Is anyone out there involved in any collaborative projects were other
organizations are collecting materials that may become part of your
institutions collection?  If yes, what policies, procedures & collaborative
agreements were needed to make this successful?

Background:

I am curator for the Pilgrim Monument & Provincetown Museum, Provincetown,
Massachusetts.  Another local non-profit organization, The Art Archive, has
approached our museum concerning a possible collaboration. The Art Archive
is currently cataloging artwork, writings, and journals from the estates of
artists and writers who worked in Provincetown, but died of AIDS before
reaching their full potential.  Most of the individuals were not recognized
with exhibitions or publications of there creative work.  This
organization's desire is to begin collecting objects and papers, and they
have approached us to house the collection.  And this is where the problems
begin.

Some but not all of the Questions that have been raised:

 A major hurtle in this proposal is the question of the Monument & Museums
autonomy:  Who do you believe will have ownership of this collection?   If
it is owned by the Art Archives, how will the issue  of two separate
organizations managing separate collections function under one roof be
resolved?

Other than providing storage space, what other functions do you foresee the
Museum doing in collaboration with this project?

Who would be responsible for the care, preservation, and conservation of
this collection?  What type of funding would be available to undertake
preservation activities?

Would the staff and volunteers of the Art Archives need to be provided
security codes and keys to the Museum?

 If either organization should decide to cease to function, what would
happen to this collection?

What will the Art Archives collect?  Who has final say in acquisition of
new items?  Would the Museum participate in the acquisition process?


Our collection committee has met with the proponents of this collaboration
twice, and feel it may fulfill our mission to preserve Provincetown's
history.  We do not want to neglect the fact that our community has been
changed in the wake of AIDS and want to collect for future generations in
order for them to use their perspective to understand that change.

Thank you in Advance,

Jeffory Morris
Curator
Pilgrim Monument & Provincetown Museum
P.O. Box 1125
High Pole Hill
Provincetown, MA 02657-1125

(508) 487-1310
(800) 247-1620 Outside 508 Area Code
(508) 487-4702 Fax
 E-mail: [log in to unmask]