Below is an essay written by Autumn Smith on the collection process in Museums.
THE COLLECTION PROCESS:
Processing a Museum Collection
Museums and institutions dedicated to preserving and presenting history, art, and culture are seen as the authority on public knowledge of their dedicated field. Museums have a social responsibility to present accurate and factual information regarding social, political, and economic topics to the public. The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C, is perceived as the nation's leading institution on the presentation of American history. With the reputation the Smithsonian has, the information they present is often assumed to be a proper presentation of historical events, people, and culture. Museums and historical institutions present information for the public related to their mission, visions, and goals through exhibitions often from the collections they house. An institution's collection is the center point of museum draw and helps to display the information presented to the public. Collections contain the material culture that curators and registrars use to display the stories of their exhibitions. Exhibits that do not feature artifacts can have a difficult time with its perception because of the lack of physical evidence to accommodate written information. Material culture brings physical evidence to the information being displayed and the stories being told in museums. Registrars and Curators are responsible for the development and execution of exhibitions that display the story they want to tell from their desired perspective. A museum collection is a series of artifacts and documents related to a particular theme, such as The Atlanta History Center's Bobby Jones collection that consisting of documents and artifacts related to the hall of fame golfer life and career. Collections are based on the mission and vision of a particular institution, and they dictate the boundaries of what is acquired. The Martin Luther King Jr Center for Non-Violent Social Change mission and goals center around Dr. King and the American Civil Rights movement, prompting their collections to focus on Civil Rights events and people between 1950-1968. Collections are museums driving force, and frequently, the artifacts from those collections serve as main attractions for exhibitions. As collections serve as a primary factor of museums, management and maintenance of a collection are vital for the presentation and preservation of its artifacts and documents. The collection management of a museum includes everything that is conducted to develop and care for the collection that will make them available for use in exhibitions and public consumption. Museum Registration Methods states, "collections management includes everything that is done to document, care for, and develop museum collections and make them available for use." 1 Policies are established in collection management to navigate and maintain collections. Policies are established to preserve artifacts and documents to the maximum capability of an institution. Museum Registration Methods states that the "purpose of the collections management policy is to minimize risk to the collections." 2 The collection process is a strategic plan to maintain museum standards. Processing a collection is key to sustaining the centerpiece of a museum or historical institution and understanding how an item comes into a museum, the decisions made about the item, how one would incorporate the item into a museum, and its deaccessioning are the essential elements of collections management.
Museums and historical institutions have similar fundamental collection policies and standards that have been set throughout the years of the developing profession of collection management. Acquisition policies are apart of collection management that directs how artifacts and documents will and can be acquired by a specific institution. "An acquisition policy is developed based on the collections plan and directs how objects and specimens are acquired or brought into the museum under the terms of a repository."3
Artifacts enter into a museum and historical institutions through several forms of acquisitions, such as different forms of gifts, bequest, purchase, field collection, and conversion. As items are entered into a museum's collection as a gift, there are different forms of how a museum can be gifted an artifact. Outright gifts, which are straightforward gifts given from the donor to the museum with no stipulations. The local polling location giving their old voting booth to their city's historical society with no provisions is considered an outright gift. Fractional gifts are often given to museums because they are made for a tax write-off. Factional gifts are donations of a partial interest in an object to a museum or institution. Promised gifts are promises by donors in the form of writing that promises the item to the museum at a later time. The Martin Luther King Jr Center letter to the city of Atlanta historical society pledging to give them their 2020 banners after one year, is considered a promised gift. Bequests are gifts to a museum that has been willed under the terms of individual death. Bequests are not often but can benefit an institution surprisingly. Doctor Charles H. Wright bequest of his collection of African American history to the Detroit Museum of Black history contributed to making their archive the most extensive collection of African American culture in the United States. Gifts to museums can sometimes come with restrictions, even though the preferred gift is unrestricted. Some donors can request things such as the item that they are gifting to the museum be placed on permanent display. Depending on the importance of the collection, the restrictions can be met or not.
Museums and historical institutions serve and have the social responsibility to the public to preserve and promote the public, but all gifts offered do not have to be accepted and are not always accepted. Items gifted should coincide with the mission, vision, and goal of the museum. Although an item might align with the mission and vision of the museum might not be able to preserve and maintain for the item correctly. The Atlanta History Center is the largest collector of Civil War memorabilia, and the donation of 30ft cannons does coincide with their mission, but the storage capacity of the collection room of the Atlanta History Center would not permit the acceptance of such gift. Gifts can also be hazardous and unacceptable to an institution physically or have an underlying background that does align with the morality of a museum. The King Center in Atlanta, GA, focuses on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and the American Civil Rights movement and accepts gifts related that relate to the two and one days a visitor attempted to donate a doll that she said was Mrs. Coretta Scott King. Although the visitor said the doll was of Mrs. King, it did not have a striking resemblance to her. Also, the doll served as a form of "voodoo" doll. The assistant archivist was understanding of the fact that voodoo has been negatively stereotyped and simply serves as a religion just as Christianity. The doll was rejected not because it was a voodoo doll but because Coretta Scott King was a Christian and First Lady. The acceptance of the doll would conflict with the message of the legacy and imagery pushed forward for Coretta Scott King by The King Center.
Artifacts and documents that a purchased for a collection can be done in different ways, such as from individuals, exchanges, auctions, or dealers. When purchasing from a dealer or institution, there are essential elements that must be followed. The item should be inspected and verified for its legality and provenance. It is vital to have a bill of sale and all documented information regarding past handling of the artifact. Museum Registration Methods states
"Curators should always research provenance and should add all provenance information to the file. They are also responsible for working out discounts with vendors, and they are in good position to initiate discussions regarding copyright releases for contemporary works." 4 Exchanges and field collections are also a common way to acquire items for a collection. Often, museums will exchange artifacts with other institutions with items of equal exchange. An exchange should have a contractual agreement and previous evaluations of the item, including past inventory records included in the exchange. Field collections are "a series of purchases acquired during an expedition, or they may be a collection of scientific or archaeological specimens that are collected in a field research project or archaeological specimens that are collected in a field research project or archaeological excavation." 5 Artifacts that are collected during field collections should have a purchase record that indicates the material culture of the item. The field notes of items found in a collection should also be included in the acquisition file of the object. Archeology Labs are more common to have collections that have a large selection of field-collected objects. Conversion of an object occurs when a museum or institution has a loan that has gone unclaimed, and the original owner can not be located. At the Georgia State University Archaeology Lab, there are two small collections of water bugs that have been in their possession for over twenty years that entered the lab as a loan. The current staff was not employed when the collection was initially loaned out, and there is no record of the two collections. These collections of water bugs have conversed into the collection of Georgia State University.
Collecting policies are an essential entity in collections management and the productivity and purpose of collection policies. “a cogent collecting policy that takes into account current collection strengths and weaknesses must be in place for each collecting area if the museum is to acquire collection objects intelligently”5. All artifacts and documents should be taken through an acquisition process for permanent collections. Items that have been gifted to acquired by a museum must be taken through a process that considers physical, ethical, and legal elements of the item. Items must first be considered to fit the mission and goals of the museum. If the Atlanta History Center is bequested a channel sweater from 1955 that belonged to someone from California with no relation to Atlanta, they will decline the bequest because it does not align with the explicit mission of the museum's focus on Atlanta. The maintenance and preservation of the item require has to be considered. If an item requires preservation measures, a museum can not accommodate but aligns with the mission would be declined because of the lack of the ability to care for the item.
When an item aligns with the mission and can be preserved by the museum, it is then considered for its legal and ethical features. The item has to be considered for its cultural background and its meanings. The essential element of a gift or purchase is to be able to produce a valid title of the object. After items have been determined to fit ethical and legal issues, the item is presented to the curator, director, and/or board of directors for permeant acquisition. Museums often have a chain of authorities that determine the intake of an item. The registrar is traditionally responsible for the documentation, transportation, research, and handling of the item. When the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum planned their “Stranger Things” exhibition, the registrar was responsible for selecting and acquiring temporary loans, purchases, and gifts for the exhibition. The proposed artifacts selected had to be approved by the curator, followed by the director. Most institutions have a hierarchy of the acquisition process that includes the administrative team of a museum. For smaller institutions, the sole authority on acquisitions can be dependent on one individual. There are three elements needed to complete a gift “Intent to donate, preferably in writing. A deed of gift is the preferred instrument to denominate Intent…Proof of physical receipt of the object by the museum…written acceptance of the gift by the proper museum authority.”6 Once the authorizing authority has approved an item for acquisition and the sale has been completed, or dead has been signed, the museum acquires ownership. The registrar prepares the item for the permanent collection. The item is documented for additional reports as it before it enters a collection, such as a condition report. Next, the item is assigned an accession number that is used to identify the item in the collection. The item number will include all the information related to the object. The item should be photographed and digitally cataloged. Policies and procedures should be developed to care for the item, and a security review should be implemented. After the item has been documented in accessioned, it is now apart of the permeant collection and is available for display and educational use for the public.
Museums are faced with having to remove items from their collections. Deaccessioning comes as a result of different factors such as changes I museum direction, contamination, and ethical issues. Deaccessioning happens when an item is removed from a permanent collection, and the museum no longer holds the item. Deaccessioning occurs when a museum can no longer maintain an artifact. When deaccessioning occurs, museums have the option to auction the items off, exchange it, or donate it to another museum or destroy the item if it is contaminated.
The collection process for the intake of an artifact can be challenging. Museum professionals are continually altering the standards of collections because of new technologies and developing ethical standards. A collections policy is essential in collections and the efficiency it has in a museum. Collections are the cornerstone of a museum, and understanding how an artifact or document comes into a museum, the decisions made about the item, how one would incorporate the item into a museum, and its deaccessioning are the essential elements of collections management.
Museums and historical institutions have similar fundamental collection policies and standards that have been set throughout the years of the developing profession of collection management. Acquisition policies are apart of collection management that directs how artifacts and documents will and can be acquired by a specific institution. "An acquisition policy is developed based on the collections plan and directs how objects and specimens are acquired or brought into the museum under the terms of a repository."3
Artifacts enter into a museum and historical institutions through several forms of acquisitions, such as different forms of gifts, bequest, purchase, field collection, and conversion. As items are entered into a museum's collection as a gift, there are different forms of how a museum can be gifted an artifact. Outright gifts, which are straightforward gifts given from the donor to the museum with no stipulations. The local polling location giving their old voting booth to their city's historical society with no provisions is considered an outright gift. Fractional gifts are often given to museums because they are made for a tax write-off. Factional gifts are donations of a partial interest in an object to a museum or institution. Promised gifts are promises by donors in the form of writing that promises the item to the museum at a later time. The Martin Luther King Jr Center letter to the city of Atlanta historical society pledging to give them their 2020 banners after one year, is considered a promised gift. Bequests are gifts to a museum that has been willed under the terms of individual death. Bequests are not often but can benefit an institution surprisingly. Doctor Charles H. Wright bequest of his collection of African American history to the Detroit Museum of Black history contributed to making their archive the most extensive collection of African American culture in the United States. Gifts to museums can sometimes come with restrictions, even though the preferred gift is unrestricted. Some donors can request things such as the item that they are gifting to the museum be placed on permanent display. Depending on the importance of the collection, the restrictions can be met or not.
Museums and historical institutions serve and have the social responsibility to the public to preserve and promote the public, but all gifts offered do not have to be accepted and are not always accepted. Items gifted should coincide with the mission, vision, and goal of the museum. Although an item might align with the mission and vision of the museum might not be able to preserve and maintain for the item correctly. The Atlanta History Center is the largest collector of Civil War memorabilia, and the donation of 30ft cannons does coincide with their mission, but the storage capacity of the collection room of the Atlanta History Center would not permit the acceptance of such gift. Gifts can also be hazardous and unacceptable to an institution physically or have an underlying background that does align with the morality of a museum. The King Center in Atlanta, GA, focuses on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and the American Civil Rights movement and accepts gifts related that relate to the two and one days a visitor attempted to donate a doll that she said was Mrs. Coretta Scott King. Although the visitor said the doll was of Mrs. King, it did not have a striking resemblance to her. Also, the doll served as a form of "voodoo" doll. The assistant archivist was understanding of the fact that voodoo has been negatively stereotyped and simply serves as a religion just as Christianity. The doll was rejected not because it was a voodoo doll but because Coretta Scott King was a Christian and First Lady. The acceptance of the doll would conflict with the message of the legacy and imagery pushed forward for Coretta Scott King by The King Center.
Artifacts and documents that a purchased for a collection can be done in different ways, such as from individuals, exchanges, auctions, or dealers. When purchasing from a dealer or institution, there are essential elements that must be followed. The item should be inspected and verified for its legality and provenance. It is vital to have a bill of sale and all documented information regarding past handling of the artifact. Museum Registration Methods states
"Curators should always research provenance and should add all provenance information to the file. They are also responsible for working out discounts with vendors, and they are in good position to initiate discussions regarding copyright releases for contemporary works." 4 Exchanges and field collections are also a common way to acquire items for a collection. Often, museums will exchange artifacts with other institutions with items of equal exchange. An exchange should have a contractual agreement and previous evaluations of the item, including past inventory records included in the exchange. Field collections are "a series of purchases acquired during an expedition, or they may be a collection of scientific or archaeological specimens that are collected in a field research project or archaeological specimens that are collected in a field research project or archaeological excavation." 5 Artifacts that are collected during field collections should have a purchase record that indicates the material culture of the item. The field notes of items found in a collection should also be included in the acquisition file of the object. Archeology Labs are more common to have collections that have a large selection of field-collected objects. Conversion of an object occurs when a museum or institution has a loan that has gone unclaimed, and the original owner can not be located. At the Georgia State University Archaeology Lab, there are two small collections of water bugs that have been in their possession for over twenty years that entered the lab as a loan. The current staff was not employed when the collection was initially loaned out, and there is no record of the two collections. These collections of water bugs have conversed into the collection of Georgia State University.
Collecting policies are an essential entity in collections management and the productivity and purpose of collection policies. “a cogent collecting policy that takes into account current collection strengths and weaknesses must be in place for each collecting area if the museum is to acquire collection objects intelligently”5. All artifacts and documents should be taken through an acquisition process for permanent collections. Items that have been gifted to acquired by a museum must be taken through a process that considers physical, ethical, and legal elements of the item. Items must first be considered to fit the mission and goals of the museum. If the Atlanta History Center is bequested a channel sweater from 1955 that belonged to someone from California with no relation to Atlanta, they will decline the bequest because it does not align with the explicit mission of the museum's focus on Atlanta. The maintenance and preservation of the item require has to be considered. If an item requires preservation measures, a museum can not accommodate but aligns with the mission would be declined because of the lack of the ability to care for the item.
When an item aligns with the mission and can be preserved by the museum, it is then considered for its legal and ethical features. The item has to be considered for its cultural background and its meanings. The essential element of a gift or purchase is to be able to produce a valid title of the object. After items have been determined to fit ethical and legal issues, the item is presented to the curator, director, and/or board of directors for permeant acquisition. Museums often have a chain of authorities that determine the intake of an item. The registrar is traditionally responsible for the documentation, transportation, research, and handling of the item. When the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum planned their “Stranger Things” exhibition, the registrar was responsible for selecting and acquiring temporary loans, purchases, and gifts for the exhibition. The proposed artifacts selected had to be approved by the curator, followed by the director. Most institutions have a hierarchy of the acquisition process that includes the administrative team of a museum. For smaller institutions, the sole authority on acquisitions can be dependent on one individual. There are three elements needed to complete a gift “Intent to donate, preferably in writing. A deed of gift is the preferred instrument to denominate Intent…Proof of physical receipt of the object by the museum…written acceptance of the gift by the proper museum authority.”6 Once the authorizing authority has approved an item for acquisition and the sale has been completed, or dead has been signed, the museum acquires ownership. The registrar prepares the item for the permanent collection. The item is documented for additional reports as it before it enters a collection, such as a condition report. Next, the item is assigned an accession number that is used to identify the item in the collection. The item number will include all the information related to the object. The item should be photographed and digitally cataloged. Policies and procedures should be developed to care for the item, and a security review should be implemented. After the item has been documented in accessioned, it is now apart of the permeant collection and is available for display and educational use for the public.
Museums are faced with having to remove items from their collections. Deaccessioning comes as a result of different factors such as changes I museum direction, contamination, and ethical issues. Deaccessioning happens when an item is removed from a permanent collection, and the museum no longer holds the item. Deaccessioning occurs when a museum can no longer maintain an artifact. When deaccessioning occurs, museums have the option to auction the items off, exchange it, or donate it to another museum or destroy the item if it is contaminated.
The collection process for the intake of an artifact can be challenging. Museum professionals are continually altering the standards of collections because of new technologies and developing ethical standards. A collections policy is essential in collections and the efficiency it has in a museum. Collections are the cornerstone of a museum, and understanding how an artifact or document comes into a museum, the decisions made about the item, how one would incorporate the item into a museum, and its deaccessioning are the essential elements of collections management.