Historical Commission Agenda and Packet 2015 07 01

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Louisville Historical Museum Collections Management Policy Draft — June 2015 b. It is a priority for the Museum to digitize historic images at a high resolution in accordance with accepted standards in order to preserve the images and to minimize the handling of the originals. c. Museum staff and volunteers must take care whenever items from the collections are transported between buildings at the Museum or between City buildings. Items should be covered and carried in a safe manner. Items should not be taken outside during inclement weather. If items are transported by vehicle, care must be taken to ensure that the physical conditions are safe and stable for the items. d. The Museum staff may grant permission to other City departments or divisions for a limited number of items from the collections to be exhibited in other buildings owned by the City of Louisville so long as the items are exhibited in a locked exhibit case or cases to which only City staff has access, it is for a finite period, and the physical conditions are acceptable to the Museum staff for the preservation of the specific items. Only Museum staff or volunteers shall transport and handle the items if they to be exhibited in another City building. e. The Museum staff may remove items from the Museum buildings for the purpose of working with them in the staff offices of other City buildings. f. It is acknowledged that some items may leave the Museum for official museum business. Qualifying activities include: conservation, repair, upholstering, framing, mounting, photography, photograph reproduction, binding, photocopying, and digitizing. g. The Museum buildings do not have a dedicated space for staff and volunteers to eat meals. Therefore, care must be taken to avoid the consumption or presence of food or drink near the collections. Visitors are asked not to eat or drink inside the Museum buildings, except for drinking bottled water. h. The City of Louisville shall maintain insurance on the Museum collections. 5.3 Access to Collections The Museum provides access to collections in many ways. For example, many items are already accessible to view as part of permanent or temporary exhibits. In addition, many historic photos have been digitized and are available to view online. This provides important 24/7 access by the public to many items. Collections will be physically accessible subject to the following: a. Only Museum staff and those specially trained in the use and handling of artifacts may handle items in the permanent collection. b. Members of the public may handle items in the education collection and reference collection, under the supervision of Museum staff or volunteers. 9