Elena,

Could you ask volunteers to do the original sort for you? And then recruit those volunteers from your local VFW or Legion? Veterans would have a better understanding of military gear. Do you have clear written parameters for what you except and why (above and beyond what is on your website)? We used to have drop offs (and by that I mean bundles left by the back door when no one was here) but that stopped when the museum hired staff and it became known that we wanted to know the story behind the item.

We certainly don't get the volume of donations that you get - but our process is staff member (me) does the original sort, it goes to the collections committee which is made up of board members, local volunteers (one is retired museum person, one is retired auctioneer, a third is local historian) and me (but I have no vote on the committee). If the committee approves the item it goes to the full board for a vote. Committee only meets three/four times a year, so the board gets a number of items at once.

Bronwen Anderson-Sanders (For once not jealous of bigger institutions!)

Mifflinburg Buggy Museum

598 Green Street, Mifflinburg, PA 17844

570.966.1355

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On Tue, Jun 27, 2017 at 1:30 PM, Elena Sanderlin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

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: elena.sanderlin@nationalww2museum.org

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Bronwen Anderson-Sanders, Executive Director

Mifflinburg Buggy Museum

598 Green Street, Mifflinburg, PA 17844

570-966-1355

www.buggymuseum.org

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