Hasta La Ideas

Today we welcome an illuminating guest post from Elspeth Kursh with a look into how museums decide what, if anything, of your great-grandmother’s stuff is worthy of donating to a museum. Kursh is the Collections and Facilities Manager at the Sewall-Belmont House & Museum in Washington, D.C., which celebrates the history of women’s progress towards equality. You can learn more about the museum at SewallBelmont.org.

You’re calling me about the trunk you found in your great-grandmother’s attic. She kept these old brochures about how crazy it is that women can’t vote in most states in the Union. You found my phone number by Googling for a museum that works with women’s history, and you have called to see if I want these things for our collection. Sadly, the answer is probably “no.”

I’m sure your materials are beautiful. I’m not being sarcastic, either. Some of the most marvelous things I’ve ever seen have come from someone’s attic. But, just like your attic, museums, historical societies, and other repositories of our shared experiences are bursting with stuff. When we accept something into our permanent collection — a process called accessioning — we are making a promise to care for that object for as long we can and as long as our mission supports education. And, because of the commitment involved to the objects we do accept, it likely means we’re not acquiring something else instead. To remove something from the permanent collection — deaccessioning of an object — is also a complex, often legal process that involves far, far more people than you would guess. As a result, we can’t allow things into our permanent collections without a great deal of thought, discussion, and careful measurement of how much storage space and resources we have. (Think of the process you use to decide what objects come in and out of your home, but add committees, boards, mission statements, and budget officials to that decision-making process.)

In order to add an object to our permanent collection, I have to understand where it fits in our historical narrative. Does it offer a new perspective? Is it a unique representation of a historical event? Generally, diaries, pamphlets, photographs of people, or mass produced books do not fit these parameters. Pieces of furniture or clothing have to be what are called “seminal examples” of a period or style; just because something is beautiful and old doesn’t mean it’s important. If I had a penny for every time someone called me with a stupendous find from their basement, my museum wouldn’t be worried about budgeting anymore.

As a museum professional, I am bound by the ethics of my field and the policies outlined by my institution. I spend a lot of time with a long document called a “Collections Management Plan,” which outlines the goals for our collections, how we plan to care for them, and, most importantly, how we decide how to add or subtract objects. This policy is approved by our Board, so it’s not slap-dash; it’s a technical, often binder-sized file that guides nearly every decision I make, and helps us balance public education with the need to store all the cool things we’ve acquired over the years.

Storing and caring for objects amounts to an incredible strain on our limited resources. It requires thousands and thousands of dollars, and that’s just for our small, historic house museum. If you think you’ve got something no-one has ever seen before, do some searching on the internet to learn if you’re correct. We have a selection of collections detailed online, like many museums. Lots of museums have “wish-lists,” which can give you some guidance for what they’re seeking. If we’ve already got something similar, we generally don’t want a second (or tenth) example. In our case, unless you’ve got the banner Alice Paul threw over the balcony when the 19th amendment was ratified, I probably don’t want the items your great-grandmother saved. If you find that banner, though, call me.

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