In November 2010, Museums Victoria and La Trobe University hosted a two-day symposium at Melbourne Museum for museum managers, senior collections staff and regulators with responsibility for archaeological collections. The ambitious aim of the symposium was Developing Sustainable, Strategic Collection Management Approaches for Archaeological Assemblages.

The two-day symposium was divided into four sessions: Keynote Addresses; Managing Archaeological Collections: Issues & Approaches; Why Bother? Research, Interpretation, Exhibitions: Marrying Academic and Museum Needs; and a Roundtable Workshop. Invited speakers responded to session themes with reference to their own practice and experience. Some examples contained in Caring for Our Collections include:

Infinity on Trial: Sustainable management of archaeological archives by Nick Merriman, Director of the Manchester Museum and Chair of the University Museums Group, UK

Between a Rock and a Hard Place is an Interesting Box of Lithics by Keryn Walshe, Researcher for Archaeology, South Australian Museum

Realising and Extending the Value of the Queensland Museum Archaeological Archive by Michael C. Westaway, Head of Cultures and Histories Program, Queensland Museum

• Edited by: Charlotte H.F. Smith and Tim Murray
• ISBN: 9781921833137 
• Publisher: Museums Victoria Publishing
• Date of Publication: 2011
• Number of Pages: 120
• Format: Paperback
• Product Dimensions (cm):  27.5 x 21