Collection Policy
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The purpose
of the Tehama County Museum is to preserve and exhibit
artifacts that represent the cultural heritage of Tehama
County specifically, and Northern California in general.
The museum
exists for the purpose of providing education, inspiration
and aesthetic enrichment for all people through exhibition
and explanation. The Museum's goal is to educate and enlighten
people about the past history and cultural aspects of
Tehama County
This document reaffirms existing policies and explains
administrative intent governing the acquisition, use,
and disposition of those collections by the Tehama County
Museum herein after referred to as the Museum.
The rules set forth in this
policy statement:
Outline basic
priorities for adding new objects to the collection.
Provide direction for acquisition of collections by the
Museum.
Affirm that the highest ethical standards will be met
by the Museum staff in all transactions, including avoidance
of conflicts of interest.
Affirm that the Museum staff will comply with all domestic
and foreign laws and regulations governing the collecting
of objects, the transfer of ownership of those objects,
and the movement of objects and collections across political
boundaries.
Assure that the standards of documentation for acquisitions
shall equal or exceed those current in the respective
disciplines relating to the collection.
Define the conditions of acceptance that may be placed
upon objects to be acquired by the Museum or on its behalf.
Define the conditions and procedures for permanent removal
of objects from the Museum collections.
2. ACQUISITIONS.
A. Museum Collections
B. How Objects and Collections are Acquired.
1.Objects and collections that are to become part of the
collection should be acquired by direct gift, bequests,
purchases, exchanges, and other transfers.
2.Objects and collections, or other assets that may be
sold in the future should be acquired directly by the
Tehama County Museum Board.
3.Objects or
collections that are to become part of the Museum's collection,
but which can only be acquired through purchase, should
be acquired by direct approval of the Tehama County Museum
Board.
The Tehama County
Museum Foundation can make acquisitions only after approval
by the Acquisition Committee in consultation with the
designated curator in charge.
C. Priorities
for Acquisition.
The Tehama County Museum collections can be improved by
selective addition of new objects.
It is equally clear that the Museum cannot engage in indiscriminate
acquisition. The diversity, human culture and artifacts,
is so extraordinarily large that physical space limitations
alone make comprehensive collecting impossible. The financial
aspects of fulfilling the Museum's continuing obligation
to preserve, maintain, and use representative samples
of Tehama County history limits our acquisition capabilities.
Consequently, a schedule of priorities for new acquisitions
has been adopted. For similar reasons, consideration must
be given to policies covering disposition of objects that
may no longer be appropriate or necessary for the Museum's
areas of interest.
First Priority.
To strengthen collection areas in which the Museum has
a current specialization and recognized historical interest,
especially when these areas are threatened irreversibly
by human activities. Examples of primary priority acquisitions
are objects of direct use in present or projected research
or in current educational or exhibition programs; high
quality objects needed to fill gaps in the current holdings
or to supplement objects of lesser quality. Objects where
technological changes and expanding human activity place
a time limit on the period in which sampling can take
place.
Second Priority.
To broaden the comparative base of our established collection
areas. An example of secondary priority acquisitions would
be objects that will strengthen a collection in a subject
area related to a previously established one.
Third Priority.
To obtain collections of a general nature that are within
the broad interests of the Museum. Examples of tertiary
priority acquisitions are interesting or unique, but adequately
documented, objects of limited use in a scientific sense;
objects outside the scope of current Museum collections,
but that might in the future have direct use in explaining
more fully the diversity of nature and culture to the
lay public.
It is recognized
that acquisition of objects often must be opportunistic.
From time to time, collections of recognized national
or international significance become available from individuals
or institutions that no longer are able or willing to
preserve, maintain, and use them in research and educational
activities. Acceptance of responsibilities for such collections
may involve establishing a new area of interest within
the Museum. Acquisition of such collections must be judged
on their individual merits, carefully weighing the values
and costs of such additions against the evolving programs
and emphases of the Museum (see '2I. Accessioning Acquisitions'
below).
D. Ethics of
Acquisition.
All acquisitions by the Tehama County Museum shall reflect
its commitment to preserve and guard the living and cultural
heritage of Tehama County. Objects that have been collected
recently in such a careless manner as to impair their
value shall not be accepted, e.g., objects with inadequate
documentation.
Any acquisition of Native American remains or cultural
objects must be in full compliance with the Native American
Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (see '2F. Conditions
of Acceptance' below). These diverse perspectives affect
the ethical concerns evoked at all levels of curation
from acquisition through collections management to deaccessioning.
Wherever possible, the ethics surrounding a collection
in the culture of origin will be taken into consideration
in the evaluation and management of anthropological materials.
E. Laws Governing
Acquisition.
The Museum will also refuse to acquire objects in any
case where it has cause to believe that the circumstances
of their collection involved the recent unscientific or
intentional destruction of sites or monuments, or where
state or federal laws or international treaties have been
violated. These standards also will be taken into account
in determining whether to accept loans for exhibition
or other purposes. Reasonable efforts will be made to
ensure that these conditions are met, that title to the
object or objects may properly be transferred to the Museum,
and that the Museum keeps up to date on the changing laws
and regulations concerning object collecting, ownership,
and movement across political boundaries. The Museum will
cooperate with authorities of the United States and other
countries in legal action against those committing improprieties.
In an attempt to avoid encouraging, even indirectly, trade
in illicit or irresponsibly recovered objects, the Museum
will not authenticate any object whose acquisition does
not meet the Museum's own criteria for acquisition. In
addition, if the Museum should inadvertently acquire an
object that is later determined to have been exported
or recovered in violation of the Museum's acquisition
policy, the Museum will promptly return the object to
the owner or transfer to the government of the country
of origin, or to another appropriate recipient.
F. Conditions
of Acceptance.
With very few exceptions, all acquisitions are unconditional.
The Museum normally cannot accept objects on which the
owner has placed restrictions that would prevent effective
research examination, normal exhibition use, loan, or
disposal in accordance with this established policy. The
Museum also cannot accept objects with restrictions requiring
that they be placed on exhibition, or that the collection
of which they form a part should be kept together permanently
and/or displayed only as a discrete collection. Under
extraordinary circumstances, objects can be accepted with
the requirement that the Museum retain ownership for a
negotiated period of time.
Anthropological collections, particularly those covered
by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation
Act (NAGPRA), form an area where certain exceptions may
be considered in consultation, not with the donor, but
with the tribe which is culturally affiliated with the
collections in question.
G. Standards
of Documentation.
Minimum requirements of documentation, including provenience,
should not vary in the Museum collection. Such standards
are necessary requisites for objects to be added to the
collection. We cannot afford to permanently house objects
lacking scientific value. Objects with less than complete
data, but having scientific or educational value, may
be accessioned at the discretion of the curator in charge.
H. Appraisal and Authentication of Acquisitions.
No member of the Museum staff shall, in his or her official
capacity, give appraisals for the purpose of establishing
the tax deductible value of gifts or purchases offered
to the Museum. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service prohibits
appraisals from a recipient institution that is directly
involved in the transaction. Only appraisals from disinterested
third parties are accepted. No member of the Museum staff
knowingly shall appraise, identify, or otherwise authenticate
historical or cultural objects for other persons or agencies
under circumstances that could encourage or benefit illegal,
unethical, or irresponsible traffic in such objects. Identification
and authentication may be given for professional or educational
purposes and in compliance with the legitimate requests
of professional or governmental bodies or their agencies.
Where appropriate, the Museum will assist owners in finding
qualified professionals who can provide appraisals
.
I. Accessioning Acquisitions.
Before any collection is accessioned into the Tehama County
Museum collection, a summary report must be completed
and filed in the permanent records of that collection.
The report shall contain the following information:
Name of collection being acquired.
Summary of contacts with owner or administrator; names
and dates.
Name of collection owner if different from initial contact.
Items in collection, e.g., number of objects or number
of lots, books, notes, photographs.
Statement about the provenience of the objects-a brief
summary should be provided for large collections containing
hundreds of objects with varied or extensively detailed
provenience.
Copies of documentation certifying to the legality of
the collection, e.g., export permits from the country
of origin, U.S. federal or state permits, statement from
owner.
Signed letter, document, or certificate from the owner
stating that title to the collection is being transferred
to the Tehama County Museum Foundation.
Date collection was transferred to the Museum.
Names of people involved in the acquisition.
Date and signature of the curator and/or collection manager.
A copy of the acknowledgment certificate given to the
owner.
Information detailing the circumstances of original acquisition
and the curatorial history of the collection.
If the collection is a large one, which will require considerable
curation (i.e., expense) before it is fully incorporated
into the Museum collection, the following additional information
must be included:
How the collection will be transported to the Museum.
Cost of transporting the collection to the Museum.
Where the collection will be held while it is being processed
into the collection.
Projected time needed for curation.
Projected cost of curation, including extra staff, cabinets,
labels, computer entry, etc.
Before any sizable collection can be acquired and accessioned,
the Tehama County Museum Board of Directors must be made
aware of the curatorial time and budget that will be committed
to integrating the collection into the research collection.
3. MAINTENANCE OF THE COLLECTIONS.
A. Curation.
All the collections of the Tehama County Museum shall
be curated according to the highest professional standards.
That curation aims to preserve and maintain the collection,
and the objects and associated data they contain, so they
will be available in perpetuity for use in studies and
exhibitions (the rare exceptions are discussed below under
'4E. Disposal' and '5E. Destructive Analysis'). To assure
that those standards are met, each collection in the Museum
shall be assigned to the responsibility of the curator.
4. DISPOSITIONS.
A. Legal and Ethical Constraints.
All of the provisions for disposition shall be consistent
with the ethical and legal constraints set forth in '2D.
Ethics of Acquisition', '2E. Laws Governing Acquisition',
and '3A. Curation' above. No transfer or disposal shall
be made of any objects held by the Museum in bond. The
Museum acts as custodian of objects for the broader benefits
of society. This, at times, requires permanent removal
of objects from the Museum. Museum's legal, professional,
and moral obligation to maintain its collections for the
public good extends even to dispositions. When dispositions
are appropriate, every effort should be made to transfer
objects to other museums or public institutions where
they will continue to be available for research and education.
See also '5E. Destructive Analysis' below. Such transactions
must not profit individuals or private institutions. A
record of all transfers and disposals shall be maintained
as part of the permanent records of the museum.
B. General Policy on Dispositions.
Objects in the collections should be retained permanently
if they continue to be useful to the purposes and activities
of the Museum; if they continue to contribute to the integrity
of the collections; and if they can be properly stored,
preserved, and used. Upon the recommendation of the curator,
objects may be disposed of by formal deaccessioning when
the above conditions no longer exist, or if it is determined
that such action would ultimately improve or refine the
collections, upon compliance with all legal requirements.
C. Recommendation of Curator.
Each object being considered for deaccessioning must meet
the following criteria as evidenced by the written recommendation
of the curator in charge to the Acquisition Committee,
and based upon one or more of the following:
The object lacks value for scientific research or documentation,
or for educational use.
The object no longer retains its physical integrity, its
identity, its provenience, or its authenticity.
The object is not relevant to or consistent with the Museum's
function and purpose.
Exchange of a redundant object (one of a series of similar
objects with similar provenience in the collection) with
a recognized public collections facility will improve
and refine the Museum's collection.
Such deaccessions shall be made by transfer or disposal.
D. Transfer.
Permanent transfers of valuable objects may be recommended
by the curator in charge and approved by the Acquisition
Committee and the Tehama County Museum Board of Directors.
Except in extraordinary circumstances they shall be made
only to other public institutions. Transfers to private
individuals shall be made only when the curator can demonstrate
a benefit to the collection of the Museum, and only after
approval of the Tehama County Museum Board of Directors.
All objects or collections with a fair market value reasonably
expected to be in excess of $5,000.00, shall require prior
approval of the Tehama County Museum Board of Directors
before transfer from the Museum.
The deaccessioning
of human remains and cultural objects for repatriation
to Native American tribes is a specialized form of transfer
mandated by federal law in the Native American Graves
Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). The Tehama County
Museum is committed to compliance with this legislation.
E. Disposal.
Over the years, as standards of object documentation change,
as the collections grow and objects suffer deterioration,
biological and anthropological objects that formerly were
a significant part of the research collections may become
surplus. Removal or culling of such objects from the collection
is a continual and routine process.
If objects are not needed by the Museum, the curator of
the Museum collection may give them to appropriate educational
institutions for use in teaching activities, or if no
alternative exists, they may be discarded completely or
destroyed. Such objects for disposal shall have all identifying
marks and numbers removed from them and the disposal shall
be noted in the appropriate research collection catalogues
by the curator in charge, and then disposed of in accordance
with these guidelines. Appropriate notification of such
disposals shall be sent to the Acquisition Committee and
then to Tehama County Museum Board of Directors. Objects
shall not be given or sold privately to Museum employees
or their relatives or representatives.
The Museum may
devise specialized discard procedures for certain types
of collections, but any such specialized procedure must
be approved by, and on file with, the Tehama County Museum
Board of Directors
Some objects
in the Museum's archaeological collections were acquired
from U.S. federal agencies with the legal obligation to
curate these objects in perpetuity. Before the Museum
can dispose or transfer any such objects from federal
agencies, the appropriate agency must agree in writing
to the deaccessioning.
F. Private Collections.
Conflicts Of Interest and Ethical Constraints. If a curator,
collection manager, technician, research assistant, or
other Museum employee were to maintain a private collection
in his or her professional field of interest, the temptation
would be great to put particularly valuable objects in
the private collection rather than in the Museum collection.
Because of this potential conflict of interest, Museum
employees are prohibited from having private collections,
or objects of scientific interest in collections, that
are in their professional field of interest, e.g., physical
anthropology, archaeology, malacology, herpetology.
Collections
of objects of primary scientific interest and associated
field notes or xerographic copies made by professional
Museum staff with the use of Museum funds, direct or indirect,
complete or partial, in the broadest sense , shall be
Museum property. No authority shall be granted the Museum
to restrain or restrict a principal investigator's use
of his or her own field notes. Should the principal investigator
leave the Museum staff, a complete copy of the field notes
shall be left with the Museum.
Personal collections,
where permitted by the above policy, may be amassed by
Museum staff only through compliance with applicable state
and federal laws.
These restrictions
also apply to anthropological type collections and synoptic
collections in natural sciences. However, if a person
leaves the Museum, such collections may then be made available
to his or her new institution.
In addition,
every student working in the Museum is subject to the
above policies which will be communicated by consultation
between the student and his or her immediate supervisor
in the Museum. Objects in private collections made before
association with the Museum, or before 18 September 1979,
are exempt from the policy in this 'conflict of interest'
section.
The private
collections policies set forth in this section do not
apply to non-paid associates and courtesy appointments.
However, such
volunteers and honorary colleagues are prohibited from
adding to their private collections any objects acquired
as a result of their association with the Museum. This
'conflict of interest' policy shall be carried out with
the best interests of the Museum in mind.
Any dispute
arising from this section shall be resolved by the Acquisition
Committee, and the Museum Board of Directors.
5. USE OF
COLLECTIONS
A. Loans.
Materials from the research collections may be loaned
to or borrowed from other natural history museums, universities,
and other appropriate public institutions for research
and/or exhibition purposes. A record of all incoming and
outgoing loans shall be maintained as part of the permanent
records of the museum.
B. Incoming Loans.
Incoming loans shall be accepted only for purposes of
research or exhibition under the following conditions:
1.No indefinite or long-term loans shall be accepted,
but exceptions may be authorized by the Board of Directors
on recommendation of the Acquisition Committee.
2.Incoming loans
shall not be accepted if they do not meet the same standards
set forth in '2D. Ethics of Acquisition' and '2E. Laws
Governing Acquisition' above.
3.While the
loans are in our care, they will be handled, conserved,
stored, and exhibited, as required by the lending institution
or otherwise accorded the same professional care as if
they were part of the Museum's collections.
C. Outgoing
Loans.
The Museum lends objects to qualified institutions for
scholarly research and exhibition subject to the policies
and practices consistent with the Museum's collection
policies. However, the following pertain to all outgoing
loans:
1.Objects shall
not be lent to individuals except under exceptional circumstances
and then only on the recommendation of the Acquisition
Committee and with the approval of the Museum Board of
Directors. Before lending to individuals, the committee
must make every effort to seek an institutional affiliation
or endorsement for that person. If an institutional affiliation
is impossible to establish, then written reasons must
be stated with the loan form.
2.Objects requested
by students will require faculty or institutional endorsement
and will be considered the direct responsibility of the
faculty member or institutional representative endorsing
the request.
3.Loans shall
not be transferred by the borrower to any other institution
or individual without prior written approval.
4.The maximum
duration of any loan shall be one year, but shall be subject
to renewal.
5.Objects shall
not be loaned for destructive analysis except as provided
in '5E. Destructive Analysis' below.
6.Shipment of
outgoing loans shall comply with labeling and permitting
requirements of all applicable state and federal laws
and international treaties.
D. Access to
Collections.
During normal operating hours, the collections shall be
accessible for legitimate research and study by responsible
investigators, subject to procedures necessary to safeguard
the objects and to restrictions imposed by limitations
of space and facilities, exhibition requirements, and
availability of appropriate curatorial staff.
Access to anthropological collections by representatives
from Native American Tribes shall be available upon request
and shall be subject to the same restrictions as research
access.
E. Destructive
Analysis.
Since aspects of it are related to '4E. Disposal', research
involving destructive analysis is a specialized use and
requires special consideration. Destructive analysis is
not allowed, except under exceptional circumstances, and
requires the prior approval of the curator in charge.
The Museum's legal, professional, and moral obligation
to maintain its collections for the public good extends
even to destructive analysis.
On occasion, destructive analysis of specimens yields
information which benefits the collection and is in the
public interest. This is particularly true when redundant,
not unique, specimens or materials are involved.
When destructive
analysis is appropriate, every effort should be made to
limit destruction to less than the entire specimen and
to save what remains so it will continue to be available
for research and education.
Requests for
destructive analysis must detail the specimens or materials
required and the procedures to be conducted. Any remains
from the analysis remain the property of the Museum unless
other provisions are specifically allowed in writing by
the curator in charge prior to destruction. In cases involving
the dissection of biological specimens, the undestroyed
component parts shall be returned to the collection along
with associated identifying tags or marks. The data resulting
from the destructive analysis shall become part of the
collection of the museum and will be maintained with the
records associated with the materials analyzed. At the
discretion of the curator in charge, arrangements may
be made to divide duplicate histological slides and similar
preparations between the researcher and the collection.
F. Use in Exhibitions.
The Museum places original, reconstructed, and duplicated
objects from the collections on public exhibition. These
objects remain the curatorial responsibility of the collection
from which they originated, and shall be treated in a
manner consistent with the policies stated above. If the
curator determines that exhibition will damage the objects,
or is damaging the objects, from the collection, the situation
shall be remedied immediately. Such remedy may entail
removal of the objects from exhibition with approval of
the curator in charge and consultation with the Acquisition
Committee,
G. Commercial Use of Museum Objects.
The Museum collections normally are not available for
commercial non-educational use. However, at the discretion
of the curator in charge and with approval of the Board
of Director, objects may be made available for reproduction
for commercial sale. The curator and the Acquisition Committee
shall be the judge of quality control, selections, and
marketing with approval of the Board of Director. Such
commercial use shall be consistent with this collections
policy. Copyright for reproduction of Museum objects shall
remain the property of the Museum.
6. DEFINITIONS
'Collection' is an assemblage of objects acquired, accessioned,
and conserved because of their historic significance and
educational value.
'Object' encompasses all collection materials, including,
but not limited to, specimens, artifacts, articles, photographs,
illustrations, drawings, archival and library materials,
field notes and records, and exhibits.
'Acquisition'
involves all transactions by which title to incoming objects
is transferred to Tehama County Museum or by which the
objects come under the professional administrative and
curatorial control of the Museum, and includes gifts,
bequests, purchases, exchanges, and other transfers, in
addition to collection by Museum staff.
'Disposition'
involves all transactions by which title to outgoing objects
is transferred from the Museum to another institution
or individual, as well as disposal by intentional destruction.
'Accession'
refers to the specific procedures that are followed in
the preliminary logging of new objects into the Museum's
collections following acquisition.
'Deaccession'
refers to the specific procedures that are followed in
removing objects from the Museum's collections in preparation
for disposition.
'Curation' embraces
all aspects of professionally caring for the collections
and the objects they contain, including, but not limited
to, acquiring, accessioning, cataloguing, maintaining,
preserving, restoring, deaccessioning, and disposing of
the collections, objects, field notes, databases, and
other associated records and documentation.
.
Note that acquisitions
and dispositions do not include 'loans' or 'chain of custody
evidence' both of which are the temporary transfer of
collection objects to and from the museum without a change
of ownership (see '5B. Incoming Loans' and '5C. Outgoing
Loans' above).
