Tracy,

I worked as Curator of the Cornelius Low House/Middlesex County Museum in NJ for 4 years. When I came, basically the museum institution had its historic 1742 building, but no collection. It was not part of its mission to collect. The building was used as a gallery space where we mounted rotating exhibitions on various aspects of NJ history, using borrowed objects entirely. This was in some ways limiting, but also gave us great flexibility. 

A few years into my job, we did acquire some objects relating to an exhibit on NJ's architectural terra cotta industry - the owners who loaned the objects to us had no desire to keep them, and wished to see them safely housed and preserved. At the time I left, it was not decided whether the museum proper would continue to house the objects (It did not really have good storage space) or if they would migrate elsewhere within the county's Cultural and Heritage Commission. So far as I know, that is still undecided.   

Does this situation fit your inquiry?

Hillary Murtha
University of Delaware

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