Hi,
Proper us of funds raised by sale of collections
material should be defined in documents such as your Collections Policy and,
most of all, your institutional Code of Ethics.
The Museum I direct just received its
first AAM accreditation early this year. The fate of proceeds arising from the sales
of de-accessioned collection items was exhaustively discussed and refined in
the presentation of our collections policy to the accreditation committee.
In the long run, the museum’s ability to
secure new collection items (and financial gifts) may be jeopardized by
controversial de-accessions.
Cheers,
José
________________________________________________________
José H. Leal, Ph.D., Director
Editor, The Nautilus
(239)395-2233
fax (239)395-6706
P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
From:
Sent: Monday, November 08, 2010
10:03 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L]
controversial deaccession/loss of object
Candace,
I certainly wasn't offended. I didn't mean to put you on the defensive
either. Deaccessions are always looked at closely. The concerns of
the greater community should be addressed. Usually these kind of issues
arise when the institution hasn't done a good job of explaining the deaccession
process to the public and incorrect assumptions are made. That certainly
may be the case with this auction as well.
I look at the minor controversy the Detroit Art Institute raised when
it was deaccessioning and aucitoning off a flag from the
Others have brought up good points as far as what an appropriate use of
the money would be. I certainly am not against the auction merely because
it's selling off deaccessioned material. That happens all the time.
The debate now is where it should be: What is the proper use of the funds
raised by the deaccessioning.
Reading the catalog over again, I would question the nature of the
exhibits and what the Historical Society is planning. There really isn't
a lot of information in a little blurb written by the auction house for thier
catalog. We may very well be getting an incomplete picture of what is
planned.
I used to live and work in
Brian Rayca
On Mon, Nov 8, 2010 at 8:55 AM, Candace Perry <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
All right. I was simply posting because I have heard much
concern from individuals in our greater community. Therefore it is
“controversial.” Incidentally, I don’t think exhibitions are generally
considered appropriate use of deaccession funds, and I do not think that the
historical society is looking to improve their collection. Perhaps the mindset
has changed.
Pardon me for offending you.
Candace Perry
From:
Sent: Monday, November 08, 2010
7:54 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L]
controversial deaccession/loss of object
I don't see whuy
this would be controversial in any way? Unlike more controversial
deaccessions where the money was used on operating expenses, there doesn't seem
to be anything underhanded in what is shown in the catalog. I agree with
Carl. So long as the hisotrical Society is doing this ubove board and for
improvements to the collection, and or exhibitions why would it be considered
controversial?
Brian Rayca
On Sun, Nov 7,
2010 at 8:30 PM, Cass Karl <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
I'm not sure
what's so suspicious about the deaccession of these items. I would assume
that the change in the museum's mission was well thought out and in response to
what the constituency of the museum wants. I also think it's fairly
obvious that these items (although lovely and valuable) no longer fit the
mission of the institution where they are held, and as such, deaccession
is a valid option. I would also assume that the museum has ensured that
they have clear title to the objects, and that the community that supports the
museum will not object to their sale (it is a relatively public auction, after
all). I would also assume that the museum needs the money that will
be generated by this auction (for the aforementioned "interactive
exhibits" I assume), or they wouldn't be doing it.
I know that's a
lot of assumptions, but I don't see any reason to think the worst
based on just this blurb from the auction catalog. Maybe there's more to
the story that I am missing...
The missing
sampler, especially right before the auction, *is* a bit odd. I'll
give you that.
On Sun, Nov 7,
2010 at 1:45 PM, Deb Fuller <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
On Sun, Nov 7,
2010 at 12:51 PM, Candace Perry
<[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> The Burlington County Historical Society in
>
> http://issuu.com/freemansauction/docs/1387
>
> Please go to page 57 in the catalog. Take special note of the text
about the reasoning behind the deaccession.
Minor
clarification - if you type in page 57 at the top of the screen
to jump to the page, the actual page number in the catalog is 54.
Interactive exhibits, eh? Hurm.
Deb Fuller
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