Good Morning Stephanie,
To answer your question.....If the museum cannot take care of potential
gift (artifact/specimen) the museum should not accept it.  Public trust
issues come to mind.
If the museum declines the gift, then I would advise that the museum
staff also make some suggestions to direct the donor to a museum that
may want the gift AND be able to take care of it.
BTW....taking care of "gift" is only one criteria to consider when
collecting....the criteria I use are:
1.  What is its taxonomic/typological significance?
2.  What is its future programming/exhibit utility?
3.  How available are other examples of this artifact/specimen?
4.  What is its cost to acquire (including transportation and handling)?
5.  What is its physical condition and can it be cared for?
6.  What is its documentation -- attributed and inherent?
7.  What is its connection to a specific mission-related -- subject
matter and themes, event, person, group, or place?
8.  Will the "gift" fit in the building and not go through the floor due
to weight concerns??????
Any one or more of these criteria could be a "deal breaker."  Failure to
address these concerns will lead to future curatorial and management
headaches, drains on the budget, and other problems.......
I hope this helps,
Best Wishes and Merry Christmas & Happy Hanukkah!
Wesley
Wesley S. Creel
Administrator of Programs
Pink Palace Family of Museums
Memphis, TN 38111
www.memphismuseum.org

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Stephanie Rohwer
Sent: Friday, December 08, 2006 2:25 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Advice Needed

I am a graduate student at Tufts University and I'm working on my final 
paper assignment for a class I'm taking.  The assignment requires me to
ask 
question and then use research to support an answer to that question.
My 
question is:  "What course of action should a museum take if it is
presented 
with an object that meets its mission, but it is an object that the
museum 
can not properly care for."  I'm looking for any advice anyone can give
me.  
I know this situation has come up countless times, so if anyone is
willing 
to share their experiences, I would really appreciate your help.

Stephanie Rohwer

_________________________________________________________________
Share your latest news with your friends with the Windows Live Spaces 
friends module. 
http://clk.atdmt.com/MSN/go/msnnkwsp0070000001msn/direct/01/?href=http:/
/spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx&mk

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail
message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should
read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message
to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read
"Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).