What does a collections curator do?
Collections curator responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real collections curator resumes:
- Manage and update museum's social media presence on Facebook.
- Review and edit listing photography and source photographers in various markets to capture unique accommodations and cover special assignments worldwide.
- Handle all acquisitions and surplus placement with other AZA accredit institutions.
Collections curator skills and personality traits
We calculated that 18% of Collections Curators are proficient in Collections Management, Museum Collection, and Condition Reports. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Computer skills, and Customer-service skills.
We break down the percentage of Collections Curators that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Collections Management, 18%
Input inventories, collected data, and cataloged information into collections management software system, including current location.
- Museum Collection, 18%
Served as primary contact with donors to museum collection.
- Condition Reports, 12%
Communicated with private lenders and businesses to acquire exhibition items, conducted condition reports and organized return shipping.
- Newsletter Articles, 11%
researched and wrote newsletter articles and presented workshops and programs;.
- Donor Relations, 9%
Maintained business and donor relations by sending correspondence on a consistent basis.
- K-12, 8%
Developed lesson plans and curriculum units for K-12 school groups for exhibitions.
Most collections curators use their skills in "collections management," "museum collection," and "condition reports" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential collections curator responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a collections curator to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "archivists, curators, museum technicians, and conservators must explore minutiae to determine the origin, history, and importance of the objects they work with." Collections curators often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "evaluated and implemented new database technology and trained others in their use. "
Customer-service skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of collections curators is customer-service skills. This skill is critical to many everyday collections curator duties, as "archivists, curators, museum technicians, and conservators work regularly with the general public." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "provide excellent customer service when working in private clients house - wrap, pack, pick up various art works. "
Organizational skills. collections curator responsibilities often require "organizational skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "archivists, curators, museum technicians, and conservators store and easily retrieve records and documents." This resume example shows what collections curators do with organizational skills on a typical day: "develop educational content for organizational website and social media. "
The three companies that hire the most collections curators are:
- Stanford University2 collections curators jobs
- Thomas Jefferson Foundation
2 collections curators jobs
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center1 collections curators jobs
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Compare different collections curators
Collections curator vs. Historic sites supervisor
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a collections curator are more likely to require skills like "collections management," "museum collection," "condition reports," and "newsletter articles." On the other hand, a job as a historic sites supervisor requires skills like "gift shop sales," "cultural resources," "blog posts," and "historic properties." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
The education levels that historic sites supervisors earn slightly differ from collections curators. In particular, historic sites supervisors are 14.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a collections curator. Additionally, they're 0.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Collections curator vs. Director of exhibits
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, collections curator responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "collections management," "museum collection," "condition reports," and "newsletter articles." Meanwhile, a director of exhibits has duties that require skills in areas such as "exhibit design," "event management," "photoshop," and "trade shows." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Directors of exhibits earn lower levels of education than collections curators in general. They're 13.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Collections curator vs. Curator of photography and prints
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from collections curator resumes include skills like "collections management," "museum collection," "newsletter articles," and "database management," whereas a curator of photography and prints is more likely to list skills in "lightroom," "design logos," "sales floor," and "premiere pro. "
Curators of photography and prints typically earn lower educational levels compared to collections curators. Specifically, they're 24.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Collections curator vs. Museum director
Types of collections curator
Updated January 8, 2025
