A conference entitled "Limits to Growth" concerning the selection process for museum collections started on November 29 in Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands.

The Dutch government said in a news release that museums are running out of storage space and the costs of maintaining and managing museum collections are threatening to get out of hand.

At the request of Dutch State Secretary Rick van der Ploeg, the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage has drawn up a draft code of conduct for the selection and disposal of objects.

The Netherlands Museum Association, ICOM Netherlands, and the public and private owners of collections have been involved in this process, the news release said.

The draft code of conduct and the selection process are to be discussed in detail at the two-day conference on the basis of international and national professional practice, it added.