First of all, IF you have a collections policy, that should guide your
decision (does it allow for "use" of collection objects, does it allow
repair or restoration, etc.)  As a new director of a small rural
museum, you may not have a collection policy yet.  With no policy to
giude you, I would propose this question...

If those items came through your doors *today*, would you accept them
into the collection or not?  If not, that is a strong indication that
they could be deaccessioned and used.  If so, most likely they should
not be used and rather be preserved.

I have been in this situation many times, and like others have stated,
I have seen many things accessioned that never should have been (such
as a three ring binder used to hold board meeting notes).  This will
not be the last time you have to make this after-the-fact
determination.



On 4/19/12, Emily Apple <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I have just become the new director of a small rural museum. We have found
> a couple of things - a desk and a church pew - which have been used by
> volunteers (the desk is our geneaologist's desk) and were just discovered
> to have been accessioned artifacts. The team just noticed in moving things
> around that these pieces had accession numbers, and thus are parts of our
> collection. So, I am wondering how to proceed; should we...
>
> Maintain the accessioned status and stop using the items?
> Maintain the accessioned status and continue using the items, perhaps with
> plexi covering the desk top, etc. or archival fabris covering the church
> pew?
> De-accession the desk and pew to be used in the museum?
>
> This is a tough one, and as an emerging professional, I have not run into
> this issue yet. Thank you for your suggestions,
>
> --
> Emily M. Apple
> [log in to unmask]
> [log in to unmask]
>
> *"Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue
> that counts."  Winston Churchill
>
> **"Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared
> believe that something inside of them was superior to circumstance." Bruce
> Barton***
>
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