The Northeast Classic Car Museum is an educational facility that collects, preserves, interprets and exhibits vehicles related to the evolution of transportation, with particular emphasis on the role of the automobile and its impact on American culture. To this end, the Museum will collect artifacts relevant to transportation history, especially the history of the automobile. The collection will focus on American history, but will consider artifacts of foreign manufacture as they relate to the mission of the museum. In considering objects for inclusion in the collection, the museum’s commitment to caring for and providing access to the collection will be given careful consideration. Automobile related artifacts and ephemera will be given priority in the collection. The museum will not collect textiles (i.e. costumes) until such a time as it can provide for the proper storage of such items. The collection plan will be reviewed annually in April.
Acquisitions
Acquisitions are any and all items which are accepted into the permanent collection. Acquisitions may be gifted or purchased. All acquisitions shall be of high quality as determined by the Collections Committee and a consultant, if necessary. Acquisitions added to the permanent collection shall be promptly accessioned upon receipt and acceptance. All objects for consideration of gift or for examination for purchase shall be left with the Director. Members of the staff, volunteers, or docent should not accept any object coming into the Museum without the express permission of the Director. Objects which are acquired by the Museum must meet the Museum’s collecting policy.
Gifts
All gifts to be accepted by the Museum must have the approval of the Collections Committee. This policy is to protect against undue duplication in the collection as well as accepting objects which could hinder the ability of the Museum to display, care for, and store the objects already in the Museum’s possession. In addition, some objects may require very specialized care and conservation which may make them unwise and irresponsible to accept.
All gifts will be given and accepted unconditionally. No conditions will be made by Museum or donor as to the display, storage, or disposition of an object given to the Museum. All donors should be made aware that they give the object to the Museum outright and completely. In the best interest of the Museum, gifts will only be accepted unconditionally. The museum can be served only when there is complete freedom to display, store, and dispose of items.
No gift may be appraised by the Collections Committee or any member of the Museum staff. This practice constitutes a conflict of interest (See U.S. Tax Reform Act of 1984 and IRS Regulations relating to the act).
Purchases
All purchases must be approved by the Collections Committee and if it exceeds their budget limit it must be approved by the full board. All purchases above $5,000 must be approved by the full board.
Deaccessioning
Deaccessioning is the process of removing an item permanently from the museum’s collections. This procedure serves to refine and improve the collections. All items considered for deaccessioning should be evaluated in reference to the current Internal Revenue Service tax code.
From time to time the Museum may find itself in possession of artifacts that no longer suit the purpose of the Museum. No artifact should be disposed of without careful consideration by the Collections Committee, and other experts outside the Museum deemed appropriate by the Director. The skill, judgement, scholarship, connoisseurship, and experience required to acquire artifacts for the collection are the same qualities needed to carry out a program of deaccessioning. If disposal conditions exist as part of the deed of gift, the museum is legally bound to adhere to those conditions when deaccessioning an item unless otherwise authorized by a court of competent jurisdiction.
In considering reasons for deaccessioning objects from the collections, the Museum shall be concerned –
Does:
The artifact fails to meet the criteria set out in the Collecting Plan.
The artifact duplicates existing holdings to no apparent benefit.
The artifact is irreversibly deteriorated or infested. As a result, it threatens the condition of other artifacts in the collection.
The artifact has been determined to be fake or a fraud.
The artifact is determined to be incomplete to the point of making interpretation difficult.
The quality of the artifact does not meet standards provided in the Museum’s Collecting Plan. Such objects shall be considered for transfer into education collection for use as “hands-on” interpretive materials.
Another institution exists where the artifact would receive superior public access and research.
The object is a reproduction with no inherent historical value.
Proceeds from deaccessioned objects will be directed towards the purchase of another object for the collections or the care of the existing collection. The artifact should not be deaccessioned for the primary purpose of generating revenue for general operating expenses. Proceeds from the sale of deaccessioned objects or collections may be used for acquisitions, direct care of the collections (ie., curatorial staff salaries and other expenses incurred in conservation and preservation: rehousing or storage), and collections management.
Methods of Disposal
The method selected for artifact disposal should reflect the best interests of the Museum, the artifact, and the public for whom the Museum holds its collections in trust. There are four primary means of disposing of an object which has been deaccessioned. They are to be considered in the following order:
The artifact is sold, donated or traded to another museum or not-for-profit institution. If an object is to be traded, the value of the artifacts to be received should be reasonably commensurate with the value of the artifacts to be disposed of. Such transactions should only be completed after careful consideration that the donation is in the best interest of the artifact and the Museum. Trades executed with other museums should be finalized through reciprocal deeds of gift. Generally, trades of museum artifacts are executed only with other not-for-profit institutions. Trades with individuals or dealers may have the appearance of a conflict of interest.
The artifact is sold through a public offering.
Under some circumstances, objects may be consumed for conservation of other artifacts by dismantling for parts or salvage materials. When this takes place it should be conducted as an official deaccessioning and not informally.
The artifact is destroyed. There must be no ready alternative for the disposal of the artifact. Destruction of an object may be considered if the existence of the item physically harms the general public, Museum staff, or Museum facility. The procedures for destruction should follow approved federal, state and local standards for disposal of hazardous materials, if applicable.
Gifts for Resale
There are no legal restrictions regarding the Museum’s accepting artifacts given with the specific intention on the part of the donor that the object can be sold to benefit of the museum. It is important, however, that the Museum establish clearly with the donor that such is the purpose of the gift. There should be no ambiguity. Should the Museum sell the object within three years of the date of gift, certain tax reporting obligations will be incurred by the Museum and the donor. These are covered in the U.S. Tax Reform Act of 1984 and IRS Regulations relating to the Act.
The Museum will create a special collections category for such objects. This group of objects may have a “holding period” of up to threeyears. In this way, items not accessioned into permanent collections do not have to undergo the rigorous procedures outlined here for deaccessioning.
Loans
Two types of loans will be considered by the Museum, those which bring objects into the museum for specific, limited periods of time, and those which allow items to leave the Museum for specific limited periods.
In-coming Loans
Loans will only be initiated if the objects have been requested by the Exhibits Committee for use in a specific exhibit. The Museum will provide the borrowed object with the same care and security as its permanent collections. No loan will be entered into in cases where the duration of the loan far exceeds the length of the exhibit for which the loan was initiated, thus requiring extended storage of the object. Insurance on the object should be maintained by the owner for the duration of the loan period.
Out-going Loans
Out-loans are executed for short terms only (less than 2 years). Outgoing-loans will only be considered if it is in the best interest of the object and the Museum. The “best interest of the object or Museum” will be determined by answering the following questions in the negative:
Would movement of this object be likely to cause it damage?
If this object is absent from the collection, will it diminish the ability of the staff to create exhibits?
Will the removal of this object require significant reworking of an exhibit to cover its removal?
Types of outgoing-loans:
Only to non-profit, educational institutions for exhibit only.
To conservation professionals for restoration. Initiated by Museum Curator.
To manufacturers for reproduction purposes. Initiated by the Director, approved by the Collections Committee and reviewed by the Museum’s legal counsel.