Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 June 2016
Every museum generates a considerable amount of printed and graphic ephemeral material, which provides first-hand information on its permanent exhibitions and temporary activities. These can be exhibition brochures, didactic material, activity announcements, cards, etc. and they are frequently the only source of direct information on the active life of the organisation which precisely reflects its public image. However, few museums are devoting effort to preserving this material, whose retention is not always guaranteed. This paper aims to establish a classification of the different types of ephemeral publications common in museums (informative, educational, commercial, of internal use, etc). It sets forth an elementary system for dealing with them which, by using the MARC format (in those libraries using a standardised system) or a database in ACCESS (for those lacking one), should result in the establishment of a secure system for storage, retrieval and diffusion of this data.