The nature of museum collections requires that
the governing body provides appropriate security to protect the collections
against theft or damage in displays, exhibitions, working or storage areas, and
while in transit. Policies should also be in place to protect the public and
personnel, the collections and other resources, against natural and man-made
disasters.
The approach to insuring or indemnifying the
resources of the museum may vary. However, the governing body should ensure
that the cover is adequate and includes objects in transit or on loan and other items currently the responsibility of
the museum.
- Funding
It is the governing body’s responsibility to
ensure that there are sufficient fund to carry out and develop the activities
of the museum. These funds may be from the public sector, from private sources
or generated through the museum’s own activities. There should be a written
policy of acceptable practice for all funding sources and all funds must be
accounted for in a professional manner.
Regardless of the funding source the museum
must maintain control of the content and integrity of its programs, exhibitions
and activities. Income generating activities should not compromise the
standards of the institution or its public.
- Personnel
The museum’s personnel are an important
resource. The governing body should ensure that all action concerning its
personnel is taken in accordance with the policies of the museum as well as the
proper and legal procedures in force locally.
The director or head of the museum is a key
post and should be directly responsible, with direct access, to the governing
body. When making such an appointment, governing bodies need to have regard for
the knowledge and skills required to fill the post effectively. These qualities
should include adequate intellectual ability and professional knowledge,
complemented by a high standard of ethical conduct.
The museum function involves many different
skills and qualified personnel with the expertise required to meet all
responsibilities should be employed. There should also be adequate
opportunities for their continuing education and professional development of
museum personnel.
Some museums encourage volunteer help. In such cases the governing body
should have a written policy on volunteer work which promotes a positive
relationship between volunteers and museum personnel. Volunteers should be
fully conversant with the ICOM Code of
Ethics and other applicable codes and laws.
The governing body should never require museum
personnel or volunteers to act in a way that should be considered to conflict
with the provisions of any national law or relevant code of ethics.
Making
and maintaining collections
- acquisition policy
Museums have the duty to acquire, preserve and
promote their collections. These collections are a significant public
inheritance and those involved with them hold positions of public trust. The
governing body should therefore adopt and publish a written collections policy
that addresses the acquisition, care and use of the collections.
The policy should also clarify the position of
any material that will not be catalogued, conserved, or exhibited. For example,
there may be certain types of working collections where the emphasis is on
preserving cultural, scientific or technical process rather than the object, or
where objects or specimens are assembled for regular handling and teaching
purposes.
The acquisition of the objects or specimens
outside a museum’s stated policy should only be made in exceptional
circumstances, where this is an issues, the governing body should consider the
professional opinions available to them and the views of all interested
parties. Consideration should include the significance of the objects or
specimen, including its context in the cultural or natural heritage, and the
special interests of other museums collecting such material. However, even in
these circumstances, objects without a valid title should not be acquired.
Ownership
No object or specimen should be acquired,
whether by purchase, gift, loan, bequest or exchange, unless the acquiring
museum is satisfied that valid title of ownership is held. Evidence of lawful
ownership in a country is not necessarily valid title. Every effort must,
therefore, be made before acquisition to ensure that the object or specimen has
not been illegally obtained in or exported from, its country of origin or any
intermediate country in which it might have been owned legally (including the
museum’s own country). Due diligence in this regard may be taken as
establishing the full history of the item from discovery or production.
Removing objects and specimens from museum
collections
The permanent nature of museum collections and
the dependence on private benefaction in forming collections makes any removal
of an item a serious matter. For this reason many museums do not have legal
powers to dispose of specimens.
Where there are legal powers permitting
disposals, the removal of an object or specimen from a museum collection must
only be undertaken with a full understanding of the significance of the item,
its character (whether renewable or non-renewable), legal standing, and any
loss of public trust that might result from such action. The decision to
de-accession should be responsibility of the governing body acting in
conjunction with the director of the museum and the curator of the collection
concerned.
In the case of collections subject to
conditions of disposal, the legal or other requirements and procedures must be
complied with fully. Where the original acquisition was subject to mandatory or
other restrictions these conditions must be observed unless it can clearly be
shown that adherence to such restrictions is impossible or substantially
detrimental to the institution. If appropriate, relief should be obtained
through legal procedures.
Complete records must be kept of all
de-accessioning decisions, the objects involved, and the disposition of the
object. There will be a strong presumption that a de-accessioned item should
first be offered to another museum.
Conflicts of interest
Special care is required in considering any
item, either for sale, as a donation or as a tax-benefit gift, from a member of
your governing body, a colleague, or the families and close associates of these
persons. Such persons should not be permitted to purchase objects that have
been de-accessioned from a collection for which they are responsible.
Museum policies should ensure that the
collections (both permanent and temporary) and associated information, properly
recorded, are available for current usage and will be passed on to future
generations in as good and safe a condition as practicable, having regard to
current knowledge and resources. Professional responsibilities involving the
care of the collections should be assigned to persons with the appropriate
knowledge and skill or who are adequately supervised.
Documentation of collections
The importance of the information associated
with museum collections requires that this should be documented according to
accepted professional standards. This should include a full identification and
description of each item, its associations, provenance, condition, treatment
and present location. Such data should be kept in a secure environment and be
supported with retrieval systems providing access to the information by the
museum personnel and other legitimate users. The museum should avoid disclosing sensitive personal or related
information and other confidential matters when collection data are made
available to the public.
Protection against disasters
The nature of museum collections demand that
every museum should develop policies to ensure the protection of the
collections during armed conflict and other man-made and natural disasters and
emergencies.
Preventive conservation
Preventive conservation is an important
element of museum policy and collections care. It is an essential responsibility
of members of the museum profession to create and maintain a protective environment
for the collections in their care, whether in store, on display or in transit.
Conservation and restoration
The museum should carefully monitor the
condition of collection to determine when an object or specimen may require
conservation-restoration work and the service of a qualified
conservator-restorer. The principle goal should be the stabilization of the
object or specimen. All conservation procedures should be documented and as
reversible as possible, and all alterations should be clearly identifiable from
the original object or specimen.
Welfare of live animals
A museum that maintains living animals must
assume full responsibility for their health and well-being. It should prepare
and implement a safety code for the protection of its personnel and visitors-
as well as the animals –that has been approved by an expert in the veterinary
field. Genetic modification should be clearly identifiable.
Personal use of museum collections
Museum personnel, the governing body, their
families, close associates, or others should be permitted to expropriate items
from the museum collections, even temporarily, for any personal use.
Taken from:
Geoffrey Lewis (chair, ICOM Ethics Committee),
The Role of Museum and the Professional
Code of Ethics, ICOM, 2004
