Open Forum

Good afternoon, a museum colleague mentioned that there is documentation regarding ownership of artifacts, such that, if a facility, such as a museum has been in possession of items for a period of time - she mentioned 15 years, has cared for and maintained them, that there is a legal right to claim ownership of said items. If this is so, can someone please direct me to the document and/or information? 

Thank you.

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Lisa Gioia
Director
Siskiyou County Museum
Yreka CA
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I'm not at all the expert on this, but I just came across this issue in a course I just completed in museum studies. I think each state may have its own property abandonment laws. Surprisingly, Arkansas has a property abandonment law that directly speaks to museum property. 

I also know that the newer thinking in museums on loans is to NOT do long-term permanent loans for this very reason. It makes sense to keep loans to short-term, like a year, to stay out of conflict over property rights. 

I'd like to hear what the seasoned veterans have to say on this, but I would bet it's a state-by-state issue. 

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Angie Albright
Director
Clinton House Museum
Fayetteville AR
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Thank you, Angie. I hope to hear back from others more experienced. Our issue here is not so much regarding abandonment of property, but more of another entity claiming ownership of items that have been housed in the museum for decades. Some of these articles have a clear  "deed of gift" but as in many museums, proper documentations was not always followed. It is imperative that I establish that the artifacts and reference material belong to and are under the care of the museum and cannot be disputed.

Thanks you!

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Lisa Gioia
Director
Siskiyou County Museum
Yreka CA
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-07-2017 03:41 PM
From: Angie Albright
Subject: Ownership issue

I'm not at all the expert on this, but I just came across this issue in a course I just completed in museum studies. I think each state may have its own property abandonment laws. Surprisingly, Arkansas has a property abandonment law that directly speaks to museum property. 

I also know that the newer thinking in museums on loans is to NOT do long-term permanent loans for this very reason. It makes sense to keep loans to short-term, like a year, to stay out of conflict over property rights. 

I'd like to hear what the seasoned veterans have to say on this, but I would bet it's a state-by-state issue. 

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Angie Albright
Director
Clinton House Museum
Fayetteville AR
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I should have been more clear! "Abandoned property" doesn't always mean something has been actually abandoned. It will depend on how a state defines "abandoned." It might be the type of law that would help clarify the property rights involved. 

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Angie Albright
Director
Clinton House Museum
Fayetteville AR
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-07-2017 07:06 PM
From: Lisa Gioia
Subject: Ownership issue

Thank you, Angie. I hope to hear back from others more experienced. Our issue here is not so much regarding abandonment of property, but more of another entity claiming ownership of items that have been housed in the museum for decades. Some of these articles have a clear  "deed of gift" but as in many museums, proper documentations was not always followed. It is imperative that I establish that the artifacts and reference material belong to and are under the care of the museum and cannot be disputed.

Thanks you!

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Lisa Gioia
Director
Siskiyou County Museum
Yreka CA
------------------------------

Hi Lisa!

So the "fifteen year rule" that your colleague mentioned to you may be a policy that your museum has put in place - generally speaking, when an object comes into the possession of a museum (whether permanently or temporarily) the documentation accompanying it should dictate the amount of time the donor has until they have legally surrendered the object to the museum. 

What you need to do is locate that "fifteen year rule" policy in your strategic plan or collections policy and present it to the outside party claiming ownership of the objects. If they signed over the objects at any point and that fifteen years time has elapsed, your museum should have legal precedent to continue holding the objects as permanent parts of your collection.

I highly recommend obtaining a copy of A Legal Primer on Managing Museum Collections by Marie C. Malaro and Ildiko Pogany DeAngelis. It has been very useful to me when confronted by these difficult situations. 

Good luck!


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Claire Aldenhuysen
Museum Education Specialist
National Model Aviation Museum, Academy of Model Aeronautics
Muncie IN
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Thank you for the response. I received the Legal Primer recently and should have consulted it as well. I am making my way through the book. I will see if it can help me answer this question. We do have a policy that was put in place years ago. Again, thank you for the response.



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Lisa Gioia
Director
Siskiyou County Museum
Yreka CA
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-08-2017 08:17 AM
From: Claire Aldenhuysen
Subject: Ownership issue

Hi Lisa!

So the "fifteen year rule" that your colleague mentioned to you may be a policy that your museum has put in place - generally speaking, when an object comes into the possession of a museum (whether permanently or temporarily) the documentation accompanying it should dictate the amount of time the donor has until they have legally surrendered the object to the museum. 

What you need to do is locate that "fifteen year rule" policy in your strategic plan or collections policy and present it to the outside party claiming ownership of the objects. If they signed over the objects at any point and that fifteen years time has elapsed, your museum should have legal precedent to continue holding the objects as permanent parts of your collection.

I highly recommend obtaining a copy of A Legal Primer on Managing Museum Collections by Marie C. Malaro and Ildiko Pogany DeAngelis. It has been very useful to me when confronted by these difficult situations. 

Good luck!


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Claire Aldenhuysen
Museum Education Specialist
National Model Aviation Museum, Academy of Model Aeronautics
Muncie IN
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I am unfamiliar with CA law, since it varies by state, but these are called abandoned property laws. They allow claiming artifacts after a certain amount of time, if the museum has completed the prescribed (by state law) due diligence to contact the donor. 

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Jillian Becquet
Collections Manager & Registrar
Corpus Christi Museum of Science & History
Corpus Christi TX
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California has two sets of laws that apply to abandoned/unclaimed property.  The first is the Unclaimed Property Law, which is contained in the Code of Civil Procedure (CCP), starting with Section 1500.  It covers all businesses, etc.  The second set is contained in the Civil Code (CC) and is sections 1899 to 1899.11.  The second set was specifically enacted for museums.  You will need to research what constitutes abandoned property and if your items fit into that definition.  Then determine which set of laws you have to follow.  My experience is the Civil Code sections are the best for museums.  

Before I joined out Collections Dept, all loans were for an indefinite term and make no provision for items left after a load expires.  the Civil Code sections are a great source for solving this problem.  Now our longest incoming loan is 5 yrs.

Right now I'm working on a "verbal" donation of a jet engine.  The owner, who had a hangar next to ours, and was moving out of his, donated a jet engine to the museum.  Unfortunately no documentation was completed.  In checking with person who with the museum then, have no
direct knowledge of the donation.  I have one last step to accomplish and if successful, the engine is ours.

If you have any questions or need some help, feel free to contact me.  

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Raymond Meyer
Safety-Security Manager
Aerospace Museum of California
McClellan, CA 95652
safety-security@aerospaceca.org
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