Historical Commission Agenda and Packet 2015 07 01

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Louisville Historical Museum Collections Management Policy Draft — June 2015 4.12 Museum staff shall send donors a thank -you letter with a copy of the Deed of Gift form that has been signed by the donor and the Historical Commission Chair. In cases in which only a digital image of an item and not the original is being donated, and the donor's emailed message indicating that the donor is donating the digital image and that it may be used by the Museum as it sees fit is serving as the Deed of Gift, the donor may be thanked by email. 5. Security of and Access to Collection 5.1 Authority The Museum and its owner, the City of Louisville, have the responsibility of safeguarding the physical integrity of its collections. It is also recognized that the collections exist for the education and benefit of present and future generations. Therefore, the public shall be granted reasonable access to collections and records at the Museum for research and other legitimate purposes. The Museum staff regulates access to the collections and the public shall direct requests for access to the Museum Coordinator. The Museum staff retains authority concerning access and use of collections based upon knowledge of the items, including such factors as condition, rarity, fragility, importance, quantity of artifacts of similar kind in the collections, and religious or cultural significance. Should a situation arise in which collections preservation and collections access conflict, preservation shall take precedence except when the item is held by the Museum for specific types of usage. Requests for images of photographs in the Museum's collections and the fees for such images are covered by the Photograph Reproduction Policy & Agreement, which can be found in the Appendix. Fees are paid to the City of Louisville as the owner of the images in the Museum's collections. 5.2 Security and Care of Collections The Museum and City of Louisville shall provide safe conditions for all collections by providing adequate space, suitable security, and an appropriate physical environment for items in its custody, subject to existing conditions. The care includes, to the extent possible, regulation of conditions of light, relative humidity, and temperature, and protection from pollutants and contaminants that may affect the well -being of individual objects, within physical and budgetary constraints under which the Museum and City of Louisville operate. This care also includes the supervision and regulation of members of the general public and scholars while conducting research. a. The collections shall be housed in secure City -owned storage areas with limited access, except that large metal items already in the collections may be stored outside until such time that covered space is available for them. Digital archives, particularly if owned only in digital form, shall be backed up by the City of Louisville in order to best ensure their long- term preservation. 8