Collections policy and procedures
Shelves holding rows of glass specimen jars
The Natural History Museum is governed by laws set out in Acts of Parliament. The main law governing the activities of the Natural History Museum is the British Museum Act 1963 (PDF (59.0KB) (which was amended by the Museums and Galleries Act 1992 PDF (67.0KB)).
The laws define that the Trustees of the Museum and the Director of the Museum are responsible for the collections. To enable the day-to-day management of the museum these laws are interpreted through policies approved by the Trustees.
The Life and Earth Sciences and Library Collections Curatorial Policies and Collections Management Procedures detail how the collections are managed, and where the delegation of authority and responsibility has been placed by the Trustees and Director.
Life and Earth Sciences and Library Collections: Curatorial Policies and Collections Management Procedures - 2003 PDF (315.7 KB)
These policies are reviewed and updated every five years and were last updated in 2003.