Blackwater Draw Museum Curator

Eastern New Mexico University

(575) 562-2103

Goal:

I am trying to identify repositories with archaeological collections who have 1. actively deaccessioned all or parts of their collections and 2. have reintegrated deaccessioned materials into their educational programs, teaching trunks, etc. This information will be used in the development of a case studies section of an online webinar for the Society for American Archaeology, which will be broadcast in December, 2019. If you have concerns about the use of any of your data or information, please reach out to me at the email address above.

 

Questions:

1.    Does your institution have a formal deaccessioning protocol in place? If so, is this available on your web page or is it an internal document? If you have no formal protocol but have deaccessioned, feel free to submit this questionnaire anonymously, but please let me know the state or the region so I can make comparisons.

 

 

 

2.    Has your institution ever deaccessioned archaeological materials from its collections?

 

 

3.    If yes, what kind of materials were deaccessioned? Indicate all that apply and add any other categories in the space for “other.”

 

Pottery                        Lithics                        Groundstone                        Fire-cracked Rock

 

Metal                          Porcelain                   Fiber Perishables                Ammo/Ordnance

 

Bone                          Clothing                     Beads                                     Other__________

 

 

4.    How much material was deaccessioned?

 

0-10 objects              10-50 objects            50+ objects            1 or more entire collections

 

 

5.    Why was the material deaccessioned? For example, was there a surplus of the type of object, was it damaged, lacked provenience, etc.?

 

 

 

 

6.    What types of collections were materials deaccessioned from?

 

Federal agencies/lands                  State agencies/lands          Private agencies/lands

 

Gifts                      Orphan Collections                      Found-in-Collection Objects

 

Other (please specify):_____________________

 

 

 

7.    What is your disposal protocol? (Where do items or collections go when deaccessioned?)

 

 

 

 

8.    Have you ever used deaccessioned items/collections for educational purposes? Please give examples, if so.

 

 

 

 

9.    Are you aware of the proposed rule to amend 36 CFR 79 to allow for federal deaccessions?

 

 

 

10.  Please provide any further information that you deem relevant, and provide contact information and the name of your institution. If responding anonymously, please provide your state or region.