Behind the Scenes: Working on the Catalogue
- Staithes Museum
- Apr 28
- 6 min read
When I first started working at Staithes Museum, the heart of our collection was stored in a single Excel file, affectionately known as the ABCD spreadsheet. It listed all the objects in the museum—a vital inventory, but with one big problem: as we moved toward accreditation, we needed much more than just a list. We needed to know where each object was located, what condition it was in, and how to care for it in the future.
That meant we needed more time, better tools—and a plan.
Thanks to a grant from Museum Development, we were able to purchase professional collections management software, called MODES. This gave us a sturdy, indelible catalogue—the kind of record that meets the high standards required for accreditation and protects the integrity of the collection.
But first, we had to lay the groundwork. We made a map of the museum, dividing storage areas under the tables into neat Sections (about a square meter each). Each object would be photographed, located precisely, and given a condition report. We set off, clipboards and cameras in hand, ready to begin.
Our Learning: The first few months
Our first discovery was that although the inventory was a great record of the physical objects in the museum’s care, the collection of original and copied photographs was much larger than originally expected. The museum also held an incredible collection of original, handwritten and photocopied research notes, which didn’t appear in any list at all. During the creation of our original grant application, we estimated that we would need to inventory and locate around 4,000 objects, but already in the first month, we had assigned 300 temporary numbers to objects found unlabelled in the collection (this has grown to 1,200 and counting!)
Luckily, our grant application emphasised that we were going to “Start the inventory with the highest-priority items” and work from there. This meant that we were able to prioritise the objects and items most asked about by our visitors and local users. We weren’t bound by the ABCD spreadsheet, and so we used our experience and knowledge to help decide what most needed to be recorded.
The second thing we learned early on is, that as good as MODES is for creating a professional record, it wasn’t ideal for entering lots of detailed data, and adding information in bulk, nor was it very practical for sharing with our volunteers, visitors, and researchers who wanted to browse and explore. We needed something flexible, editable and shareable. Something simple. Something... spreadsheet.
We created a very complicated Google Sheets document listing every object, photograph, and box file—simple, useable from just about anywhere, and surprisingly powerful. Our object spreadsheet now contains photos of about half our items. Visitors can tick a checkbox to preview a tiny thumbnail of a photo of the object—though if you check too many boxes at once, the sheet might get a little tired! (If you'd like larger images or a full download of object photographs, just send us an email and we’ll be happy to help - the scanned historic photographs are not available to share this way, unless the copyright holder has agreed.)
You can view these online here:
Storage for the museum's photograph collection.
A quick note about our photographs: When we began, most of the museum’s photos hadn’t been inventoried at all. Yet they were some of our most asked-about items—treasured family memories, village history captured in black and white. Cataloguing them became a top priority, especially those which had associated names recorded - either written on pencil in the back, written on a sticker on the glass frame, or just held on a loose scrap of paper in a box with the image. Having a searchable list has already allowed us to answer tens of visitor queries regarding family and cottage history. Loads of work, but really worth it. We’re especially grateful to the East Cleveland Image Archive, who generously donated many already digitised photographs to help enrich our collection. Most of our images can’t be shared publicly because of copyright and privacy restrictions, but they’re available to view at the museum.
Getting Clever with Technology
Having the spreadsheets has opened up so many new possibilities:
We automatically fetch book covers and descriptions from the web using OpenLibrary and Google Books API.
We create thumbnails for all our photos, embedding them neatly in the spreadsheets without any additional faffing.
We’re experimenting with AI Search, letting visitors and volunteers explore transcribed documents more naturally.
I’d love to share what I’ve learned about this with other small museums—every script and spreadsheet formula has been built from scratch, tailored to make cataloguing easier, faster, and less complicated. The scripts and formulas are described here
Where We Are Now
Today, our system is built on two strong foundations:
MODES is our secure, professional catalogue. It records everything in a way that can’t be accidentally deleted, corrupted, or confused.
Spreadsheets are our flexible, public-facing tools for searching, exploring, and sharing the collection. We have got a working document, and a simplified, public spreadsheet shared with our volunteers and visitors.
Our aim is to meet SPECTRUM Compliance before the end of this year. Spectrum is the UK’s recognized standard for collections management, ensuring Staithes Museum’s treasures are preserved and celebrated for generations to come. We want to store our data and information properly, in a way that meets national standards.
Our key takeaways
Cataloguing a museum’s collection is a neverending task. There is always more information to collect and share. But now that we are in a good place, and ready to share our work, I’d love to share our key takeaways:
Start with a strategy, not a spreadsheet.
Before diving into cataloguing, take time to think about why you're doing it, who it's for, and what stories you hope to tell. We originally planned to create a simple inventory of around 4,000–5,000 objects based on a spreadsheet from when the collection was purchased. But once we started, we discovered thousands more items—original documents, photographs, and unrecorded objects that had never been catalogued. If we hadn’t had a clear strategy to prioritise the most unique and relevant items, and to focus on meeting core accreditation standards first, we would have been overwhelmed. The strategy kept us grounded when the spreadsheet didn’t reflect reality.
Don’t aim for perfection—aim for progress.
Trying to get everything perfect from the start will hold you back. We created interim cataloguing and numbering systems to help us move forward, even while working towards full SPECTRUM compliance. Temporary spreadsheets for unaccessioned items have become some of our most-used tools. We were realistic about how much information we could collect at first—photographing objects and adding basic data gave us a working inventory that we could build on over time. This was a big leap forward from our original vague object list, and made space for people’s stories and memories to guide future work.
Document everything—and let the collection speak.
From the start, we carefully recorded our processes, choices, and decisions. When a key staff member left halfway through the project, this documentation allowed us to onboard new people quickly and keep going without losing momentum. Our records will also support future collections work. At the same time, we’ve prioritised photographing objects over describing them ourselves—this has brought long-hidden items to light and allowed us to share them publicly, sparking conversations and connections. By focusing on visibility, we’ve built a cataloguing process shaped by people’s curiosity, memories, and enthusiasm.
How Volunteers and Visitors Can Get Involved
Our catalogue is a living document, growing with every story, memory, and discovery. Volunteers are helping us:
Identify and name people and places in old photographs
Add local stories to object records
Proofread and type up scanned documents
Suggest links between objects for exhibitions
At our recent Catalogue Open Day, volunteers had fun challenges: finding an object based on its description, tracking down a photo on the hard drive, and even investigating Staithes’s famous resident, Laura Knight! These simple tests gave me the confidence to share our spreadsheet publicly. If you’re interested, please check it out!
The catalogue isn’t just a record of things—it’s a record of life in Staithes, shaped by the people who care about it. If you’re curious, you’re welcome to dive in. There’s a whole world inside the collection, waiting to be explored. And if you want to stay up to date with our progress and plans, why not subscribe to our newsletter?
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