Inventorying Cultural Heritage Collections

Sandra Vanderwarf earned an M.A. in conservation from Fashion Institute of Technology and a B.A. in criminal justice from John Jay College. Inventory illustrates one way these disciplines have converged during her 15 years of practice in cultural heritage preservation. Most recently, in collaboration with National Museum of Mongolia and the U.S. Department of State, she provided expertise to enhance inventory protocols as part of Mongolia's self-determined strategy to deter unlawful trafficking and sale of heritage. Prior to that, her seasoned perspective was honed through intersecting roles of conservator, registrar, and collections manager at a corporate archive, the Smithsonian, American Museum of Natural History, and Brooklyn Children's Museum. Sandra's varied contributions--as inventory taker, author of winning (and rejected) inventory grant proposals, inventory project manager, and researcher referencing historic inventories--engendered a multi-faceted appreciation for inventory. Her presentations at CIDOC-ICOM'S International Committee for Documentation, the Association of Registrars and Collections Specialists, and through continued partnerships with the U.S. Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation have emphasized the significance of inventory as preventive conservation. Bethany Romanowski is head registrar at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. She holds a B.A. in anthropology from Indiana University and an M.A. in social sciences from the University of Chicago. She has over fifteen years' experience managing collections at New York City institutions, including the South Street Seaport Museum and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Bethany recently oversaw the 9/11 Memorial Museum’s first wall-to-wall inventory of tangible collections.