Ready to build your custom Collections Management Policy? Dive in with our Quick Start Guide below!
1.) Get familiar with what you need (and need to know!) to begin
The CMPToolkit is designed to guide you through building a policy that meets best practices for the field through an interactive questionnaire that asks you a series of questions about your collection. The answers you provide are then automatically populated and formatted within our policy template. Depending on your organization and the level of experience you have with policy building, you may need to take some time to review and prepare the appropriate information before you begin.
Before creating an account, you can preview the kind of information and documentation the questionnaire will require in the Questionnaire Overview & Content Guide. You may also wish to review our Additional Resources page for a glossary of key terms and robust bibliography of related resources.
2.) Review “Using the CMPToolkit”
Once you have prepared the necessary information, take some time to review our instructional guide to Using the CMPToolkit, which walks you through the process from creating an account and moving through the questionnaire to exporting your final policy. You’ll also find important information here about adding additional users to your account, saving your progress, and additional support options.
3.) Create an Account
Once you know what to expect from the questionnaire and have reviewed the instructional guide, it’s time to create an account! You are welcome to create an account at any point in the process, but please be aware that due to storage limitations, users who have not completed their policy one year after creating an account will be asked to pay a small fee for long-term data storage. To make the most out of your free year, you may want to wait to create an account until you know you are ready to begin.
Learn more about creating an account and adding users.
4.) Complete the Questionnaire
Once you’re account is created and you’ve added any additional users you would like to collaborate with, you are ready to begin the questionnaire! The questionnaire is divided into eleven sections which will eventually translate to the sections within your policy document. Each section will address a different component of collections management and may include a range of question types.
If you find yourself stuck at any point as you move through the questionnaire, remember you can reference the CMPToolkit Glossary and many other resources we’ve compiled as needed on the Additional Resources page. You can also view a Sample Policy to preview how and where each response will populate in the final document.
Looking for more personalized support? CCAHA staff can also review your full policy or one policy section for an additional charge. Learn more here.
5.) Finalize and Download Your Policy
As you move through each section of the questionnaire, you will have an opportunity to preview what the final output of that section will look like before continuing. Once all 11 sections have been completed and reviewed, an option will appear allowing you to download the final policy document. You can choose to download as either a PDF or open an editable version in Google Drive if there is further editing you need to do to best customize for your organization’s specific needs.
6.) Upgrade for Long-Term Storage
The Collections Management Policy Toolkit is available to institutions at no cost for one year, beginning the date the account is first created. During this time, account holders will be able to save their place as they progress through the questionnaire and safely store all information on the CMPToolkit website for free.
We expect that most users will not need to store this data beyond the first free year, but those who do will be asked to pay a small fee to cover the cost of continued storage. For just $12/year, institutions can retain access to their account, with all questionnaire responses and final data output retained as long as the subscription is active. If an institution chooses not to continue with the paid model after the first year, their account and all data stored within will be deleted.
Learn more about long-term storage costs here and upgrade your account at any time by accessing the Additional Services page from your Dashboard.