The National Palace Museum (hereinafter called the “Museum”) specifically establishes “The National Palace Museum Management Regulations for Collection Items ” in accordance with Article 2 of the “Institutional Organization Act of the National Palace Museum” that stipulates the duties of the Museum.

The registering, preserving, maintaining, exhibiting, photographing, publishing, researching and promoting of the Museum antiquities and artworks (hereinafter called “collection items”) shall be done in accordance with the “Management Regulations.”

All the Museum collection items should be registered in accordance with the following steps： The Registrar shall establish a general registry to serve as the master record of the collections, which is supplemented by detailed registration cards that serve as descriptive entries for the collection items. The records shall be stored electronically as computerized information for inspection and research purposes.
1. The Departments of Antiquities, Painting and Calligraphy, and Rare Books and Documents (hereinafter called “each Collection Department”) shall preserve and maintain the collection items of the Museum. In addition, the Registrar shall record all necessary information in the register books. In order to record each collection item effectively, the Registrar is also obligated to make inventories of the collections. A copy of the inventory shall be kept by the Registrar and also in each Collection Department. The Registrar shall make name cards for each collection item with the item’s photographic image attached.
2. The Registrar shall register, photograph, file and then transfer newly acquired collection items to the appropriate Collection Department(s) for preservation and maintenance.
3. The collections entrusted to the Museum may be lent out for exhibition with the entrustment donor’s consent; besides, they may also be lent out via the Museum. The Registrar shall coordinate with each Collection Department the details of loan and return of entrustment collections, and the regulations of this process shall be established separately.

The management of the collection storerooms that house the collection items shall be executed in accordance with the following regulations:
1. The collection storerooms shall be equipped with both computerized cards and conventional locks. Collection storerooms doors may only be opened by using both authorized cards and keys. With the approval from the Museum Director, a qualified person appointed by the Head of a Collection Department shall oversee the authorized cards and keys.
2. Only the appointed person who oversees authorized cards and keys and designated staff shall direct the management of storerooms. Moreover, the computerized locks shall be operated in coordination with the control center. The control center shall supervise the operation of the computerized locks. The control center’s computerized operation shall run twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Its designated operating hours are both during working hours (the Museum opening hours) and non-working hours (Museum closing hours and holidays). In addition, the control center will record in the storeroom journal the activities of the storeroom and the persons (and their purposes) who use storerooms. This journal will be handed over to the Head of a Collection Department for review. Finally, the storeroom journal shall then be kept in the storeroom at the end of each day.
3.The storerooms shall not be opened during non-working hours. If the storerooms must be opened for special reasons, the person on night or day duty or a staff member whose rank is higher than a section chief should obtain approval from the Head of a Collection Department. He/she must inform the control center to override the restricted hours, and then open the door with the authorized cards and keys. If there is an emergency, the door may be opened by the control center along with the curatorial art handler on duty. The emergency opening shall be reported to the Museum Director as a special case for approval and filing afterward.
4. When opening the cabinets containing collection items, at least two curatorial art handlers and two office errand men should be present to monitor and record the situation in detail. The record shall then be submitted to the Head of a Collection Department.
5. If collection items must be removed from the storeroom for any purposes other than for conservation or repair, they should be returned to the storeroom on that same day.
6. The Head of a Collection Department will supervise and delegate routine tasks to curatorial art handlers such as the opening of storerooms for making regular inventory, arranging, cataloguing, exhibiting, and reading of the collection items. The Museum Director must approve all other openings (such as special occasions) of the storeroom.
7. Important guests may visit storerooms and stored collections, but these visits must be done with the Museum Director’s approval. Special viewing and research that involve retrievals of collection items from the storerooms are considered separately under “The Regulations for the Retrieving of Collection Items for Special Viewing and Research.”
8. The collection items in the storerooms should be inspected regularly in conjunction with the Conservation Department for safety and conservation purposes.
9. Outsiders may not enter the storerooms. Except for work purposes, the Museum staff may not enter the storerooms.
10. Setting fires or smoking in the storerooms is prohibited. The main power of lighting facilities should be turned off after work.
11. The tasks of storing, retrieving, returning and sealing of cases containing collection items in the storerooms must be done by skilled workers under the curator’s strict supervision.
12. The curatorial art handler should record in detail the activities such as the opening of cases, the retrieving of collection items, and the returning of collection items to their cases. The Head of the designated Collection Department’s supervision duties include performing random inspections.
13. If collection items are damaged or disappear due to the negligence or dereliction of a Museum staff member, the circumstances should be investigated. Disciplinary actions enacted against the Museum staff member will be dependent upon his/her level of responsibility and severity of damage.
14. If a collection item that is on regular exhibit, specially visited or is being photographed should meet any accidental harm, the situation should be immediately reported. If anyone should conceal the situation by not reporting to Museum authorities, he/she shall be punished severely.
15. If a collection item is damaged or destroyed, the Registrar should immediately photograph the damaged/destroyed item for its records, report it to superiors, and deliver the collection item for repair. After the restoration/repair, the collection item should also be photographed, dated, and labeled. The Registrar shall record in its register books the materials used for the restoration/repair as well as the entire incident involving the restoration/repair situation.

Management of collection exhibitions should follow these regulations:
1. Each Collection Department shall handle the selection, arrangement, and the locks of the display cases for the exhibition.
2. The door keys of each gallery and passageway shall be kept by the persons appointed by the Security Department. At least two staff members shall open and close the doors at a scheduled time each day. Moreover, after each opening and closing of the doors, the two staff members will examine the condition of the gallery and the surrounding area to check for debris.
3. Each Collection Department shall make four copies of exhibition inventories. One copy shall be submitted to the Museum Director for approval; one copy shall be submitted to the Exhibition Department; the other copies shall be submitted to the Security Department for inspection and preservation purposes.
4. In order to allow Museum visitors to better understand collection items, a written description will accompany the items while they are on exhibit. In addition, the media will be contacted so that collection items on exhibit can receive appropriate public attention.
5. The Security Department should inform the relevant Department(s) to open the display cases for repair and cleaning tasks.
6. The Conservation Department must inspect the lighting, temperature and humidity of the newly designed display cases.
7. The security guards should patrol their designated galleries at all times. Security guards are to patrol especially before and after gallery opening hours and during exhibiting times. If the security guards should encounter any irregularities, they must immediately inform the control center and the relevant Department(s).
8. The lighting in galleries and elevators should be turned off after closing each day.
9. If there is a power failure or an air-raid alarm, the security guards should immediately lead the Museum visitors to the designated locations or leave the galleries via evacuation routes. Security guards must then lock the doors and turn off the main power at once.
10. Security guards must accompany any Department staff member who needs to open the display cases.

The photographing as well as the making of photographic reproductions of the collection items should be done in accordance with the following regulations:
1. The photographing of the collection items should be approved by the Museum Director and then consigned to the Publication Department.
2. If the Publication Department receives approval to photograph collection items, it should schedule a date and time for the retrieval of the collection item with the appropriate Collection Department.
3. If the Publication Department should need to take a photograph of a collection item, the appropriate Collection Department should appoint a curatorial art handler to retrieve the item from the collection and to supervise the photo session. No one but the Collection Department curatorial art handler may touch the collection item during the photo session. If the photographer should need to adjust or move the collection item for photography purposes, he/she must ask the Collection Department’s curatorial art handler to make the appropriate adjustments.
4. If the photo session cannot be completed in one day, the Publication Department should make appropriate arrangements to schedule a new time and date with the appropriate Collection Department.
5. After the negatives are developed, the Registrar shall record the name of the collection item, the photograph date and the serial numbers of negatives (and the number of copies). If the photographed collection item is too large for one single negative, then its image should be recorded onto several separate negatives; each negative will contain its name, photograph date and its serial number (and the number of copies). All negatives will then be transferred to the Registrar for its records.
6. Individuals, members of a Museum Department, or other private/public institutions who need negatives or photographic images of the Museum collection items for research or publishing purposes should obtain the Museum Director’s approval. Individuals must make use of existent negatives or photographic images that are available, unless there are none. The Museum will charge fees for the use of any Museum collection item’s images and negatives.
7. Books and documents from the Museum general collection may be photocopied for research purposes. However, rare Sung and Yuan editions, other fragile books and fragile documents may only be viewed through microfilm.

The reproduction of collection items shall be done in accordance with the following regulations:
1. The reproduction of collection items must first be approved by both the appropriate Collection Department and the Museum Director. Reproduction of collection items shall be done by the Conservation Department in conjunction with the appropriate Collection Department.
2. It is necessary to take in consideration the condition of collection items before producing molds for their reproduction. The appropriate Collection Department shall appoint a staff member to bring the item to the Conservation Department. The Conservation Department shall then appoint a specialist to create the mold; no one else may do this.
3. The Conservation Department shall register, assign numbers, file, and maintain molds used for reproduction of collection items. If any molds are lent out to other parties, the loan should be approved by the Museum Director. Loans should proceed in accordance with the regulations.
4. If the Conservation Department is unable to replicate a collection item, it may seek outside specialists to create the reproduction. After the proposal for reproduction is approved by the Museum Director, the two parties should sign a formal contract in accordance with the regulations. The resulting reproduction should be approved by the Conservation Department and other relevant Departments before it is issued the logo of the National Palace Museum.

The safety facilities designed to ensure the safety of the Museum collection items should be inspected and tested periodically by specialists appointed by each relevant Department.

Staff members will be stationed in the Museum every night to routinely inspect and manage water, electricity, and air conditioning facilities as well as to ensure the safety of the Museum. Regulations for this shall be established separately.

“The National Palace Museum Management Regulations for Collection Items” shall be implemented from the date of promulgation.