Historical Commission Agenda and Packet 2016 03 02

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ILZ ityor Louisville COLORADO • SINCE 1878 Memorandum To: Historical Commission From: Bridget Bacon, Museum Coordinator Date: February 23, 2016 Re: Revisiting Collections Management Policy adopted Jan. 2, 2016 to request a revision of the provision on permissible methods of disposal At the Jan. 6, 2016 meeting of the Historical Commission, I presented a Collections Management Policy for approval. I modeled the draft on approved collection management policies of other museums, including the collections management policy that was adopted by the Golden City Council for the Golden History Museums. The section stating the deaccessioning policy, which covers the situations under which items may be permanently removed from the collection, laid out permissible methods of disposal of deaccessioned items. At the Jan. 6 meeting, the Commission approved the draft of the policy except for making the following additional revision. Under "Methods of Disposal," instead of the policy stating: "Items may be returned to the donor or donor's heirs if the item was a gift and if the donor's identity is known," the Commission felt that the policy should instead state: "Items should first be offered to the donor or donor's heirs if the item was a gift and if the donor's identity is known." Because of wanting to fully understand the ethical and legal issues involved, I researched this aspect of the policy following the January meeting and found that there is some consensus among museum professionals that there should generally not be a provision in a Collections Management Policy stating that a museum should first offer a deaccessioned item back to the donor or the donor's heirs. According to some, it is a well- intentioned idea that could have unforeseen consequences. Some of the reasons for revising this provision in our Museum's policy are: • It would put the Museum in a difficult position if there is more than one heir that would like to have the item, or if the donor and /or heirs are difficult to identify and reach. 1