Object entry – dealing with unsolicited donations, Online via Zoom
Please note this training is only available to those working or volunteering in North museums.
Do your written object entry procedures match up to the day-to-day reality of how objects come into your museum?
Museums can have clear Spectrum-compliant procedures for donations agreed in advance but they might not cover the unplanned and unexpected – objects that arrive in the post, taken in at the front desk to not cause offence turning down the offer, passed on through a trustee and put on the curator’s desk.
They’re difficult to dispose of if they’re not wanted, especially if the ownership is unknown. It’s easier to keep them even though they take up precious storage space, or keep them by default by not making a decision at all.
Based on learning from our recent “It’s already here so we’ll keep it – improving object entry procedures” programme we will use the object entry procedure to look at how unsolicited donations can be dealt with to the point of making a decision to acquire or dispose, to be accountable for them through the process, and suggestions for how to discourage unsolicited donations from arriving in the first place.