I must applaud Nikki's statement of reality. Sometimes one even takes items
because that is the only thing that someone has to give, and it would do
great hurt to them if one were not to accept their gift of heart. Museums
should not forget heart and should not become object-oriented machines.
Otherwise, curators could be replaced by computers that never make a
mistake.
Nicholas Burlakoff
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf
Of Curator Fort Morgan Museum
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2003 11:26 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Disposition of deaccessions
Trent,
You hit my buttons. I know that wasn't your goal, but...
Let me drop a line about small history museums. For the most part we were
started by well meaning individuals and run totally by volunteers for the
first part of our existence. These individuals gave us an outstanding
foundation to build upon. They also had the thought process that if it
belonged to a local person it obviously told a local story. This is not
necessarily how local history is interpreted today, but ...
Now throw in a good old fashion case of ancestor worship, "Well, he did
start the bank, and was on the school board, and was the mayor. So of
course we want anything of his we can get." Unfortunately this includes the
fifteen guidebooks from his trip to Iran in the mid-1970s. Try getting rid
of just one of those guidebooks and there will be unpleasant repercussions.
Not only do his children and grandchildren know every item donated from his
estate but they are one of the largest single source of funds for the
operation of the museum. Do you really want to tell them the items they
want to donate don't work for you?
And on multiple items. Do you want a WWII army uniform? I have the one
that belonged to the owner of the newspaper, an automobile dealership, two
mayors, three city councilmen, one superintendent of schools, and a few
ranchers. Almost every one was part of a larger collection where the choice
was all or nothing. By taking them all we have acquired some wonderful
furniture, unique photos, military and community memorabilia, and other
items that have fleshed out our holdings.
Yes, in a perfect world every museum starts off with an ironclad collections
policy, there focus and mission never changes, they have always been run by
professionals, and the public is generous and understanding. In the real
world it doesn't happen like that.
And now I will step off my soapbox.
Nikkie Cooper, Curator
Fort Morgan Museum
P.O. Box 184
Fort Morgan, CO 80701
970-867-6331
[log in to unmask]
----- Original Message -----
From: "Trent Litchfield" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2003 8:24 AM
Subject: Re: Disposition of deaccessions
> The thread on deaccessioning items has been interesting and informative
with
> several helpful suggestions being posted. However, I think that part of
the
> solution is to avoid the touchy subject of deacessioning items. A well
> planned and followed mission statment and collection policy can be a great
> help. Many people have commented about having numerous items not related
to
> the the museum's mission or several examples of the same artifact. Before
> items are accessioned they should be evaulated to make sure that they fit
> into the museum's mission statement and scope of collecting. Also, if a
> museum already has numerous examples of the save artifact addtional ones
> should not be accepted. Having said all that I realize this often only
> happens in a ideal setting and things do get into a collection that
> shouldn't, but a major part of any deacessioning effort should be a study
to
> discover what went wrong in the overall scheme of things that resulted in
> need for deacessioning. I hope that this isn't too long and doesn't sound
> like I am giving a lecture. I just thought only one side of the problem
was
> being addressed here. A great deal of attention was being give to the
> solution but very little attention was being given to preventing the
> problem. If the over all problems are not addressed museums can find
> themselves addressing the problem of deacession items every few years.
This
> takes too much time away from other projects and there is a great risk of
> public relations problems--so the less often you have to do it the better.
>
> Just my two cents.
>
> Trent Litchfield
> Graduate Student
> Murray State University
>
>
>
>
>
>
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