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In writing our collections policy and code of ethics (two separate documents), I tried to come up with statements on private collecting that were reasonable for all sides. Previously existing documents were very vague on the subject. We require that all board, staff and volunteers disclose the nature and extent of private collections at the time they are hired or signed on. It is up to the director and the staff collections committee to determine if a conflict of interest exists. Usually, it does not. We recommend that people with private collections document their collections at this time, so that any future allegations about the origin of the material can be dealt with. In general, we draw the line at people who are professional commercial dealers rather than people who are merely avocational collectors. We do include some dealers who are also subject experts when we establish community advisory committees, but they are not eligible for museum positions at any level. Avocational collectors are the people who are most likely to understand the nature and importance of collections. I sought advice from the museum community when drafting our code of ethics because we have valuable board members with private collections. The answers were unanimous: these are precisely the people you want on a board, as long as they agree to refrain from competing with the museum for acquisitions and are barred from receiving deaccessioned material. Unless a private collection is exceptionally rare and/or valuable, I do not see any advantage to requiring that the collection be donated to the museum. Even then, such a requirement can cause bad feeling. While it might seem that allowing someone to keep a private collection while being associated with the museum is flying in the face of reason, think again: most of us do not have that much room; often the collections are poorly documented as scientific material; sometimes they are inferior materials. Here's what we do require: *At the time of hiring or signing on, a new person must disclose in writing the nature and extent of all private collections. This is not, and should never be considered, a punitive or fault-finding mission. We emphasize that we need to know in case allegations about the origin of the specimens come up in the future: we will be able to prove that they did not come from the museum and that the existence of the collection(s) was properly brought to the museum's attention. Current Board, staff and volunteers complied with this at the time the code of ethics was accepted by the Board. *The person agrees in writing not to compete with the museum for acquisitions, to bring notice of desirable acquisitions to the attention of the museum first, and to refrain from bringing in private collections for care and conservation at museum cost (or to take supplies for collections storage from the museum). *The person is informed that he or she may not receive deaccessioned material from the museum collections. *If a true conflict of interest is determined to exist, several options are presented to the person. We define a conflict of interest as either the possession of a collection which duplicates or complements a collection held by the museum, or else proof that the person is a commercial collector rather than an avocational one. First, we would ask permission for the director and collections committee to see the collection. We would explain the problem and suggest several options: donation to the museum (now or in the future, e.g. a bequest); donation to another institution; a signed statement that the person will not add to this collection during his/her tenure with the museum in a way that puts that person in conflict with the museum collecting program; etc. We find that offering options works best; making demands works worst. *If we have reason to think that the material is held illegally, we inform the person of the problem and suggest ways to correct that (including donation). *If, after this initial period, the person engages in illegal commercial collections dealings or illegal collecting, we make that information available to the appropriate authorities. We let people know about this option at the beginning. If the person engages in legal commercial activity or a form of collecting which he or she had agreed not to do, his or her association with the museum can be terminated. We never seize collections or demand this same level of behavior after the person has left the museum. If there were problems connected with the person's departure, we would ask to review his or her collections with that person or a representative present to make sure that no museum holdings have been added. Our policies are fairly new (within the past 3 years). To date, we have used them mainly to decline offered donations which were not appropriate. We have not found any collection that constituted any conflict of interest. We have made sure that dealers are not on the board or staff. We are considering offering a series of classes for private collectors on care and documentation of their collections, with the idea that many of these collections will or should eventually be offered to us. It's easy to write a policy in strict Old Testament thunderous language, or to make it inflexible and take a tone of moral superiority, but that sort of policy doesn't work well in the real world. In reality, people are collectors, and many of the people who are most interested in collecting are the most interested in museums. While the museum does have to protect itself against the actions of unscrupulous collectors, it also has to build a network of support with the ethical ones. Seizing collections works more against the latter than the former. Sally Shelton Director, Collections Care and Comservation ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | San Diego Natural History Museum | | P. O. Box 1390 | | San Diego, California 92112 USA | | phone (619) 232-3821; FAX (619) 232-0248 | | email LIBSDNHM@CLASS.ORG | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- On Mon, 21 Oct 1996, guy a hanley wrote: > I would first like to thank everyone that responded to my inquiries > about freshwater molluscs and cenozoic gallery displays! the > information was very helpful > > I now am interested in getting some input pertaining to museum or > research collections professionals building private collections. does > your particular museum have written policies as to private collecting? > if so, to what extent? are you allowed to collect specimens not > related to your museum's mission? If your museum has no written > policy, have directors voiced any guidlines? The information I have > compiled so far shows that a vast majority of museums either have a > strong policy against any personal collecting whatsoever, or no set > policy at all. I have heard that the Smithsonian has stipulations > even after employment has ended. I would love to hear from as many > museums as possible, big or small > > This information is going to be used only as a research paper > pertaining to collections ethics. > > Thank you for your time > > Guy Hanley >
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