The answer to your question lies in your collecting strategy, which should be part of your acquisition policy. This strategy and policy are part of a more comprehensive Collections Management Policy, which is designed to guide and protect your institution. If your institution doesn't have a Collections Management Policy, then your board/leadership needs to create one. With such a set of policies in place, this kind of problem is less likely to arise. This requires defining the mission of your institution and the policies and strategies that will help you meet your mission. A CMP will include an acquisition policy, a deaccession policy, loan policies, a photographic reproduction policy, a conservation policy, an access to policy, and others. It sounds like your institution has gathered a lot of irrelevant material over the years. I would suggest you determine your mission statement first and then determine what objects help you carry out your mission. As you draft your new policies, you'll be surprised at how easy it can be to rid yourself of irrelevant material.
Jeff Tenuth
Science and Technology Collection Manager
Indiana State Museum
Indianapolis, Indiana
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From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Wouters, Gina (Vizcaya)
Sent: Friday, July 29, 2011 9:56 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Textiles in Storage
Dear Colleagues,
Our institution has hundreds of textile fragments, remnants, and samples stored in various locations throughout the historic house museum. These range from historic fragments to modern fabric swatches and rolls. Storage space is very limited here, so we are making efforts to consolidate these textiles and consider what if anything can be discarded. My question is this, what should be stored and what should be discarded? For example, we have badly deteriorated original wall silks from one of our decorated rooms, which was replaced with a replica in the 1960's. How much of the original should we keep considering that it is in very poor condition? Would it be acceptable to keep a portion of the textile that is in good condition, document the rest, and then discard it? We also have rolls of modern fabric that was used in the 1960-80's to reupholster. We will never use these again, so should we keep them?
If storage space were not an issue, we would probably consider keeping many of the textiles, but since this is not the case, I am wondering if there are any protocols that should be kept in mind.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Many thanks,
Gina Wouters
Assistant Curator
Vizcaya Museum & Gardens
3251 South Miami Avenue
Miami, FL 33129
t: 305-860-8453
f: 305-250-9117
www.vizcayamuseum.org<http://www.vizcayamuseum.org>
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