Hello,
I hope you will please excuse any cross-posting. 

I have to ask some advice on a difficult situation. The museum where I work is facing severe cutbacks due to the struggling economy. Fortunately, we will continue to be able to keep our doors open, though on a much reduced basis with significantly less staff. Unfortunately, one position we are losing is our Collections Manager, and we are being asked to essentially 'mothball' our collections until such time as our endowment recovers significantly enough or other financial sources help fill the gap enough to resume more ideal operations. 

This will almost certainly include expanding the temperature range that we allow, placing a 99.9% moratorium on the acquisition of new objects, and limited public access to items for research. 

Have any of you, or institutions that you know of, been through a similar process? If so, how did you manage the process and still stay consistent with your mission and legal/public obligations? Are there policies or procedures that you developed that you would be willing to share?

We are hoping to learn from others how to make the best of this challenging situation. I thank you in advance for any thoughts you can share.

Sincerely,
Trena

Trena Winans-Bagnall
Curator of Education
Midland County Historical Society
3417 W. Main Street
Midland, MI 48640
(989) 631-5930 ext 1311
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www.mcfta.org