Dear Melinda, I don't know your situation, but at many Universities the collections belong to the University or to the Board of Regents. If you have a good assessment of the value of your collections, then it might be worth having a meeting with your University lawyer to discuss potential liability issues. It could also be helpfull to have documentation that you have assured/promised donors that the Gallery/University will care for their donated works. A letter from the lawyer might help to shake things loose and get the special attention you are seeking. All the Best! Stefan Dr. Stefan Sommer, Vice President Association of College and University Museums and Galleries www.acumg.org >===== Original Message From Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]> ===== >Hello, > >I am the Collections Manager for a small University Gallery/Museum and >am in the process of writing a security/access policy for the Museum. >Our facility is managed by the University’s Physical Plant which means >that all Physical Plant staff have keys and access >to the Museum and Collections Storage areas and all contract work goes >through them. This presents a huge problem and I am trying to >change this policy. Physical changes such as new locks, swipe card >entry, etc. are in the works, but the larger obstacle is getting the >Physical Plant and University to see that we are a unique entity with >unique needs and that restricted access is standard practice and that >we need to change the existing policy. Are there any University Museum >staff out there in a similar situation and do you have sample policies >you could share in regards to internal access? > >Thanks for your assistance, >Melinda McPeek > >========================================================= >Important Subscriber Information: > >The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). > >If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). Dr. Stefan Sommer, Director of Education Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research Northern Arizona University Campus Box 5640 Flagstaff, AZ 86011 MNA Office: (928) 774-5211 ext. 204 NAU Office: (928) 523-4463 Home Office: (928) 214-6324 [log in to unmask] ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).