I think you will find differing opinions, but most museum professionals
probably would say that the greater responsibility is to protect the
artifacts. It's not so much curatorial filtering but rather
institutional filtering, based on written policies. Museums exist to
collect, preserve and interpret cultural history artifacts and natural
history specimens. In order to preserve them for current and future
generations, limits must be placed on their usage. If no controls
exist, then the artifacts/specimens would eventually deteriorate and be
unavailable for any use. By controlling access, their life is extended
for as long as possible, while still allowing any reasonable use. It is
not a matter of denying access, but controlling access.
Jeff Tenuth
Indiana State Museum
Indianapolis, Indiana
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Adele Barbato
Sent: Monday, December 18, 2006 11:45 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] acessability to collections
Hello,
I am a graduate student in museum studies at the Harvard Extension
School and am preparing for a paper concerning ethics within museum
policies. My topic deals with the acessability of museum collections to
students, scholars and really anyone inquiring for the abilty to
research through cataloges, documentation and non-displayed holdings. My
core question is this: if the generalized definition of a museum is to
house, record and preserve the cultural material of humanity, shouldn't
the artifacts/art and their associated documentation be available to the
public without curatorial filtering? Does the museum have a greater
responsibiliy to a researcher desiring specific information or to the
integrity of the item? This question is assuming that there are no
restrictions put on the collections by a donor or bequest and that the
articles requested for research do not have any conservation or
fragility issues. While this situation loosely relates to the issues
brought to light with Kennewick Man a couple of years ago, I am also
referring to closed-stacks libraries and archives associated with
museums and schools that allow very restricted use.
I would appreciate any opinion or knowledge anyone has regarding these
issues, and maybe references that may help.
Thank you!
Adele Barbato
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