IN RESPONSE TO:

"
One more question on ethics.  I am doing a paper on the
subject,
and appreciate any help on my earlier question and this one.
I'm
trying to create some interesting cases.

Artifacts:  An artifact is given to the museum, with the
proper
Deed of Gift, etc., signed.  Later, a daughter of the women
who gave the item came through the museum and notices the
item on display.  She becomes very upset, that it was an
item that was promised to her by her mother (who gave the
item to the museum).

Should the museum return the item to the women?

Situation:  Let me add, if the museum already has items of
like in the collection, and the donor is a good volunteer.
She is very upset about not having the dress returned, and
can
cause contention in the community.  The daughter wants to
wear the dress at her wedding and keep it in the family.

Should the dress still be returned, or should the dress be
kept?  Is it an ethical question?

I was thinking, maybe it could be loaned back to her?  Or
simply deassession the dress.  But, this presents, as I plan
another problem -- what would other donors think? "Could I
also get my valuable item(s) back I donated earlier, since
and heard they were more valuable than expected?"

Thanks for any input."

I OFFER THE FOLLOWING:

The way I read the scenario presented the object was gifted
to you by the owner.  Later, a person who was not the owner
said that it should be theirs because the owner promised it
to them.  My lawyer would tell me (and has) that the donor
gave it to the museum, and that it cannot be "returned" to a
person who never had it.  If the donor wanted the daughter
to have the object, the donor would have given it to the
daughter, not the museum.  Unless the donor has died AND HER
ESTATE IS STILL OPEN, the daughter has no legal claim on a
piece even if you deaccession it.

This is only an ethical question if you roll over and give
away collections items without going through an appropriate
deaccession process because of political pressure.  If your
deacession procedure (rules?  policy?  by-laws?) allow you
to remove duplicative items and to give them to a private
party who was not the donor, go for it, but I think you're
setting a precedent you'll regret when the word gets out
that you'll "return" artifacts on demand - and to folks who
didn't donate them in the first place.  Perhaps the donor
didn't want the daughter to have the object - will this
"return" give potential donors confidence in your process?


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C. L. Dill, Museum Director
State Historical Society of North Dakota
612 East Boulevard
Bismarck  ND  58505-0830
P: (701)328-2666
F: (701)328-3710
E:  [log in to unmask]
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