On Thu, 2 May 1996 [log in to unmask] wrote:
> Aside from auctioning things off and donating them to other collections, what
> happens to works that are considered undesirable to any person or
> institution?
>
If parts from such "undesirable" objects are still intact, we use them to
repair other items, so they are deaccessioned to our conservation lab.
Many truly undesirable items are deaccesioned and then simply (gasp!)
destroyed. To prevent non-collections staff from finding them in the
trash, we smash those that are breakable to smithereens before putting them
out.
Robin Lipp
Collections Manager
The Children's Museum of Indianapolis