Suzanne,
The Shaker Museum and Library holds a collection of more than 40,000 objects, imprint, manuscripts, and photographs and we do not have the entire collection on display at any one time, and never will. We do rotate objects in and off exhibitions, so that we can continue to encourage visitors to return to see more, so that objects that need conservation aren't simply missed from an exhibition, and so that we are able to honor off-site loans to appropriate exhibitions. We are also a study center for Shaker objects, and researchers use our object and library collections for study. In my best estimation, only about 30% of our total collection is on display at any one time in our current museum buildings.
Sharon Duane Koomler
Curator
Shaker Museum and Library
Old Chatham and New Lebanon, New York
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