Dear Lori, Before you make any decision, do you have an inventory of these artifacts? I think that you could just as easily sell the material at public auction. Perhaps you could have a day when your local historical societies come to your storage units and choose what they want. Whatever they don't take goes to auction. I'm not thrilled with the idea of giving the collections to that organization you mention. Candace Perry Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center ----- Original Message ----- From: Lori Tomlinson To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2001 6:28 PM Subject: Collections Dilemma Hello all. I am seeking your advice. I am the director of a small history/natural history museum. I have finally convinced my board that we need to make our collections management a top priority. The collections have been neglected for years... improperly accessioned (or not accessioned at all), improperly stored, many items having no relation to our mission. Most are kept in off-site in two storage units, for which we pay monthly rent. I have been approached by an emerging non-profit organization (historical exhibit producers; official non profit status is pending) to take the bulk of the non-related items from us as a donation. In turn, they will donate the items to other organizations, trade for other artifacts, or sell outright to anyone willing to buy. I am afraid that this organization will not follow AAM standards in all their transactions (such as using the proceeds from artifact sales to purchase more artifacts, or to care for their current collections). Knowing this, do we take the easy way out, saving countless hours trying to find takers for the items ourselves, or take the time to distribute items ourselves, making every possible effort to ensure as many items as possible are kept in the public trust? Note that we have a small staff (4) and that much of the work to distribute artifacts would fall to myself and any board members I can get to help. Also, we are working toward AAM accreditation in the next 4 - 5 years. A Frazzled Director