More on deaccession than disposition:

Trent's comments were sincere are certainly "right" in theory, but as
Candace, Nikki and Audra have pointed out, there are so many other
considerations, and they were right on.

I'd like to add just one more comment to the pile of "theory is great,
but  it ain't that simple...."

I'm talking about the necessity of being able to know what is in your
collection when someone offers a new donation.

Especially if you have a large collection or even one not so large,
unless and until you have a really good catalog system, preferably in a
computer database, from which you can search various kinds of
information (object name, associations, subject, condition etc.), it
still can be difficult to know, when someone offers you items, whether
or not they are an addition to the collection or a duplication. And, if
they are a duplication, whether the new offer has a significance to your
collection that the previous one lacked. It isn't even enough to be able
to say, yes, we already have an 1865 sausage grinder until you know
whether the existing one is in good condition and whether you know it's
provenance.

Collections gathered prior to professional staffing often came without
sufficient information. So you now might rather deaccession the sausage
grinder that's very rusty and that came from Iowa (you are in
California) in favor of having one that was used on a local farm and is
in good condition.  You might also prefer a copper kettle with a torn
bottom, but that has clear documentation that it came across the plains
with a local pioneer, than one that is in better condition but that you
have absolutely no information about. (Or you keep them both, to be used
in different interpretive ways.) Compounding the problem, donations to a
history museum often involve multiple items, and, without a good catalog
system, to research every single item to avoid duplication, can be
extremely time consuming if not impossible.

The bottom line is, collection management always involves many layers of
decisions, some of which may be contradictory, and you have to come up
with the best solution you can for your own museum and particular
circumstances. And, you and your successors should have the ability to
review these decisions from time to time, in order to make necessary
adjustments to the collection through deaccessioning.

Bottom line: Deaccessioning should be a routine & accepted (albeit
*very* carefully used) part of collection management.

Lucy Sperlin
Chico Museum Assoc./Patrick Ranch
Chico, CA.



Curator Fort Morgan Museum wrote:
>
> Trent,
>
> You hit my buttons.  I know that wasn't your goal, but...
>
> Let me drop a line about small history museums.  For the most part we were
> started by well meaning individuals and run totally by volunteers for the
> first part of our existence.  These individuals  gave us an outstanding
> foundation to build upon.  They also had the thought process that if it
> belonged to a local person it obviously told a local story.  This is not
> necessarily how local history is interpreted today, but ...
>
> Now throw in a good old fashion case of ancestor worship, "Well, he did
> start the bank, and was on the school board, and was the mayor.  So of
> course we want anything of his we can get." Unfortunately this includes the
> fifteen guidebooks from his trip to Iran in the mid-1970s.  Try getting rid
> of just one of those guidebooks and there will be unpleasant repercussions.
> Not only do his children and grandchildren know every item donated from his
> estate but they are one of the largest single source of funds for the
> operation of the museum.  Do you really want to tell them the items they
> want to donate don't work for you?
>
> And on multiple items.  Do you want a WWII army uniform?  I have the one
> that belonged to the owner of the newspaper, an automobile dealership, two
> mayors, three city councilmen, one superintendent of schools, and a few
> ranchers.  Almost every one was part of a larger collection where the choice
> was all or nothing.  By taking them all we have acquired some wonderful
> furniture, unique photos, military and community memorabilia, and other
> items that have fleshed out our holdings.
>
> Yes, in a perfect world every museum starts off with an ironclad collections
> policy, there focus and mission never changes, they have always been run by
> professionals, and the public is generous and understanding.  In the real
> world it doesn't happen like that.
>
> And now I will step off my soapbox.
>
> Nikkie Cooper, Curator
> Fort Morgan Museum
>
> P.O. Box 184
> Fort Morgan, CO 80701
> 970-867-6331
> [log in to unmask]
>

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