In a message dated 11/1/2006 1:23:55 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, PodunkLander writes: Oh Deb - I was writing/posting before I read this and my thoughts are in step with what you've written here. Also, an interesting issue arose regarding one of the justifications for the deaccession of the material -as mentioned by the original poster and other posts..about the questionable historical accuracy of the work. It's difficult to comment on this without knowing more details...but it seems this justification may disregard an individuals' interpretation, and that the work may be a 'rendition'. Also, that the 'historical accuracy could not be verified' would not be a substantial justification I would use when considering deaccessioning something. Just because it can't be verified at this point in time doesn't mean that it couldn't be in the future...is what I would keep in mind. I also would not consider the fact that other museums have the same and/or similar materials in their collections as a deciding factor. I really don't mean to criticize the actions/factors that the museum in considered for the deaccesion to begin with, but all the justifications that had been mentioned in doing so, aren't one's that I would consider. Therefore, I can see where the volunteer may have thought the same. Pam In a message dated 11/1/2006 9:34:19 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [log in to unmask] writes: Dangit. My laptop went wiggy and sent the message before I was finished. On 11/1/06, Reine Hauser <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > Can you arrange for other volunteer duties for this volunteer that do not > permit him access to the trash, or other areas that may be problematic? > Such as staffing a booth at a community fair or festivals outside the museum > itself, that promote the institution, or something like that? As the old saying goes, "one man's trash...." Personally, I think if you throw stuff away in the trash, you have no right to tell people not to take it. You have clearly demonstrated that you do not want said items, regardless of their value. Putting them into a trash bin to be dumped at a public dumpster is a pretty clear signal that the items are fair game. It is a far cry from putting them in a bin to be shredded or a burn bag for classified materials. And I think legally, if the trash is on a public street or if someone has legal access to it (like a museum volunteer who is allowed to go "behind the scenes") you have no right to restrict people from your trash bins. If they were locked away or on your property and someone trespassed to get to it, that's a different story. Or at least that is what I have gathered from watching countless episodes of Law & Order. :) Now donating them to another museum is a little weird but if I was a volunteer and not a museum professional and saw some "art" tossed in a trash bin behind a museum, I'd probably be tempted to rescue them and find them a good home. Thus I'd give the volunteer the benefit of the doubt and explain the museum policies to him. He did donate it to another museum instead of trying to hawk it on eBay so it seems like he was genuinely trying to find the art a good home and not trying to make a buck off of it. It also sounds like the museum in question was a little careless in tossing out deaccessioned materials. Perhaps next time, the curators could show the volunteers the materials and ask if anyone wants it before it is chucked in the bin or at least mangle the art ifacts enough so that people won't want to fish them out of the trash. deb Pamela Silvestri, Volunteer Assistant Museum Director Northeast States Civilian Conservation Corps Museum Shenipsit State Forest Headquarters 166 Chestnut Hill Road Stafford Springs, Connecticut 06076 Telephone: (860) 684-3430 e-mail: [log in to unmask] or [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).