The UK Museums & Galleries Commision Registered Museum Scheme includes a
section on deaccesioning, and advised wording of the disposal policy which
may be useful to people out there following this thread. I only have a paper
version, I can fax this section to people if they send me a full fax no. off
list, or you could email them via [log in to unmask]

jane


>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
>> >
>>
>