Military museums have the same accession problems that other museums have…and more.

 

Each donation, especially a uniform, medals and other individual materials of a veteran have a high “memorial” value, regardless of their other characteristics. As physical anthropologist for the Army in the 1970s, I saw first-hand that objects associated with a deceased soldier take on higher levels of meaning. The offer itself is a way of memorializing the soldier’s life and sacrifice. Denying such acquisitions may be perceived as negatively reflecting on the associated person, rather than the objects, themselves.

 

My sense is that lots of museums have gone thru this dilemma with the passing of the Greatest Generation, are going to see it again with the Vietnam era vets and should prepare for it when the veterans of Iraq & Afghanistan decide to offer their material.

 

I’d be very interested in learning more about how you deal with these issues. If I can help, I’d be happy to do that, too.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bp

 

 

Hello Listers -

 

I am reaching out to those who work at large cultural institutions and receive an abundant amount of donor inquiries. We are looking for examples of 1) how you handle a large volume of offers/inquiries, 2) what percentage of offers are actually accepted, and 3) what your acquisition process is for determining what is accepted.

 

To explain a little about our situation: we generally receive a couple/few hundred donation offers a month. Our curators are expected to reply to each and every inquiry, regardless of relevance/interest on behalf of the museum (including drop-offs, for which a member of the curatorial staff is expected to meet with the “donor” if at all possible). Needless to say, this isn’t a sustainable situation. We do have guidelines on our website, but that hasn’t been all that effective (see link below).

 

Specific questions (though feel free to add anything you think is helpful)

·        How many donation offers do you receive monthly, on average?

·        What procedures do you have in place to filter through so many inquiries/offers?

·        What kind of process do potential collections go through to be accepted into permanent collection? Assuming you have Collections or Acquisitions Committee in place, who comprises it? A chair from the board? Members of the collections and curatorial staff? Outside experts? Do you use another form besides a TCR or in an addition to a TCR?

 

Donate an artifact: http://www.nationalww2museum.org/give/donate-an-artifact/index.html

 

Thanks you in advance for your responses.

 

Best,

Elena

 

 

Elena Sanderlin | Registrar | Curatorial & Collections Department

The National WWII Museum | 945 Magazine Street, New Orleans, LA 70130

Work #: (504) 528-1944 x 439 | Email: [log in to unmask]

 

 

 

 

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