A collections management policy should be all inclusive, based on the
needs and mission of your institution.  At the Indiana State Museum, our
policy is about fifty pages long and contains sections on
acquisitioning, deaccessioning, reproduction, loans, conservation,
photography, access to collections, and ethics.  There also is a section
on collecting strategies that defines what we collect and why we collect
it.  Since we are a general museum, we have collecting strategies for
both cultural and natural history.  Along with a mission statement,
these policies define most, if not all aspects of how our collections
department operates within a state agency.  If your institution is a
state agency, that will bring into play other aspects of governance, but
that is a different issue.  We also have an oversight committee that
monitors the implementation of the policy.  The short answer to your
question is that you can and should create one umbrella policy that
covers all your activities.  

Jeff Tenuth
Indiana State Museum
Indianapolis, Indiana


-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Allison Weiss
Sent: Monday, June 02, 2008 9:08 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Collections management for architectural and
archaeology collections

We are in the process of adopting a collections management policy at a
historic site.  We have a large amount of architectural and
archaeological artifacts in our possession (all that come from either
the house or the property).  Can anyone please share with me how they
have handled these items in their policies?  Do you create one policy
for objects and archives and a separate policy for archaeology and/or
architecture?  

Any suggestions or examples of policies would be greatly appreciated.

Allison Weiss
Executive Director
The Speaker's House

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