It’s important for a museum to have a policy in place so that it doesn’t have to deal with common questions like the ones above. Before a museum can start collecting objects they should first have a policy that outlines why what and how the collection should be formed.

A Museum’s Collection Policy can include the following:

*Mission Statement

*Scope of Collection

Acquisition and Accessioning

Deaccessioning

Loans

Preservation

Legal & Ethical Issues

Mission & Scope

MISSION STATEMENT

"The mission is the centerpiece for the institution:

It explains the museum's purpose and is a guidepost for institutional planning, development and positioning for the future. A well-conceived mission statement provides the foundation for leadership to shape institutional vision, values and strategic plans as well as other operational documents such as policies that guide and direct the work of the institution.“

Gail Anderson, Editor AAM Technical Information Service

SCOPE OF THE COLLECTION

The scope defines the parameters, goals, and objectives in relation to the museums mission. Collecting scope statements ensure logical, responsible collections growth by establishing well-defined goals and priorities that guide collecting activity.

For example:

Aurora Regional Fire Museum Collections Scope

The scope of the Aurora Regional Fire Museum's collection is ultimately dictated by our above mission statement.

Specific Areas of Collection:

• Aurora Fire Department history and artifacts (and particularly those relating to the history of Aurora's Central Fire Station.)

• Aurora "Region" (Northern Illinois) Fire Department history and artifacts.

• Representative objects which illustrate the history of the fire service in general.

The first point is specific to the fire station

The second point expands the scope to region

The third opens up the option of collecting objects related to fire safety in general.

Acquisition & Accessioning Policy

Acquisition is the act of gaining legal title to a collection item or group of items.

Accessioning is the formal process used to acquire legally and to record a collection item or group of items into the collection.

It's important to outline how things will be collected?

This could include- Gift, Bequest , Purchase , Exchange, Transfer or Field Collection

The policy should state clearly the procedures to be followed in the acquisition and accessioning process and identify who is involved in this procedure.

For example:

The Walters Acquisition & Accessioning Policy

When recommending a work of art as an Accessioned Acquisition, staff and the Collections Committee must consider the following criteria:

• The quality and historical significance of a work of art, and the work's capacity to enhance particular collection areas

• The significance or potential social, cultural, or educational value of a work of art to one or several of the Museum’s audiences

• The physical condition and appropriateness for exhibition of a work of art

• The ability of the Museum to properly store and care for a work of art;

• he price of a work of art as it relates to current market values for comparable objects.

Inquiry and Research

The Museum will rigorously research the provenance of a work of art prior to acquisition in order to determine whether the Museum can obtain legal ownership. The research should include, but is not necessarily limited to:

• the authenticity of the work of art

• the ownership history of the work of art;

• whether the acquisition of the work raises any specific known legal compliance or ethical considerations

• the countries in which the work of art has been located and when

• the exhibition history of the work of art, if any

• the publication history of the work of art, if any

• whether any claims to ownership of the work of art have been made

• whether the work of art appears in relevant databases of stolen works

• the circumstances under which the work of art is being offered to the Museum.

Curators will document and present to the Collections Committee their research into issues of authenticity, attribution, provenance, publications, comparable objects, value, and condition prior to acquisition.

For all acquisitions, the Museum will make a rigorous effort to obtain from sellers and donors all available information and accurate written documentation relating to the ownership history of the work of art. For any acquisition of a work of art that is coming from abroad, the Museum shall obtain all recent import and export documentation.

Title

All items must have free and clear title. For the purposes of this policy, “free and clear title” means that there is no outstanding lien, encumbrance, mortgage, security interest, or other hypothecation of an interest in the item, and there is no outstanding legal claim (pending or threatened), financial or otherwise, involving the item to be acquired.

Restrictions

As a general principle, the Museum only accepts gifts of works of art on an unrestricted basis whereby a donor has no intent to govern the terms or conditions of the gift, such as, but not limited to, its use, display, loan, publication, or deaccession and disposal. Any exception must be in writing and must be reviewed and approved by the Board. Before presentation to the Collections Committee and Board, donors are required to sign a Deed of Gift indicating their intention that works are offered as unrestricted gifts, unless otherwise indicated. To the extent feasible, all acquisitions should include the transfer of all intellectual property rights, including but not limited to copyright when applicable, in and to the work being acquired.

Legal Considerations (Laws/Permits/Compliance Issues)

The Museum will comply with all applicable local, state, and federal U.S. laws, including, but not limited to, the National Stolen Property Act (NSPA); the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (CCPIA); sanctions enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC); 7 the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA). Because the status of a work of art under foreign law may bear on its legal status under U.S. law, the Museum will take relevant foreign laws into consideration. It will seek legal counsel, if advisable, before making an acquisition.

Loans

A Loan is the temporary transfer of possession of collection items for an agreed purpose and on the condition that the collection item is returned at a specified time. It's important to have in place loan policies so that when particular questions come up from lenders or to the institute the museum is lending to the museum will already have guidelines in place.

Generally museums will only lend to other non-profit, educational institutions and not to private parties or commercial enterprises.

Outgoing

What will be available for loan?

To whom? (only other museums? non-profits?)

Charges for loans?

Who covers insurance?

Incoming

Ethics of what can be accepted and for what purpose?

Insurance policy's set in place?

Facilities reports available to lender?

Preservation

Preservation is the protection and stabilization of collections, as well as their associated information, through a coordinated set of activities, aimed at minimizing chemical physical and biological deterioration and damage and preventing loss of intellectual, aesthetic and monetary value. Preservation is an ongoing process with the goal of making collections available for current and future use.

The museum has a responsibility to preserve and safeguard the collections it holds in trust for the public. Often times preservation is a major part of the museums mission.

The museum is responsible for developing and implementing preservation strategies and policies that respect the diverse nature of its collections while providing access to the collections.

These guidelines will determine where/how objects are stored, the temp/humidity control of each of the storage space, how objects are packed and shipped, how conservation needs are assessed.

Some example language from the Charlotte Museum of History Preservation Policy:

The permanent collection shall be housed in secure, climate-controlled areas with access controlled by keys.

Non-collections staff, board members, interns and volunteers, and members of the public are not permitted to enter collections storage areas without legitimate reason, nor in the absence of collections staff unless by prior permission or in an emergency situation.

Contractors and inspectors whose work requires their presence in collections storage areas must be accompanied by a designated staff member at all times. If such work requires protection or relocation of collections objects, this work must be done by a trained staff member.

Items from the museum’s permanent collection must be protected while on display by appropriate security measures (as determined by the Collections Manager,) such as secured vitrines, physical barriers, or frames mounted to the wall with secure hanging devices.

Discussion Topic

Look up a museum that you like website and look for their collection management policy. Read through the policy and comment in today's Google Classroom discussion board called Collection Management Policy about their mission and scope. Discuss something that you learned from the policy or anything that you think is missing or strikes you as interesting.

Here are some examples if you have trouble finding one on your chosen museum's website.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Intrepid Museum

National Museum of Natural History

Museum of Modern Art

J. Paul Getty Museum

OshKosh Pubic Museum