Andrew - we do have these - and similar words in our donation / entry
documentation. Have worked in two museums which also had tiers - largely
at my instigation. I will answer below for the museum I now work for.
When I was still at the University of Witwatersrand Bleloch Museum of
Geoplogy we had the following:
Type collection
Research collections - sets of specimens specific to and
illustrative of specific theses / papers (may inclide types)
Reference collection - illustrative of specific stratigraphies,
building materials, mines, etc.
Teaching collection - for useage but not destruction
Disposable material - used for destructive teaching purposes (mostly
easily recollectable), preparing teaching sets for schools - sets were
donated to schools and never seen again :-)
The contents of research collections were very specifically spelled out
in a policy and were examined by me as curator as a part of the
requirements for awarding of a degree.
See below for NCHM
Andrew Goldstein wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> I'm interested in hearing from museums that have tiered collections,
> i.e., official designations for the permitted usage of their
> collections. Our museum has a collection of about 17,000 artifacts
> and 37,000 items in our archive and I am looking for ways to refine
> our collection and address some concerns about their use.
>
> At the moment we are looking at transferring some items in our
> collection to an education collection, which will be under the
> supervision of our education department. I have also been considering
> creating a third tier for our few artifacts that are used in a
> hands-on way: for example, we have a collection of multiple church
> pews from the same church and I have been asked if we can permit one
> or two of them to be used for seating. This would alleviate problems
> with both seating capability in the museum and storage space issues,
> although it obviously raises some concerns about the usage
> of collections. Another option I have considered is the
> deaccessioning of certain similar objects that lack an appropriate
> provenance and documentation, but retaining those objects for museum
> use outside of the Collections department.
>
> I am of course revising our donation form to reflect the possibility
> that artifacts may be used for educational outreach and/or hands-on
> usage, making the donor aware of these options and allowing for their
> refusal (I'm thinking check-boxes for Tiers 1,2, and 3, as many as apply).
>
> What I would like to know is:
>
> 1. Does your museum have multiple tiers within your collection?
YES
>
> 2. If so, how many? What are the categories you utilize?
Three - the permanent collection, replicas and educational
material (can be used and ultimately written off - has duplicate
objects, objects without provenance, etc. and material specifically
manufactured for the purpose) and material specifically collected for
use - i.e. in restoration, making replicas,etc.
>
> 3. Is this reflected in your collection policy? If so, how? How are
> deaccessions
Yes - replica and use material do not have to go through a
formal de-accession process - however, degrading from permanet to either
of the other two requires normal de-accession process.
>
> 4. Are items in all categories accessioned? Do you use the same
> accessioning system for each category?
Yes - but in separate registers with different collection codes
>
> 5. Another option being considered is the acquisition of objects with
> the intent of putting them to use, but not accessioning them into the
> collection (treating them more as prop than artifact). Documentation
> would still be kept on the objects, essentially resulting in the same
> effect as a third tier but outside of our accessioned collection.
I think I have covered this above.
Hope this helps
Glyn
--
Glyn Balkwill
Collections Manager
National Cultural History Museum
PO Box 28088
SUNNYSIDE
0132 RSA
Tel(w):27 (0)12 324-6082; Tel(h): 27 (0)12 664-1973; Cell: 27 (0)82 770-7826
Fax :27 (0)12 328-5173; Email : [log in to unmask]
Any opinions expressed are strictly my own
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
|