I worked on a few large deaccessioning projects while at the Art Institute
of Chicago.  We sent courtesy letters to the heirs of donors (when they
could be found), and offered items to other institutions where appropriate.
The entire process was lenghty and time-consuming, but here is what we did
in case it might help someone.

An outside specialist with no commercial interest in our collection (a
respected curator from another institution) came in and went through our
collection to make judgements and recommendations on all of the pieces
(within her specialty) which we were considering deaccessioning.  Her
judgements were based on our collections criteria, which were: the item had
to be displayable, had to fit in with our collections focus, had to be
deemed "museum quality", and had to be in salvagable condition.  Items that
didn't fit this were considered for deaccessioning.

Next, we had the major auction houses come out to appraise the items which
had been recommended for deaccessioning.  All of this information went
through the laborious and time-consuming board approvals, and then final
decisions were made on what would be sold and which auction house provided
the best venue for us.  Then, the rest were sold at auction with proceeds
earmarked for new acquisitions of like items (i.e., funds from silver sales
went to new silver acquisitions, sales of furniture went to new furniture
acquisitions, etc.)

As mentioned earlier, donors and/or heirs of donors were notified when they
could be found, and told when and where the items they had given would be
sold (in case they were interested in re-acquiring family heirlooms).  We
had to carefully track all proceeds for each item (even down to the spoons!)
so that funds spent on new acquisitions could be accredited to the original
donors.  For example, if we sold five pieces of silver and used the combined
proceeds to purchase one silver object, the credit line on the gallery label
would read, "...Purchased with proceeds from the sale of gifts given by
Donor 1, Donor 2, Donor 3, Donor 4, and Donor 5".  So, even though the
donor's original gift was gone from the museum, their generosity was
remembered and included in the new item's credit line.  This was
particularly appreciated by donors who had given a family heirloom in honor
of a family member, as the original credit line became part of the new
credit line.  The fact that MANY small items were sold in order to purchase
one or two spectacular items did make for some ridiculously lengthy credit
lines!

Feel free to email me off-list if anyone would like further information.

Nora Weiser
[log in to unmask]

> ----------
> From:         Will Garrison
> Reply To:     Museum discussion list
> Sent:         Friday, March 12, 1999 10:50 AM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Re: Unwanted stuff
>
> When we deaccession objects, we make an effort to inform original donors.
> But it's only as a courtesy so the donor isn't surprised when they open
> their Sotheby's catalog and find the chair they gave thirty years ago. We
> don't give objects back to the donors or their families.  So far it's
> worked out well, and we have done some major deaccessioning.
>
> All items go to a public auction, and funds go to a museum collections
> fund.  This fund used only for new acquisitions, not conservation.
>
> Will Garrison, Collections Manager
> Historic Deerfield, Inc.
>
> At 11:15 AM 3/11/99 -0500, you wrote:
> >Your last line about contacting original donors first startled me. I was
> >trained that once the gift is made to the museum, the original donor has
> no
> >claim different than any other person (after the proper steps were taken
> to
> >find another museum to own it or to use it somehow to benefit the museum
> who
> >is de-accessioning). Therefore, final disposal of objects to the open
> market
> >requires an original donor to bid like anyone else with the proceeds
> dedicated
> >to the museum's collection conservation and development. Any experience
> out
> >there on this question?
> >Susan Noakes,
> >Curator not looking forward to deaccessioning sometime in the near
> future.
> >
> >STUD Vincent Brooks wrote:
> >
> >>         I recently did an internship where my major project was a
> >> deaccessioning one.  Well, lots of issues came up at this small
> historical
> >> society.  The first came when a book was not within the collection
> scope,
> >> but was worth a small sum of money.  That went on to higher powers and,
> to
> >> my knowledge, is still unresolved.
> >>         Another issue concerned the use of an online auction service to
> >> get rid of unwanted materials.  I consulted a prof. and he said that
> while
> >> auctions are not out of the question, careful attention has to be paid
> to
> >> bidders, the auctioneers relationship to the institution, his or her
> fee,
> >> etc.
> >>         Actually, I began by sending a letter to other local historical
> >> societies and transferred some materials that way.  After that, I
> posted a
> >> message on this very discussion list and got quite a few responses.  I
> am
> >> happy to say that many materials found new homes all across the
> country.
> >>         Careful documentation is key.  Keep track of all correspondence
> >> and conversations.  Regular reports to board or committee members are
> >> important as well.  In my case, the original donor names were lost due
> to
> >> poor records, but the original donor or heirs should be contacted
> first.
> >>         Hope this helped.
> >>
> >>                                 Vince
> >>
> >> Vince Brooks
> >> 239 S. Mathilda St. #2
> >> Pittsburgh, PA  15224
> >>
> >> 412-661-0666
> >>
> >> "You can't spend what you ain't got, and you can't lose what you ain't
> >> never had."
> >>
> >>                                                 - Muddy Waters
> >
>