions to ensure they meet the museum’s requirements.
•    Reviews and prepares objects for outgoing loans and makes recommendations for stabilization, framing, packing, etc. in order to be safely lent.
•    In the case of loans from other institutions, coordinates with the lending institution’s registrar or respective staff member to confirm object dimensions, condition and frame status. Coordinates, conservation, framing or glazing as needed for borrowed works.
•    Works closely with Director of Museum Exhibitions and Operations, preparators, art handlers and couriers and on exhibition installations/de-installations to ensure safe handling and proper installation of objects and acts as the lender’s representative on site to ensure that all lender requirements are met.
•    Documents the unpacking and installation of loans to the museum. Manages the unpacking and packing process to ensure that it is methodical and done to industry standards.
•    Completes digital and paper Condition Reports and develops new Condition Reports as needed. Prepares incoming and outgoing receipts. 
•    Coordinates packing and shipping arrangements for objects being received or released by the museum. In the case of loans from other institutions, the registrar coordinates with the lending institution’s registrar or respective staff member to ensure packing, crating and shipping meet lender requirements.
•    Creates Crate Lists and Crate Labels for incoming and outgoing loans.
•    Oversees art shipments, tracks objects as they enter/leave the museum and confirms that crates are properly secured in trucks before transit.
•    Manages the schedules and accommodations for visiting couriers. Acts as the point of contact for couriers while they are in the museum.

Photography/Rights and Reproductions
•    Schedules and oversees photography of collections and exhibitions.
•    Maintains a digital image archive, including images of the permanent collection, installation images of exhibitions and other significant images relevant to the history of the museum or the objects in its collection. 
•    Creates credit lines and image citations using the brand-approved templates. Updates the templates as needed in conjunction with other members of the museum team and marketing team. 
•    Secures artwork image reproduction permission and copyright licensing and provides accurate image captions for all printed and digital images related to museum exhibitions used by the Museum team and the Marketing and Development teams. Ensures proper object tombstone information, credit lines and copyright notices are included on all PR and marketing materials for the museum.
•    Submits uses of PR images to lenders for review as required by contracts.
•     Manages all reproduction requests of objects in the museum’s permanent collection including, drafting Reproduction Applications, coordinating high-resolution photography of requested objects, supplying caption and credit information and reviewing layouts and uses.
•    Researches the copyright status of works in the permanent collection, locates copyright holders and sends Non-Exclusive Licensing Agreements for signature.
•    Responsible for the legal use of images in exhibition catalogues and other Artis—Naples publications. Sources and licenses photographs included in publications. Researches and obtains copyright licensing for use in publications. Tracks licensing and reproduction budget and expenses. Proofs publications to ensure all licensing stipulations are met and all images are credited as required.

Collections Management System (Database)
•    Acts as onsite database administrator for the museum’s collections management system (TMS Collections).
•    Manages licenses, payment of annual invoices and acts as liaison between Gallery Systems and Artis—Naples IT department as needed. 
•    Manages updates to TMS Collections as needed. 
•    Manages access groups and adds/edits fields through Database Configuration software.
•    Alters/creates new screen views as needed through TMS Composer.
•    Maintains a Gallery Systems Community Support account and submits issues as they arise.
•    Manages the creation and deletion of user accounts.
•    Manages the regular update of user passwords and resets passwords in Gallery Systems.
•    Creates and maintains object records, loan records, constituent records, bibliography records, exhibition records, shipping records and media xrefs in TMS Collections. 
•    Trains new museum staff on TMS Collections and coordinates staff training sessions through Gallery Systems. 
•    Oversees cataloging and lexicon standards for TMS Collections in conjunction with other museum staff.

Interdepartmental Coordination/Communication
•    Acts as the direct supervisor for the Assistant Registrar.
•    Supervises art handlers and contract workers for projects as needed.
•    Facilitates the review and signature of forms and documents through the Artis—Naples internal review/signatory process.
•    Enters and updates museum team activities and events on the museum’s calendar.
•    Records movement of artworks and museum events in ArtsVision.
•    Attends organization’s Events Meetings.
•    Responds to the general public’s inquiries about the museum’s permanent collection.
•    Works effectively with all Artis—Naples employees.
•    Coordinates with other members of the museum team and members of the Development, Marketing and Education teams to contribute to  close-out survey forms for touring exhibitions and final reports for all exhibitions

QUALIFICATIONS:
Education/Experience
•    Bachelor’s degree in museum studies, fine art, art history, history or other relevant discipline with experience in administrative work, object handling and database knowledge essential.
•    Five years of experience in museum collections management, including cataloging, inventory, and object handling, with expertise in art handling, storage, and transportation best practices, and a strong knowledge of museum registration methods per the American Alliance of Museums.
•    Strong computer and organizational skills, good communication skills and attention to detail are essential.

Skills & Abilities
•    Principles and practices of museum exhibit installation and deinstallation
•    Loan scheduling and coordination techniques
•    Knowledge of legal processes for the acquisition and disposal of art 
•    Budget and fiscal management processes and procedures
•    Effectively communicate with others both internally and externally in producing desired exhibitions
•    Knowledge of non-profit copyright and fair use laws
•    Knowledge of art/museum security systems and procedures
•    Working knowledge of Microsoft Office suite, TMS Collections and Articheck required, knowledge of SmartSheet, Sketchup and Conservio preferred

Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Work requires physical activity; handling of objects that can weigh up to 50 pounds (or greater mass that require mechanical assistance). Standing or walking may occur up to 75% of time. 

Work Environment
The work environment is consistent with general office conditions, with moderate noise followed by long spans of installation in the museum, with exposure to vibrations, noise, electrical connections and outdoor weather conditions. Long periods of standing, exposure to chemicals associated with the conservation and production of works of art.

This position description reflects management’s assignment of essential functions; it does not prescribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned.