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FLORIDA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

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Collections Policy

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Revised Policy: 30 April 2007.
Florida Statutes information updated 6 February 2003.

Contents

MISSION STATEMENT

PURPOSE

ACQUISITIONS

  1. Museum Collections
  2. How Natural History Objects and Collections are Acquired
  3. Priorities for Acquisition
  4. Ethics of Acquisition
  5. Laws Governing Acquisition
  6. Conditions of Acceptance
  7. Acceptance of Large Collections
  8. Standards of Documentation
  9. Appraisal and Authentication of Acquisitions
  10. Accessioning Acquisitions

MAINTENANCE OF THE COLLECTIONS

  1. Curation

USE OF COLLECTIONS

  1. Loans
  2. Incoming Loans
  3. Outgoing Loans
  4. Access to Collections
  5. Destructive Analysis
  6. Use in Exhibitions
  7. Commercial Use of Museum Objects

PRIVATE COLLECTIONS

  1. Private Collections: Conflicts of Interest and Ethical Constraints

DISPOSITIONS

  1. Legal and Ethical Constraints
  2. General Policy on Dispositions
  3. Recommendation of Curator
  4. Transfer
  5. Disposal
  6. Sale


MISSION STATEMENT

The Florida Museum of Natural History is Florida's state museum of natural history, dedicated to understanding, preserving, and interpreting biological diversity and cultural heritage.

PURPOSE. Florida Statutes § 1004.56 requires the Florida Museum of Natural History to:

"...collect and maintain a depository of biological, archaeological, and ethnographic specimens and materials in sufficient numbers and quantities to provide within the state and region a base for research on the variety, evolution, and conservation of wild species; the composition, distribution, importance, and functioning of natural ecosystems; and the distribution of prehistoric and historic archaeological sites and an understanding of the aboriginal and early European cultures that occupied them." [see Appendix I]

This document reaffirms existing policies and explains administrative intent governing the acquisition, use, and disposition of those collections by the Florida Museum of Natural History and its staff, both hereinafter referred to as the Museum. The rules set forth in this policy statement:

These policies are concerned principally with the Museum's scientific archival research collections, herein after referred to as 'research collections', maintained by our scientific divisions. However, unless explicitly excluded below or by lending agencies' conditions, these policies also apply to the smaller collections maintained by Exhibits and Public Programs, and to objects exhibited by the Exhibits and Public Programs regardless of whether or not they are from the research collections, borrowed from outside sources, or specially purchased for that purpose.

The following definitions apply:

Note that acquisitions and dispositions do not include 'loans' or 'chain of custody evidence' both of which are the temporary transfers of collection objects to and from the Museum without a change of ownership (see Section 13-- Incoming Loans and Section 14-- Outgoing Loans below).

ACQUISITIONS

1. Museum Collections. Just as libraries are archives of printed and recorded materials, museums are archives of objects; art museums are archives for paintings, sculpture and other art objects, historical museums are archives for historical objects, and natural history museums are archives for anthropological, biological, and geological objects and their associated scientific records. The natural history collections mandated by Florida Statutes § 1004.56 are maintained by the Museum's departments of Natural History and Exhibits and Public Programs. These collections, organized by scientific discipline and preservation requirements, emphasize Florida and the circum-Caribbean region, and range from intensive coverage of this geographic area, its biotic groups and cultures, to extensive coverage of a world biota and broad cultural areas. The Museum's collections combine elements of both intensive and extensive coverage. The former are useful in detailed research efforts such as monographs and area studies, while the latter enable broadly comparative studies, significantly aid identification services and environmental studies, and provide maximum flexibility in selecting exhibit materials. Over-specialization in a collection tends to restrict the choice of new staff to those interested in the special area, while over-diversification may result in an inadequate base for effective research use and the ability to care for the collection.

Original scientific research, based upon the research collections, is carried out by members of the Museum's staff, by scholars throughout the world, and by independent researchers working at the Museum. Identification services for the non-specialists, undergraduate teaching, and graduate training and similar activities are an everyday part of collection use.

In addition to the research collections, the Museum maintains smaller teaching and exhibit/education collections, usually of objects with lesser or no scientific value. At any given time, a small portion of the research collections, supplemented by specially purchased or loaned objects, and/or objects from the exhibit/education collections, is on public display in the exhibits prepared by the Department of Exhibits and Public Programs. Our knowledge about people and nature are explained to the public by the Museum's Department of Exhibits and Public Programs through exhibits, lectures, multimedia and other appropriate methods. Such explanations depend on carefully selected objects from the research collections and exhibit/education collections coupled with the knowledge and expertise supplied by the scientific and public education staff.

Thus, the Museum's policies toward its collections bear directly on its continuing ability to influence and support both the scientific community through research and educational activities and the lay community through education.

2. How Natural History Objects and Collections are Acquired. Under Florida Statutes § 1004.56, the Museum is empowered to "...accept, preserve, maintain, or dispose of the specimens and materials..." to build its research collections. Many of the objects are collected by the Museum staff in the course of their research in the field. The title to objects collected by full-time Museum staff, or part-time employees during their regular working hours, or with state funding, or as part of their regular job assignment, or collected on Museum sponsored field trips, is vested in the Museum. Permits for collecting specimens in foreign countries specify which of the specimens belong to the Museum and which must remain in, or be returned to, an institution or agency in the country of origin. Most federal research grants and contracts to the Museum also provide for the objects collected by Museum staff to be placed in the Museum. Under Florida Statutes § 1004.57, title to vertebrate fossils collected on state-owned lands is vested in the Museum (see Appendix II), and as provided under FS § 267.12(3) the title to archaeological objects from state lands is vested in the Division of Historical Resources of the Florida Department of State (see Appendix III). Some archaeological collections belonging to the Division of Historical Resources are curated at the Museum in agreement with the Division of Historical Resources. A number of federal laws provide that the title to objects collected on federal lands and/or under federal jurisdiction is vested in the U.S. government or in the responsible federal agency though the curation of the objects may be assigned to a public research collection such as the Museum, by a repository agreement. In addition, the Museum and the U.S. Secretary of the Interior signed a formal agreement to cooperate in research and conservation of biodiversity and the national fauna and flora, including collecting and collections.

Acquisition can also occur through purchase, donation, bequest, transfer or exchange of objects from individuals, private companies, other museums, or research institutions outside the Museum.

Acquisition from such outside sources can occur in two ways:

  1. Direct acquisition by the Florida Museum of Natural History or by the State of Florida for the Museum.
  2. Acquisition by the University of Florida Foundation, Inc. on behalf of the Museum. Acquisitions made in this manner must be accompanied by a Deed of Gift, [see Appendix V]

Acquisition through the University of Florida Foundation, Inc. is preferred for larger collections and for collections with tax consequences to the donor because it allows more flexible accessioning, disposal, and accounting. Many of the Museum's research collections have scientific value far greater than their monetary value. Many of the objects in the collections are irreplaceable. The Museum's collections and objects in the collections are owned by the State of Florida with the title vested in the Museum [see Appendix I]. However, the Museum may receive by gift some object, e.g., a building or parcel of land, which has a monetary value that exceeds its scientific value. Such objects can be acquired by the University of Florida Foundation, Inc. on behalf of the Museum and treated as assets to be sold at some future date to benefit a Museum program. The University of Florida Foundation, Inc. is an independent not-for-profit corporation that is tax exempt under Section 501(c) (3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service Code. The Foundation's assets are managed by the Foundation's staff and financial advisors under the direction of its Board of Directors.

  1. Objects and collections that are to become part of the research collections may be acquired directly by the Museum or by the University of Florida Foundation, Inc. on behalf of the Museum.
  2. Objects and collections, or other assets that may be sold in the future should be acquired by the University of Florida Foundation, Inc. on behalf of the Museum.
  3. Objects or collections that are to become part of the research collections, but which can only be acquired through purchase, should be acquired by the University of Florida Foundation, Inc.

Decisions to acquire collections can only be made by the relevant Curators / Collection Managers in the Department of Natural History, and Collection Manager in Exhibits and Public Programs. The relevant Curators / Collection Managers in the Department of Natural History must be contacted if material that may have scientific value is being considered for acquisition by Exhibits and Public Programs. The relevant Curators / Collection Managers have the right of first refusal, and also have the right to refuse accessioning said material for the research collection. For example, a desired object of insufficient scientific value would be retained by Exhibits and Public Programs, whereas a desired object of scientific value that a Curator / Collection Manager wishes to retain for the research collection would be accessioned within the research collection and loaned to Exhibits and Public Programs.

3. Priorities for Acquisition. Although the present collections are of international significance and are used in research, identification services, and educational activities, all of the collections can be improved by selective addition of new objects.

It is equally clear that the Museum cannot engage in indiscriminate acquisition. The diversity of nature, including human culture and artifacts, is so extraordinarily large that physical space limitations alone make comprehensive collecting impossible. The financial aspects of fulfilling the Museum's continuing obligation to preserve, maintain, and use representative samples of the world limit our acquisition capabilities. Consequently, a schedule of priorities for new acquisitions has been adopted. For similar reasons, consideration must be given to policies covering disposition of objects that may no longer be appropriate or necessary for the Museum's areas of interest.

First Priority.To strengthen collection areas in which the Museum has a current specialization and recognized historical interest, especially when these areas are threatened irreversibly by human activities. Examples of primary priority acquisitions are objects of direct use in present or projected research or in current educational or exhibition programs; high quality objects needed to fill gaps in the current holdings or to supplement objects of lesser quality; objects from cultures, biotas, and geologic strata where technological changes and expanding human activity place a time limit on the period in which sampling can take place.

Second Priority. To broaden the comparative base of our established collection areas. Examples of secondary priority acquisitions are archival objects such as voucher objects for published research; synoptic objects from specialists; objects that will strengthen a collection in a subject area related to a previously established one.

Third Priority.To obtain collections of a general nature that are within the broad interests of the Museum. Examples of tertiary priority acquisitions are interesting or unique, adequately documented objects of limited use in a scientific sense; objects outside the scope of current Museum research collections, but that might in the future have direct use in explaining more fully the diversity of nature and culture to the lay public.

It is recognized that acquisition of objects often must be opportunistic. From time to time, collections of recognized national or international significance become available from individuals or institutions that are no longer able or willing to preserve, maintain, and use them in research and educational activities. Acceptance of responsibilities for such collections may involve establishing a new area of interest within the Museum. Acquisition of such collections must be judged on their individual merits, carefully weighing the values and costs of such additions against the evolving programs and emphases of the Museum, as well as the Museum's resources (see Section 10--Accessioning Acquisitions below).

4. Ethics of Acquisition. All acquisitions by Museum staff shall reflect its commitment to preserve and guard the biological and cultural heritage of the earth. Objects that have been collected recently in such a careless manner as to impair their scientific value shall not be accepted (e.g., archaeological and geological objects taken without proper recording of stratigraphic and site data, or biological objects with inadequate documentation).

Biological collections involving unnecessary harm to populations with limited numbers of individuals or a tenuous existence shall not knowingly be made by staff or accepted by the Museum from others.

Anthropological collections originate from past and present human societies and offer an unparalleled research potential for examination of human biological and cultural evolution. They also form a highly sensitive collection which may be viewed from a wide variety of individual and collective belief systems. These diverse perspectives affect the ethical concerns evoked at all levels of curation from acquisition through collections management to deaccessioning. The ethics surrounding a collection in the culture of origin will be taken into consideration in the evaluation and management of anthropological materials. Any acquisition of Native American remains or cultural objects must be in full compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (see Section 6--Conditions of Acceptance below).

5. Laws Governing Acquisition. Archaeological, ethnographic, or biotic objects will be acquired only when they have been collected, possessed, exported, and imported in full compliance with the laws and regulations of the country or countries of origin, of the Federal Government of the United States, and of the individual states within the United States. The Museum will refuse to acquire objects in any case where it has cause to believe that the circumstances of their collection involved the recent unscientific or intentional destruction of sites or monuments, or where state or federal laws or international treaties have been violated. These standards will be taken into account in determining whether to accept loans for exhibition or other purposes. Reasonable efforts will be made to ensure that these conditions are met, that title to the object or objects may properly be transferred to the Museum or to the University of Florida Foundation, Inc. on behalf of the Museum, and that the Museum keeps up-to-date on the changing laws and regulations concerning object collecting, ownership, and movement across geo-political boundaries. The Museum will cooperate with authorities of the United States and other countries in legal action against those committing improprieties. Copies of permits and correspondence related to the acquisition of collections shall be kept in the archives of the collection holding them.

In an attempt to avoid encouraging, even indirectly, trade in illicit or irresponsibly recovered objects, the Museum will not authenticate any object whose acquisition does not meet the Museum's own criteria for acquisition. In addition, if the Museum or the University of Florida Foundation, Inc. on behalf of the Museum should inadvertently acquire an object that is later determined to have been exported or recovered in violation of the Museum's acquisition policy, the Museum will promptly return the object to the owner or transfer agent, or to the government of the country of origin, or to another appropriate recipient.

6. Conditions of Acceptance. With very few exceptions, all acquisitions are unconditional. The Museum or the University of Florida Foundation, Inc. on behalf of the Museum normally cannot accept objects on which the owner has placed restrictions that would prevent effective research examination, normal exhibition use, loan, or disposal in accordance with this established policy. The Museum or the University of Florida Foundation, Inc. on behalf of the Museum also cannot accept objects with restrictions requiring that they be placed on exhibition, or that the collection of which they form a part should be kept together permanently and/or displayed only as a discrete collection. Under extraordinary circumstances, objects can be accepted with the requirement that the Museum retain ownership for a negotiated period of time.

Anthropological collections, particularly those covered by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), form an area where certain exceptions may be considered in consultation, not with the donor, but with the tribe which is culturally affiliated with the collections in question.

7. Acceptance of large collections. The decision of whether to acquire a large collection from another institution/individual is primarily the responsibility of the relevant Curators / Collection Managers. However, given that acquisition of physically large collections has institution-wide impact, especially with regards to space, acquisition of such collections requires written approval from the Collections and Space Committee (CSC). The CSC will evaluate the value and impact of such acquisitions, and either approve them, or make recommendations to the faculty regarding the proposed acquisition. The faculty will then decide whether acquisition should be approved, modified, or denied. It is anticipated that the CSC will not recommend limiting acquisitions except in some cases of severe duplication or an unusually large space demand.

Large collections are defined for these purposes as those exceeding a 50 sq. ft footprint once curated at the Museum in the manner appropriate for the respective collection. No range shall agree to accept a large collection until approved by the CSC or faculty. Ranges wishing to accept large collections shall submit the following information about the collection to the CSC for consideration:

  1. Size of collection in terms of numbers of specimens/lots, and expected footprint at the Museum (calculated as if the collection were housed on its own)
  2. Significance of collection, such as addition of new type material, cultures, species, geographic areas, etc.
  3. How much does this collection duplicate holdings at the Museum?
  4. How does this collection fit with the strengths of the Museum?
  5. How much of this collection is anticipated to be retained after curation?
  6. How will the collection be transported to the Museum?
  7. Cost of transporting the collection to the Museum and how that cost will be paid.
  8. Where will the collection be held while it is being processed into the research collection?
  9. Projected time needed for curation.
  10. Projected cost of curation, including extra staff, cabinets, labels, computer entry, etc. and how the cost will be paid.

8. Standards of Documentation. Minimum requirements of documentation, including provenience, vary by research collection. Such standards are necessary requisites for objects to be added to the research collections. We cannot afford to permanently house objects lacking scientific value. Objects with less than complete data, but having scientific or educational value, may be accessioned at the discretion of the Curators /Collection Managers in charge.

9. Appraisal and Authentication of Acquisitions. No member of the Museum staff shall, in his or her official capacity, give appraisals for the purpose of establishing the tax deductible value of gifts or purchases offered to the Museum. The United States Internal Revenue Service prohibits appraisals from a recipient institution that is directly involved in the transaction. Only appraisals from disinterested third parties are accepted. No member of the Museum staff knowingly shall appraise, identify, or otherwise authenticate natural history objects or cultural objects for other persons or agencies under circumstances that could encourage or benefit illegal, unethical, or irresponsible traffic in such objects. Identification and authentication may be given for professional or educational purposes and in compliance with the legitimate requests of professional or governmental bodies or their agencies.

10. Accessioning Acquisitions. Before any nationally or internationally renowned, monetarily valuable, or scientifically extraordinary collection is accessioned into a Museum collection, a summary report must be completed and filed in the permanent records of that research collection. The report shall contain the following information:

  1. Which research collection will receive the acquisition?
  2. Name of collection being acquired.
  3. Summary of contacts with owner or administrator; names and dates.
  4. Name of collection owner if different from initial contact.
  5. Items in collection (e.g., number of objects or number of lots, books, notes, photographs).
  6. Statement about the provenience of the objects - a brief summary should be provided for large collections containing hundreds of objects with varied or extensively detailed provenience.
  7. Copies of documentation certifying to the legality of the collection (e.g., export permits from the country of origin, U.S. federal or state permits, statement from owner).
  8. Signed letter, document, or certificate from the owner stating that title to the collection is being transferred to the Florida Museum of Natural History or, if appropriate, to the University of Florida Foundation, Inc. on behalf of the museum (Deed of Gift; see Appendix V)
  9. Date collection was transferred to the Museum.
  10. Names of people involved in the acquisition.
  11. Date and signature of the Curators / Collection Managers in charge.
  12. A copy of the acknowledgment certificate given to the owner.
  13. Information detailing the circumstances of original acquisition and the curatorial history of the collection.

MAINTENANCE OF THE COLLECTION

11. Curation. All collections in the Museum shall be curated according to the highest professional standards. That curation aims to preserve and maintain the collections, and the objects and associated data they contain, so they may be available in perpetuity for use in studies and exhibitions (the rare exceptions are discussed below under Section 24--Disposal and Section 16--Destructive Analysis). To assure that those standards are met, each collection in the Museum shall be assigned to the responsibility of particular Curators / Collection Managers.

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