Re: Segue About Museums

rainbowroute Wrote:

>
> To anyone considering donating things to a museum:
> I strongly urge you to contact the museum
> beforehand to ask if the museum is interested in
> having the things you want to give.

Agreed. Most of the gov’t museums I’ve had dealings with (municipal, county/region) are mature to the point that they have formal collection committees and donation policies. The Wild West days of the 1960s/70s when they accepted everything that walked in the door are long gone. They have identified collection areas they want to beef up, and are actively deaccessioning (aka selling) duplicates or items extraneous to their collections. A museum near me had two recent online auctions, getting rid of obvious duplication and clutter, and netting what appeared to be thousands in valuable income. Heck, I even bought a neat old RR office chair. I’m sitting on it as I type this!

Some people are taken aback by this and may even see items they have donated being up for sale. The museums are now very up front and the donor paperwork to be signed includes not only provenance, and provenience if applicable, but specific wording that the items become the museum’s for its sole use as it deems appropriate.

Cheers,
Ralph