Message-ID: <BLU140-W32C7754ADABFB536F304ADA1AD0@phx.gbl> From: Destinee Swanson <destineekae@hotmail.com> Subject: RE: Collections Policies Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:50:21 -0600
Dear All,
I am the Curator of the Sauk County Historical Society, and, although I
have a Master's Degree in History and Museum Studies, I am new to the
field and so I usually abstain from offering my greenhorn opinion on
the listserve discussions.
But I have to say that this particular thread (concerning the case of
auctioning off surplus items to the public) has gotten a little bit
pretentious on some parts. Specifically, I feel bad about the trunk
people being so jumped upon when we haven't even asked them their
reasoning behind this issue.
I agree that, in most cases, it sends somewhat of a mixed signal to the
public if an institution sells items from their permanent
collection--BUT, I also strongly feel that deaccessioning is a vital part o
f
keeping a healthy collection. And as was mentioned, it is not always
possible to find another home for your deaccessioned artifacts (or, as
is more likely, it is not time- or money-wise to spend, say, 3 hours
making 47 phone calls to find an "appropriate" home for, say, your
stack of antique postcards).
I currently feel (and perhaps my views may change with time) that if an
institution is perfectly clear in their reasoning and intentions it is
OK to dispose of artifacts by both selling duplicate items or items
unrelated to the current mission, and "retiring" items that are no
longer viable. (By "retiring" I here delicately refer to discreetly
throwing away/disposing of those things that are either hazardous or
just beyond any functional use [even educational endeavors].)
Even the American Association of Museum's 2004 Code of Ethics does not
rule out the possibility of non-profits selling deaccessioned items.
This Code states that the "disposal of collections through sale,
trade, or research activities is
solely for the advancement of the museum's mission. Proceeds from the
sale of nonliving collections are to be used consistent with the
established standards of the museum's discipline, but in no event shall
they be used for anything other than acquisition or direct care of
collections."
I would say that the most important things to remember when making the seri
ous decision to sell a deaccessioned item is:
(1) Check, doublecheck, and re-check that the artifact has no attached
restrictions (even from long ago) specifically stating that the
institution would NEVER part with it. (In fact, I think I remember from
one of my museum classes some recommendation that the institution might
want to run an ad in the local papers related to the artifact stating
its original donors--if they are known--and asking that if any
descendants--who can legally prove their lineage from said donor--are
interested in claiming the item before its sale, they may do so within
30 days, or some other stipulated amount of time. This could really
cover you later in the event of such a descendant popping up.) AND
(2) Ensure that the deaccession process has been thoroughly carried out
and that they item to be sold is no longer within the institution's
permanent collection--this means to careful and methodical track of ALL
paperwork associated with the deaccession process.
I would also encourage the institution to sell the item through a third
party, and make sure that any buyers have no connection to your
institution (these measures will, to a certain extent, shield your
institution from any "conflict of interest" accusations).
If it is decided to sell the items to the public locally, either
through a live auction, online auction, through the newspaper etc., it
would seem very wise to stress the reason for the item's deaccession
and sale (i.e. the item in no way supports the current mission; the
item is one of several similar already held by the organization; the
item was specifically donated for the purpose of fundraising; etc.),
both in advertising the sale and in the item description (if it is
being sold online or through a newspaper, or at the beginning of the
public auction, etc). At this time, it should also be stressed that the
proceeds will go directly back into caring for the rest of the
collection (and I do agree that this is the only thing that such monies
should go toward. In fact, I would suggest stating this in your
Collections Policy. This will avoid any tendencies or chance that your
institution may rely on such sales to cover budget shortfalls, fund
flashy projects, etc.).
Basically, I am not opposed to selling certain artifacts (under the
right circumstances) because it is better than the alternative--which
is to (1) let them sit unknown, unused, and decaying within your own
collection or (2) end up having to secretly dispose of the item some
other way just to get rid of it when they are perfectly viable and
valuable objects (at least to someone out there).
Sorry if this message is convoluted and confusing! Writing a persuasive ess
ay on the spot is not my strong suit.
Thanks for everyone's opinions and viewpoints! It makes me feel a lot
better knowing that every other museum/nonprofit has their own issues
and concern--and not just ours.
Destinee K Swanson
P.S. I feel it necessary to state that my opinion is in no way
reflective of the Sauk County Historical Society's Board of Directors,
its members, or its other staff.
From: dnjkenosha@wi.rr.com
To: localhistory@listserve.uwec.edu
Subject: Re: Collections Policies
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:39:35 -0500
Having initiated the discussion regarding how and
where an institution should dispose of deaccessioned items, I would, of cou
rse,
agree that a museum ought to develop and follow written policy covering the
entire aspect of building and managing its collection. And the manual
referred to is a good start to developing such a written policy.
However, I was quite disappointed in reading
through it to note that there is very little in the way of specifics. We ar
e
told it is proper and necessary to deaccession items from time to time.
But what are acceptable ways to do so? Other than the preferred, but not
always possible, route of transferring
them to another, more appropriate institution, we are offered no advice at
all.
Happily, the manual said monetary appraisals
are not considered ethical. That is useful, professional
guidance. But that's another matter. The manual is entirely
silent on the issue that some of us have been discussing.
Yes, of course, there should be a policy to
deaccession items. BUT where is the discussion of HOW to do
it. It should be obvious that it is unethical to sell items from the
collection to, say, an individual collector. Yet, I know of instances
where small institutions with no professionally trained staff have done jus
t
that! Our discussion pertained to the wisdom of
auctioning deaccessioned items locally, which is not a matter of ethics but
of image and public relations. I have noted that our professional
staff has advised our board against that.
I am disappointed that other museum professionals
who are part of this list have not chimed in on whether they agree or
disagree, on whether they see it as good or bad museum practice
to auction, raffle, sell or trade deaccessioned items
locally. Come on, folks, we
non-professionals look to you for sound advice!
Don Jensen
BoD, Kenosha History
Center
----- Origainal Message -----
From:
Seymour, Janet I - WHS
To: localhistory@listserve.uwec.edu
Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 10:52
AM
Subject: Collections Policies
List Serve
Members,
Many of you shared comments and ideas regarding the sale of
de-accessioned artifacts. I am sure the discussion was helpful to many.
We at WHS encourage local organizations to develop a collections
policy to help you manage your collection and to maintain consistent meth
ods
for accessioning and deaccessioning artifacts. You can find a helpful wor
kbook
at the link below. It covers how to develop a collections policy for
historical records, but the basic principles of how the policy should wor
k
apply to three dimensional collections as well.
You can contact me directly if you have further questions about
collections policies, or if you would like to receive a copy by mail.
Thanks,
Janet
http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/libraryarchives/whrab/wclh.pdf
Janet Seymour
Field Services Representative - Northern Region
Wisconsin Historical Society
c/o Department of History, UW-Eau Claire
105 Garfield Avenue
Eau Claire WI 54701
Voice: 715-836-2250
Web: www.wisconsinhistory.org
To subscribe to the local history list serve, send an
email to: localhistory-request@listserve.uwec.edu
and type subscribe in the body of the email.
Post messages, questions, or event notices by sending
an email to an email to localhistory@listserve.uwec.edu.
Review past messages at: http://listserve.uwec.edu/localhistory.
_________________________________________________________________
Enjoy 5 GB of free, password-protected online storage.
http://www.windowslive.com/skydrive/overview.html?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_Refre
sh_skydrive_062008