Odd answer but here goes...

Personally, (I think) I oppose open storage study collections because of
preservation concerns (I could be persuaded otherwise, being more a
conservationist than educator at heart). I understand your concerns in
comparison to the Yale usage.

Is it possible that your Board could find or aid in establishing a "Friends
of..." group that would be willing to take on the project, funding and
interpreting it (and so on)? That way you would remain in governing control
when it came to major decisions but you would be free from the financial
obligations. It also creates jobs in a reviving (?) job market! :-)


Quoting jmarks <[log in to unmask]>:

> We received an 1835 house complete with furnishings - 18th & 19th
> century dec. arts plus late 20th century household items - about seven
> years ago.  It came with a small endowment but the board of trustees is
> feeling the pinch of maintenance expenses and wants to sell the house.
>  (We own three historic properties in addition to this one)  The donor's
> will allows us to sell the house but we must keep her husband's dec arts
> collection - about 250 items of furniture, ceramics, glass and metal.
>  She did not stipulate permanent exhibition, only that it be used for
> educational purposes.
>
> One influential trustee wants to build an addition on our existing
> museum, with the profits from selling the house, and create an open
> study collection, similar to the Garvan collection at Yale.  Simply put,
> this isn't the Garvan collection and Geneva, NY isn't New Haven, CT.
>  It's a nice collection but not world-class, and our focus is local
> history, not decorative arts in general.
>
> What's the current feeling about permanent open storage for study
> purposes?  If you have it, are people using it, either for enjoyment or
> research?  Have any small historical societies in rural areas done this?
>  (budget $250K/ year, city size 13,000, fairly good tourist traffic in
> the summer)  Can you recommend other museums I can contact?
>
> As always, there are more details and politics to this story, but
> there's my question in a nutshell - thanks!  Happy Thanksgiving,
> John Marks
> Curator of Collections
> Geneva Historical Society
> [log in to unmask]
>
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--
Jennifer M. Lane

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