The Designation Scheme is an
English system that awards "Designated status" to museum, library and archive collections of national and international importance. The Scheme is administered by
Arts Council England
Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council o ...
(ACE). As of 2023, 163 collections are officially designated.
National museums are not eligible for Designated status.
The Scheme was first launched in 1997 under the auspices of what eventually became the
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) was until May 2012 a non-departmental public body and a registered charity in England with a remit to promote improvement and innovation in the area of museums, Library, libraries, and archives. ...
(MLA) and originally covered only museum collections.
Harewood House
Harewood House ( , ) is a English country house, country house in Harewood, West Yorkshire, Harewood, West Yorkshire, England. Designed by architects John Carr (architect), John Carr and Robert Adam, it was built between 1759 and 1771, for Ed ...
became the first stately home to be awarded Designated status in 1998. The scheme was expanded to cover libraries and archives in 2005. Responsibility was transferred to the Arts Council in October 2011 following the closure of the MLA.
Designated collections
See also
*
Designated landmark (US)
*
Designated place
A designated place (DPL) is a type of community or settlement identified by Statistics Canada that does not meet the criteria used to define municipalities or population centres. DPLs are delineated every 5 years for the Canadian census as the s ...
(Canada)
References
{{reflist, 2
*Designation Scheme
Museology
Lists of museums
*Designation Scheme
Lists of libraries