I passed on some of the messages about the deaccessioning issue on to my
fellow staff members and it has created quite a lively debate. I wanted to
share a few of the messages that I have received or were passed off list.

Jenny Yearous
Curator of Collections Management
State Historical Society of North Dakota

North Dakota Heritage Center phone (701) 328-2666
612 E. Boulevard Avenue    fax      (701) 328-3710
Bismarck, ND 58505-0830             [log in to unmask]

01/01/2001 The REAL start of the new millenium


Dear Ms Springate,

What to do with any material no longer needed - always a problem!  The
online auction houses can be handy.  We are taking care of the problem by
having a one-week annual sale and we've just completed our 7th annual sale.
 Since we are a State agency and needed to get authorization from the ND
Legislature, we sponsored a bill several years ago to allow us to dispose of
some of our unwanted material through sale and to use the funds for the
purchase of other materials needed to enhance the collection.  Our
experience of using the annual sale for disposing of publications and
artifacts has progressed from the first, which was a 'Garage Sale' held in
our huge garage, to sales in the classroom area, to sales in the classroom
plus silent auctions, to sales in the classrooms plus silent auctions
through our web page.   In the beginning, I priced everything $.50 or $1.00
per pound.  When someone challenged the true weight measure of our scale, we
went to straight pricing.  I found that with some of the rare material I had
used the "Bookman's Price Index" as a guide and had priced them too high.
I've had people asking for 'a break'.  The next year I put the rare material
all on silent auction with a low minimum bid and that took care of
complaints.  It also meant that I was able to garner more funds for the
purchase other materials for our collection.  The past several years we have
extended the silent auction and sale to include our web site.  The lists of
material available are noted on the web site and people can either email or
telephone or snail mail their bids or ask for particular titles which are
available but not on silent auction.  Each day we post the high bids and,
you can imagine, bidding gets quite intense the last day.   In the past we
have included books & magazines such as "Life" and "American Rifleman" from
the Library, WWI posters from the Archives collection, a collection of Bing
& Grondahl Christmas plates from the Museum Collection, ND Centennial Pins
from the Archives collection, a framed print from the Education Division.
Interest is high each year and continues to grow.  The time of the sale is
the same each year - the first full week of June and the lists are added to
the web site by early May.

One theme we reiterate with little variation is that the material we are
selling either duplicates the collection or does not  fit the collection
guidelines and that the money coming from the sale of these items will be
used for purchase of more pertinent and needed materials.  This goes into
any press release and is on the web site at the top of the lists.  We've had
some great donations from the general public for this sale.  The sale also
gives me the opportunity to inquire of a donor when they request us to take
something, that if it duplicates or doesn't fit our collection, would they
mind if we added it to our sale.  Usually they have no objections - they
generally are glad to see that someone wants the item even if it is to
recycle it.   They also see themselves as contributing to the financial good
health of the Society.  As for de-accessioned items, part of the process of
de-accessioning is to offer them to the original owner, if they are still
alive.  Thus any item that goes into the sale has had several opportunities
along to way to not be included.  The sale of all items are final.

You may want to try eBay with a few items at first to 'test the waters'.
This and other online auction sites provide a great opportunity to make the
material available to a lot of people.  You're bound to be able to find
someone, sometimes many someones, who are interested.  It will also help
eBay raise its credibility level.  They have had some problems with
suppliers - bids accepted and money sent without the items finding their way
to the buyer.

Good luck with your project and I would be greatly interested in hearing of
your experiences if you do try eBay or another online auction.

Dolores Vyzralek
Chief Librarian


For those of you who missed it . . . Ebay bought the San Francisco based
auction house known as Butterfield & Butterfield (established in 1865), for
well over $200 million.   The ivory tower approach (why not work with a
"reputable" auction house) may work if you are selling a Picasso, a
Chippendale sideboard, or a Tiffany lamp . . . try and un-load a pile of
harness, odd-ball pieces of steel flatware, a pair of 1950's Lakota
moccasins . . . Christie's or Sotheby's will hang up quicker than if you are
a vinyl siding salesperson!!

Mark Halvorson
Curator of Collections Research

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