A survey of the Horniman Museum, London, was envisaged as a simple assessment to establish conservation priorities for treatment and environmental control. The project developed into an important record of the collections in the museum as a whole. Other applications of the original programme are identified, including information on location of pieces, research projects, pest infestations, assessment of environmental conditions, storage and display. The magnitude, diversity and state of the collections has changed the original idea of what the surveys should record. -- ICCROM