You are right about Collections Policies - it specifies a scope and guidelines but is not our actual planning document. Here at the Virginia Museum of Natural History, we use an "Acquisition Plan" for specific planning purposes. Acquisition Plans (APs) are prepared annually toward the end of the year for the following calendar year and must be completed by every department planning on acquiring specimens in the upcoming calendar year. This includes all research departments as well as education and exhibits. APs are prepared by curators for reseach departments and by the managers of education and exhibits.
The APs are approved by the in-house Collections Committee, and are reviewed by the Executive Director and the Board of Trustees. Any acquisitions not included in an approved AP must be reviewed and approved by the CC, reviewed by the ED, and approved by the Board. This can cause a delay in acquiring something since the Board meets quarterly so it behooves everyone to be as thorough as possible in their planning for the upcoming year. This also means that the APs are used throughout the year - they are not something that get written and filed away never to be looked at again. We actually do check to see if acquisitions are covered under the plans. Given all of that, it is rare that something comes in that is not in an AP somewhere. Mostly because almost every department has one entry in their plan that is vague and references "unanticipated collections/specimens that may become available" and is a catch-all for unanticipated opportunities. Even those catch-all categories however limit the storage space that they can occupy without needing approval from the Board. For example, in archaeology one year I limited my unanticipated acquisitions to 5 standard Hollinger boxes of material. On those rare occasions where a collection is not in a plan, it is also rare that it gets rejected for acquisition; if someone wants to bring in a large collection that is not covered under their plan then they usually find a way to support it or help plan for its support so it gets approved.
The APs are very useful - they allow us to plan for supply expenditures, space allocations, staffing requirements, etc. They are also reviewed by the Registrar who makes sure that everyone has necessary permits. They also give the Registrar a heads-up on potentially challenging acquisitions or loans.
Plans are organized by priority and project. The AP includes the following information:
Project name (whether research initiative, exhibit, public program, etc.), purpose of acquisition (is it for research and needs indefinite high-quality care or is it for a hands-on educational program and may be destroyed after 6 months of use?), and priority
1. location/locality information, source of specimen
- where is the material coming from?
- will this material be on loan (especially for material recovered from federal lands that we house and care for) or is it for accession?
- if you don't know where you will be getting this material, do you need help from the curatorial staff finding it? (usually applies to exhibit needs)
2. estimated quantities of material - are we talking about 10 small salamanders or 1 large articulated dinosaur?
3. principal collectors
4. resources required - staff (research and collections time), equipment, supplies, space, cabinetry/shelving for storage, etc.
Good luck with your research. I hope this helps. If you need clarification, I will be happy to respond.
Elizabeth Moore
Dr. Elizabeth A. Moore
Curator of Collections and Archaeology
Virginia Museum of Natural History
1001 Douglas Avenue
Martinsville, VA 24112
----- Original Message -----
From: Maggi Jackson
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Monday, March 25, 2002 2:12 PM
Subject: AAM & NMAH Request Collecting Plans
The National Museum of American History (NMAH) and the American Association of Museums (AAM) are researching the use of collecting plans in museums. We ask for your help in gathering resource materials for this project. While collections policies commonly contain a 'scope of collections statement', these statements are generally very broad. Collecting plans are more specific and are often tied to other current planning documents (e.g. exhibition, interpretation).
Please help us identify and gather the following:
* Collecting plans currently used in institutions.
* Supporting documents and forms used to implement the plans (e.g. accession worksheets).
* Contact information for professionals who have in the past or are currently formulating plans and implementing them in their museums.
Contact Heather Berry at 202/218-7691 or [log in to unmask] if you are willing to share information. Because the focus of this project is planning, we ask that you refrain from sending collection policies. All information gathered will remain confidential unless permission is granted for use as educational material to benefit the field.
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