Heather,
I am on the collection committee of an institution which is a very similar situation. Facilities are county owned, but collections are owned by a private corporation. All objects are currently stored in or on said county property, and most are in need of improved storage/housing.
The general feeling is that one is greatly diminished without the other, and that they should remain as coherent as possible. Since the majority of the funding for the institution also comes from the county, the plan is to have the county build a large collections storage facility on-site or nearby. It will also likely house the collections of other institutions in whose pies the county has its fingers(so to speak).
In this case, documents are not the majority of the volume, as the county has existing records retention facilities. Artifacts are the bulk of the collections.
Unfortunately, the plan has not yet been fully resolved, so I cannot offer that information yet. You are not alone in your quandary.
Mark Janzen
Registrar/Collections Manager
Ulrich Museum of Art
Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection
316-978-5850
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Heather McClenahan
Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2007 11:55 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Murky waters
Listers,
We are looking for some advice and help for what we hope is not a
unique situation. We are a small historical society that is under
contract with the county government to run a museum and archives (the
contract covers less than 1/3 of the society's operating budget). The
collection belongs to us but is housed in county-owned buildings.
Because of space and environmental issues, there is some discussion
about building a new archival facility. Some on our board and in the
community are questioning whether the county should be building a new
facility for what is essentially a private organization. Others argue
the county has a responsibility to support the culture and history of
the community.
Has anyone else been through anything like this before? Your
advice, thoughts, and comments are appreciated, on or off list.
As a bit of background, our collection and archives contain a great
deal of town-related matter like civic club records, county planning
documents, and school planning reports. The county does not have a
facility for archiving its own records, and there is some discussion
about making the new facility for both county records and historical
archives.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Heather McClenahan, museum assistant/web master
Los Alamos Historical Society
http://www.losalamoshistory.org
[log in to unmask]
PO Box 43
1921 Juniper St.
Los Alamos, NM 875444
505-662-6272 (office)
505-470-2912 (cell)
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