EN 17820:2023

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-september-2023
Ohranjanje kulturne dediščine - Specifikacije za upravljanje premičnih zbirk
kulturne dediščine
Conservation of Cultural Heritage - Specifications for the management of moveable
cultural heritage collections
Erhaltung des kulturellen Erbes - Festlegungen für das Management von beweglichem
Kulturerbe
Conservation du patrimoine culturel - Spécifications pour la gestion des collections
relevant du patrimoine culturel mobilier
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 17820:2023
ICS:
97.195 Umetniški in obrtniški izdelki. Items of art and handicrafts.
Kulturne dobrine in kulturna Cultural property and
dediščina heritage
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EN 17820
EUROPEAN STANDARD
NORME EUROPÉENNE
June 2023
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
ICS 97.195
English Version
Conservation of Cultural Heritage - Specifications for the
management of moveable cultural heritage collections
Conservation du patrimoine culturel - Spécifications Erhaltung des kulturellen Erbes - Festlegungen für das
pour la gestion des collections relevant du patrimoine Management von beweglichem Kulturerbe
culturel mobilier
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 7 May 2023.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this
European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references
concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN
member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by
translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management
Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and
United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2023 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN 17820:2023 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
European foreword . 3
Introduction . 4
1 Scope . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Terms and definitions . 5
4 Principles for managing collections . 9
4.1 Overview and responsibilities . 9
4.2 Mission statement. 10
4.3 Policies and procedures . 10
4.4 Planning and review . 11
Annex A (normative) Developing collections . 12
A.1 General. 12
A.2 Policy . 12
A.3 General procedures . 13
A.4 Significance assessment procedures . 13
A.5 Impact assessment procedures . 13
A.6 Removal procedures . 14
Annex B (normative) Managing information about collections . 15
B.1 General. 15
B.2 Policy . 15
B.3 Procedures . 15
Annex C (normative) Using and accessing collections . 17
C.1 General. 17
C.2 Policy . 17
Annex D (normative) Caring for collections . 19
D.1 General. 19
D.2 Policy . 19
D.3 Procedures . 20
Annex E (informative) Summary of collection activities . 22
Annex F (informative) Managing rights . 24
F.1 Examples of rights . 24
Bibliography . 25

European foreword
This document (EN 17820:2023) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 346 “Conservation
of Cultural Heritage”, the secretariat of which is held by UNI.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an
identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by December 2023, and conflicting national standards shall
be withdrawn at the latest by December 2023.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards body.
A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.
According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organisations of the
following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia,
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland,
Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of North
Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the United
Kingdom.
Introduction
All organisations that hold moveable cultural heritage collections, such as archives, libraries, museums
and galleries, have a responsibility to manage these collections in a planned and systematic manner so
that they continue to be preserved and accessible. This document sets out a framework for managing
collections, beginning with an organization’s purpose in holding them, followed by the policies it seeks to
meet and the core procedures that need to be established. It promotes ongoing evaluation and review of
these policies and procedures.
Many cultural heritage institutions have developed their own approaches to managing their collections.
Some countries regulate this in law for government institutions and other public organisations, setting
uniform quality levels and often referring to widely recognized codes of practice (for example the Code
of Ethics for Museums of the International Council of Museums). This document aims to complement these
regulations and codes by providing a framework and operational specifications for good practice. The
document is formed of an introductory normative Principles section followed by normative annexes
which contain the principal core policies and procedures that all cultural heritage institutions with
collections apply as a minimum, in addition to any local and national policies required of them.
1 Scope
This document specifies a framework and standards for managing cultural heritage collections. It is
intended for use by collecting organisations such as archives, libraries, museums and galleries. It is
applicable to all types of moveable cultural heritage, whether in physical or digital formats. It promotes
core essential policies and procedures that all such organisations seek to apply as a minimum and
encourages a cycle of continuous review and improvement.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
EN 15946, Conservation of cultural property - Packing principles for transport
EN 16095, Conservation of cultural property - Condition recording for movable cultural heritage
EN 16648, Conservation of cultural heritage - Transport methods
EN 16790, Conservation of cultural heritage - Integrated pest management (IPM) for protection of cultural
heritage
EN 16853, Conservation of cultural heritage - Conservation process - Decision making, planning and
implementation
EN 16893:2018, Conservation of Cultural Heritage - Specifications for location, construction and
modification of buildings or rooms intended for the storage or use of heritage collections
EN 17429, Conservation of cultural heritage - Procurement of conservation services and works
ISO 21110, Information and documentation — Emergency preparedness and response
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp/
— IEC Electropedia: available at https://www.electropedia.org/
3.1
accessibility
opportunity to engage with an object physically and/or intellectually
[SOURCE: EN 15898:2019, definition 3.1.11]
3.2
accession
process of recording the inclusion of an object or group of objects into a collection
3.2.1
accession record
written record of the admission of an object or group of objects into a collection
Note 1 to entry: An accession record is often in the form of a register or a section of a documentation software
package which must be reviewed and updated and maintained permanently.
3.2.2
de-accession
process of recording the removal from the accession record of an object or group of objects
3.3
acquisition
process of obtaining legal title and/or responsibility for an object
3.4
appraisal
process of deciding whether an object or group of objects has continuing value in accordance with the
collecting organisation’s mission statement
Note 1 to entry: For example, an object can have value as evidence or as an historical resource, which would justify
its retention.
3.5
benefits sharing
fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of collection resources and related traditional
knowledge (see also 3.22 rights management)
[SOURCE: United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (1992)]
3.6
business continuity
capability of the organization to continue delivery of products or services at acceptable levels following
a disruptive incident
[SOURCE: ISO 22300:2018, definition 2.3.10]
3.7
catalogue
structured list of information about or relating to objects within a collection, sometimes referred to as a
finding aid
3.8
collecting organisation
organisation that collects, cares for and provides access to cultural objects for education, learning,
entertainment, legal or evidential purposes
Note 1 to entry: For the purposes of this document, natural heritage collections are included.
3.9
collection
group of object
...