Most of us can tell a tale of a deaccession and disposal gone wrong,
which is why it is so critical to have in place good deaccession and
disposal policies and procedures, as detailed in chapter eight of my
book, "Things Great and Small: Collections Management Policies," which
was recently published by AAM.  The text was thoroughly reviewed by
several registrars to present best practices and standards in the
profession.

Attitudes about deaccessioning have changed greatly during the last 100
years.  Today, it is recognized that the best control that a museum has
over deaccessioning is a good accessions policy.  That said, most
museums do have to deaccession objects from time to time.  The
deaccessioning policy should be robust, describing the level of
authorization necessary, how to deal with title and other legal
restrictions, what to do about notification, and how the process is to
be documented.  Disposal methods should be described carefully, as there
is no correct way to dispose of all deaccessioned objects.  The chapter
includes several tables to guide deaccessioning and disposal decisions,
and some sample deaccessioning policies.

The original poster [Museum A] mentioned that "the donation acceptance
form from the other museum [Museum B]...lists our museum and museum
director on the form."  If Museum A and/or its director are listed as
the donor, then this is fraudulent and Museum A should demand that the
form be corrected immediately.  If the name of Museum A is on the form
in the description of where the materials came from, then Museum A
should contact Museum B and explain the reasons for the deaccessioning,
and request that the name of Museum A be removed from the documents.

In any case, Museum A needs to work with the docent to help him
understand why his actions were wrong.  A good starting place is to make
sure that all the docents read and understand Museum A's code of ethics
and the AAM Code of Ethics for Museums.  As discussed in chapter 17 of
the book, each museum should develop "a code of ethics that is
appropriate for its operations" and require "adherence from staff,
volunteers, and all members of the governing authority."  Many museums
have job descriptions for their volunteers that include the requirement
to follow the code of ethics.  Not only does this help protect the
museum, it reinforces with the volunteers how valuable and appreciated
their efforts are, and that they are included as members of the museum
community.

--John

John E. Simmons
Collections Manager, Natural History Museum & Biodiversity Research
Center
and
Director, Museum Studies Program
University of Kansas
1345 Jayhawk Boulevard
Lawrence, Kansas 66045-7561
Telephone 785-864-4508
FAX 785-864-5335
[log in to unmask]
www.nhm.ku.edu/herpetology
www.ku.edu/~museumst
 
 

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Diane Gutenkauf
Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2006 9:51 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Strange situation

On Wed, 1 Nov 2006 15:46:07 -0800, Shirley Wajda 
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>From the original posting, it isn't clear to me that the docent
>a volunteer.

...snip...

Yes, in fact the docent is a volunteer, this is clearly stated by the
original 
poster. 

>The consequences of acting against
>institutional policy must be weighed against the docent's status in
>relation to the institution.

Sorry, I don't agree. Policy is Policy and once it is approved by the
Board, 
must guide the actions of ALL staff and volunteers. That's kind of the
point. 

>My assumption is that said
>person was a volunteer and wouldn't necessary know standard operating
>procedures when it comes to deaccessioning.

Again you might find it helpful to follow the complete thread of this
discusison 
as the original poster has clarified that the volunteer was informed of
the 
museum's SOP. Repeatedly. 

 >But what in the world
>was he doing picking over the trash--even inside the building? That
>seems problematic on several levels! And then taking it upon
>himself to "rescue" the materials after being instructed.
>That would deserve a reprimand or something more severe if he were an
>employee. 

Now you're getting it. 


>It's also unclear to me why another museum would take this "donation"
>from the docent and not question the process, request information,
>paperwork, etc.

Because not every museum is run by professionals who know what questions

to ask. Because the material might have been misrepresented. Because
this 
isn't a perfect world. 

>I wonder if there's any possibility of confusion
>in the paperwork--that is to say, the docent was asked the source of
>the "donation" as a matter of provenance and property issues and
>somehow that translated to the legitimate transfer of the items from
>one museum to another.

All things are possible.


>Last, as a university-affiliated scholar in American material culture
>and American Studies interested in issues of historical memory (in
>which historical accuracy is often not achieved), and in
>collecting practices, I worry about the decision to dispose (a kinder
>word than "trash") of these materials. How similar were these
>materials to those donated to the other institutions? Was one of
>those institutions the recipient of these materials? What does
>that mean?
>

A) The museum has made a strong case for the extreme lack of historical 
accuracy of this material
B) Deaccession by disposal is a legitimate process sanctioned by anyone
with 
credibility...Malaro, AAM, AASLH....RC-AAM...
C) Sigh. The stuff was trash. Throwing trash away is OK. 

>I certainly understand the storage and financial issues historical
>houses, historical societies, libraries, and museums face. But
>somehow these materials were considered valuable in the past, 

By a former employee with no ability to filter...It happens to the best
of 
museums. That's one reason we have deaccession policies and collections 
policies and prodedures. To act as guidelines so accessioning decisions
are 
elevated above the realm of the capricious.  

Read the original poster's most recent message. The museum acted
properly 
and in both their best interest and the interest of the collection.

Diane

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