Hello Emily!
Our museum absolutely includes guidelines about the condition and even the size of an item that is offered to us and whether or not we would accept it. In fact, we have 5 acquisition criteria:
1. The item must be relevant to Elkhart County's ongoing story as consistent with the mission statement of the ECHS. An item should have permanent long-term historical value in order to be considered for the ECHS collection. The item should be documented as to provenance.
2. The item does not duplicate in any meaningful way objects or archival materials already in the collection unless such duplication can be justified or the item represents a better example in which case the inferior example should be considered for deaccession (see Section IV)
3. ECHS can provide for the storage and protection of the item in conditions that ensure public accessibility and in keeping with professional preservation standards. Provisions to conserve and store recently acquired objects should not exceed practical expenses, this includes due to the size of an item.
4. All moral, legal, and ethical implications of the acquisition must be considered.
5. All donations of materials are considered outright and unconditional gifts to be used at the discretion of the ECHS. Title to all items acquired shall be free and clear, without restriction to use or future disposition and without promise of permanent exhibition.
(This is outlined in our collections policy. AAM offers lots of resources for developing one but here is a general guideline: https://www.aam-us.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/developing-a-cmp-final.pdf)
You will notice the wording of criteria 3 is deliberately subjective as "practical expenses" can vary from item to item. For example, it may be practical for us to accept and expend the resources to have a completely unique plat map of our area that is in rough shape conserved but not practical for us to do the same with one we know was mass produced and we are likely to find a copy that does not need conservation work. What constitutes "practical expense" can be determined on a case by case basis among your collections committee (or whoever makes collecting decisions for your organization).
You shouldn't feel you need to collect every single thing that is offered to you. This will lead to an unwieldy and unfocused collection. Every potential donor I speak with, I let them know about the above criteria, the first three especially. They are aware we may not accept the item if it does not fit our mission, duplicates our collection, or is not something we feel we can appropriately store and/or care for due to its size or condition. Setting expectations goes a long way when and if you ultimately have to decline an offer. At my current organization, I have also instituted a policy of not storing any item(s) on site until a decision to collect has been reached. This avoids the issue of donors not coming to retrieve their items if the museum decides not to collect them. This also eliminates the burden of liability for their property while it's in your custody. If a donor arrives with an item in tow, I take images of it and collect any provenance details as well as the potential donor's contact info but send them home with it again letting them know when to expect to hear from us. This procedure has worked very well for me and I highly recommend it.
Finally, to mitigate the concern of placing deteriorated items (should you decide to collect them) in your archives/collections storage, it is always a good idea to set up a quarantine room or area. This is a temporary storage and processing area where new collections can live while they are being cataloged and cleaned or treated for any kind of infestation. Even items that appear to be in good shape should be monitored for a couple weeks after arrival in a quarantined area to make sure they do not have any mold or insect issues, etc. Because you are absolutely correct, these can pose a risk to your current collections and, such as in the case of the rodent feces, even a risk to your staff and visitors! The ideal is to have a closed room with its own HVAC but that is not always practical for every institution. Here is an online resource which talks more about pest management and mitigation. There is also a link about mold: https://museumpests.net/prevention-introduction/prevention-examination-and-quarantine/
Hopefully, this info is useful for you. Feel free to email me any additional questions!
Michelle Nash
Curator of Collections
Elkhart County Historical Museum
PO Box 434
Bristol, IN 46507
574-848-4322
www.elkhartcountyhistory.org
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