Becca, The first thing that popped into my mind with this issue and looking for answers for it would be NAGPRA. I know it deals with a completely different category but the Native American artifacts housed by the museum are not truly theirs unless stated and can be taken out anytime the specific tribe wants to say in ceremonies or such. The NAGPRA policies might be able to help out in some sort of way. Just a suggestion. _____ From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Becca Hiller Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2007 3:25 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Collections Policy Help! Listserv members, Our organization is exploring the possibility of a "working agricultural" collection. The artifacts that would be part of this would be treated with care while being used on a semi regular basis. Essentially the items would be living history artifacts but with a major difference-the original owners would most likely be the ones who would take them out for demonstrations and parades-not museum employees or volunteers. The driving force behind this is a successful annual Tired Iron show which we have every year combined with a new "Agricultural and Automobile" addition being built. There is a distinct Already a number of people have approached us about 'donating' artifacts but they want to have access to them . . . which goes firmly against our permanent collections policy. Despite the clear guidelines in our policy the reality is that this will likely be allowed to happen so . . . to approach this from a positive stance the staff has discussed creating a working collection which would allow the artifacts to be used and still have policies that do apply to their specific circumstances and would guide the staff's care of them. With this background in mind what I would like to know is do any of your institutions have policies which cover artifacts that can still be used by the donors? If so would you be willing to share them with us? We are also interested in policies from living history organizations that discuss how items are to be cared for and how does the organization address issues regarding disposal if the artifacts are damaged beyond repair and are not suitable (or needed) in the permanent collection. In our case the items would be tractors, threshers, automobiles, horse drawn implements etc. Also, we are interested in suggestions anyone might have for us. This is new territory and we welcome advice. To give you an idea of just a few of the questions running through our heads . . . What if the donor passes on, what is the disposition of the artifact? Do we allow descendents to use the artifacts in perpetuity? Does the artifact move to the permanent collection? What if we do not want the artifact in the permanent collection? What if repairs are needed that are more expensive then we can afford or are willing to pay? Whose truly responsible? What if the artifact is damaged while being used? Is the person using it responsible when it was donated to us with the understanding that it would be used? (lets assume the person is the donor) I could go on and on with the questions that have occurred to us. But I am sure you get the point from the ones I have listed. Any help you can give is appreciated. Becca Hiller Curator/Archivist Santa Fe Trail Center www.santafetrailcenter.org ========================================================= 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). ========================================================= 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).