>Date:    Tue, 10 Sep 1996 07:30:19 +0000
>From:    "Harry Needham (Tel 776-8612)" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: ethics-auction fundraising - need for a policy
>
>I agree with Margaret Lyman's position on this issue - which underlines the
>need for a museum contemplating disposing of all or part of a collection to
>have a clear and public statement of policy on the matter. Yet how many museums
>have actually taken the time to develop such a policy and keep it up to date?
>The related policy - equally required - concerns acquisitions and the need for
>the donor to surrender to the museum, in a legally binding manner, ALL rights
>to ownership of the artifact(s) being donated to the museum, including the
>right to dispose of it by sale, gift or destruction.
>
>If anyone is struggling with the development of such policies, I would be happy
>to share ours (which I developed earlier this year) with them. I won't say that
>they're foolproof (is anything?), but they may be useful.
>
>Harry Needham
>Director, Programmes & Operations
>Canadian War Museum


The best deaccession policy is a good accession policy.  I updated our
policies and donation paperwork about 2.5 years ago, and am willing to share
with anyone collecting samples for their own update projects.

Margaret Lyman
Curator of Collections
Silver City Museum
312 W. Broadway
Silver City, NM 88061
505-538-5921
SCMuseum@zianet