COLLECTIONS POLICY

1. Collection Ownership and Mandate
   
   
   • The collection presented by the Avalon Free Library History Center is owned by the Avalon Free Library.  The History Center, in conjunction with the Avalon Historical Society, protects and regulates all the objects borrowed for the Museum's visiting exhibitions.  Both the History Center and the Historical Society are committed to maintaining the collection as public trust, for which they will provide conscientious care indefinitely.
     
     The Avalon Free Library History Center has made a commitment to the creation of a unified and comprehensive facility devoted to the development, preservation, study and display of its permanent collection.  The History Center staff should make the collection available to the public through popular and scholarly, on-site and traveling exhibits.  The collection should become an important resource of knowledge and ideas for life enrichment to the region's communities and visitors.

2. Acquisitions
   
   
1. Objects shall not be accepted or otherwise acquired for the History Center collection unless the following conditions are met:
1. The objects are relevant to and consistent with the purposes and activities of the Center.
2. The Center can provide for storage, protection and preservation of the objects under conditions that assure their availability for Center purposes and comply with the accepted professional standards.
3. The objects have a demonstrated authenticity, established provenance, and a clear proof of title.
4. The objects, especially antiquities, should have proven both legal and ethical integrity; if there is a suspicion that the objects had been looted, stolen or otherwise illegally obtained, they should not be accepted in the collection.
5. The objects are either in a display condition or a condition which the Historical Society has the resources to restore and maintain.
6. It is intended for all the acquired objects to have permanency in the collection, unless otherwise designated in the acquisition record or decided afterwards for the benefit of the collection, its quality and consistency.


2. History Center acquisitions shall be reviewed, purchased, and or accepted by the Avalon Historical Society as property of the Avalon Free Library History Center.  Accurate records of the collection shall be maintained by both the Center and the Historical Society.  Inventory reconciliation shall be conducted at the end of each budget year.
   
   
3. If the object is donated to the History Center by a living artist, a copyright agreement shall be signed by the artist so that the Museum can arrange to use reproductions of the work for educational, catalogue, publicity, and professional purposes without infringing on the artist's copyright.
   
   
4. The approved acquisition methods are:
   1. Gifts
   2. Bequests
   3. Purchase
   4. Deposits
   5. Extended loans
      
      
5. All objects proposed for acquisition shall be reviewed by the Director and Historical Society Board.
   1. The Director shall conduct an analysis to determine compatibility of the object with collection categories, its value, and its storage and display requirements.  The Director shall also analyze requirements stipulated by the donor and other potential issues before making their decision.
   2. The Director shall make certain that there is no conflict of interest between the donors or lenders of objects and the History Center’s best professional interest and its legal integrity.
   3. The decision about accepting the object into the collection shall become final if supported by a majority of voting members of the Historical Society.
   4. The Director and Historical Society Board shall:
   • Carefully review objects being considered for acquisition
   • Recommend disposition of each object.
   • Possible outcomes:
   • Acceptance to the Museum's permanent collection.
   • Acceptance with the possibility of future deaccession.
   • Acceptance to the Museum study collection, with the possibility of deaccession or distribution throughout campus.
   • Non-acceptance.
     
     
6. If a quick response to a donor is necessary, the decision can be made jointly by the History Center Director, and then presented to the Historical Society Board for final approval.  In such cases, the following conditions must be met:
1. All the other previously stated requirements have to be met.
2. Objects accepted to the collection cannot have any restrictions made by the donor.
3. Objects shall only be accepted into the study collection, not the permanent collection.  They may be later moved to the permanent collection, if approved by the entire Acquisition Committee.
   

3. Deaccessions
   
   
   1. Objects from the Historical Society collection, which are the property of the History Center, may be removed from the collection (deaccession) only according to the Foundation policy, and then deleted from the Foundation inventory.
      
      
   2. Objects may be deaccessioned only if the Director of the Center, in consultation with the Center’s staff, deems the deaccession appropriate.  The recommendation about deaccession shall be made by the Museum Director, and accepted by the majority of the Historical Society Board.
      
      
   3. The above objects may be removed from the collection only for specific purposes which benefit the Museum --- the integrity, consistency, and development of its collection.
      
      
   4. There will be no private sale to staff or members of the governing authority of the History Center, the Historical Society, or to their representatives.
      
      
   5. No part of the collection will be given as a gift to any individual, institution, or other entity.
      
      
   6. The preferred form of deaccessioning is through a public auction.
      

3. Procedures
   
   
• This policy will be administered and enforced by the Director and staff of the Avalon Free Library History Center, in cooperation with the Avalon Historical Society.  The Center and the Historical Society Board are responsible for compliance with this policy.