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Collections committee summarizes accession and deaccession procedures, notes repatriation practices
Summary
The collections committee reviewed accession and deaccession policies, saying accessioning makes a provisional donation permanent and deaccessioning is a lengthy, multi-step process; Native American repatriation was mentioned as handled through committee review.
A collections committee representative told the commission that the museum's process for accepting and removing objects is deliberate and designed to protect provenance and ethics.
"Whenever the museum takes an object, first it's a provisional donation and then the person still owns the item, then it goes through our collection committee," the representative said, outlining the accession process. They said accessioned items become part of the permanent collection after review.
The representative described deaccessioning as "a very large, long process" that includes detailed research, multiple signatures and checks to ensure nothing important is being removed. They said items considered for deaccession are typically damaged or have no provenance and that, in some cases, Native American items are repatriated to tribes.
Committee members discussed that deaccessioned items are sometimes offered to regional museums or used as hands-on education material, but stressed staff cannot take items home and that ethical safeguards are in place. No formal acceptance or rejection of specific accessions was requested at the meeting; the report was provided for commissioners' information.
The collections representative said the committee circulated a packet of items for review and invited questions from commissioners who wanted more detail.
