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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   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| **Published by the DOI Departmental Consulting Archeologist/NPS Archeology Program, National Park Service, Washington, DC, April           1992.**

**Mechanisms           for Effecting Collections Management by Museums**

In order to correct gaps in the curated data bank such           as those observed in the collections of the NYSM, there must be coordination           between archeological research, cultural resource management, and collections           management. Even if an ideal goal of having comprehensive, well-considered           plans for data collection and curation is reached, such plans must be           compatible with museum policies or there is no guarantee that repositories           will curate the resulting collections. Coordination with museums at           the "front end" of decisions concerning management of archeological           resources--those decisions concerning what to collect--would help ensure           that repositories will accept the resulting collections and that these           materials are appropriate for building regional data banks (Marquardt           et al. 1982:413). When collections involve the cultural heritage of           Native American tribes these groups also should be involved in the decision           making process.

A requirement of Federal           Antiquities Act6 and           Archeological           Resources Protection Act (ARPA)7           permits, and agency equivalents, is that prior arrangements must have           been made with a repository to accept and curate resulting collections.           In practice, since curation usually is regarded as a storage problem,           decisions concerning project design already have been made by the time           repositories are contacted. The logical links between project design,           collecting strategy, long-term research value, and curation are either           overlooked or unrecognized by those involved in making such decisions.           Thus the critical parameters that control the kind of collections that           will be made already are set without input from the repositories. In           some cases repositories are contacted after collections are made. When           either of these scenarios happens, repositories are placed in the unflattering           role of critics rather than partners in resource management. 

Museum collections management policies are instruments           that can effectively coordinate involvement of repositories in archeological           resource management, as well as shape the curated archeological resource           sample. Collections management policies incorporate sets of policies           for all activities a museum undertakes in regard to collections, including           acquisitions, loans, research, exhibition, and deaccession. A major           goal of these policies is to insure that activities related to collections           are in accord with a museum's mission (Malaro 1979; Pearce 1990:67-68;           National Park Service 1990). Museum boards of trustees, or similar administrative           bodies, set the general parameters of a museum's collecting activities           by setting the museum's mission. Generally, the mission statement embodies           considerations of geographic area, subject matter, and time period,           and how the collections will be used, e.g. education, research, exhibition.           Museum staff must then take these general parameters and translate them           into more specific plans for building the collections. These plans are           articulated in collections management policies. Thus, individual institutions           exercise a considerable degree of control over what they acquire, and           the policies of individual institutions differ. 

The scope of collections and acquisitions portions of           such policies are of special concern if collections are to become appropriate           for long-term research needs. These policies guide decisions concerning           the kinds of materials an individual museum will accept and the circumstances           under which they will be accepted (Pearce 1990:70-74). Codes of ethics,           such as the previously cited codes of the International Council of Museums           (1987) and the New York State Association of Museums (1974), guide formulation           of such policies. Two ethics in particular have direct bearing on what           an individual museum will collect. The most encompassing is that a museum           should accept only those collections related to its mission. A second           important ethic is that a museum should be able to curate properly those           materials it accepts. 

An *active* rather than *passive* approach           is inherent in a good museum acquisition policy (Burcaw 1975:50). With           an active approach, a repository makes conscious decisions as to how           its collections will grow, based on long term goals, and seeks to obtain           those materials that meet these goals. In contrast, passive collecting           means that a museum merely decides what will be in its collections based           on what it is offered. Collections management policies based on an active           approach can thus shape the overall character of a repository's collections           and even provide quality control over what is curated. Such policies           can be specific, for example, as to the kinds of artifacts or specimens           a museum will accept, the level of documentation required, or the kind           of sites or projects from which collections can or should be accepted.           

Development of such active collections policies is one           response museums have made to pressures to become more accountable to           the public for their activities. The recent controversy concerning the           curation of Native American remains and funerary objects and controversies           over art exhibitions, such as the Maplethorpe photographs, are two highly           publicized examples of pressures being placed on museums to justify           their activities. Explicit formalization of collections management policies           is a very positive development, because it helps upgrade the level of           professionalism of museums in general. Development of these policies           by individual institutions is becoming standard museum practice. For           example, in New York State existence of a collections management policy           is required before a museum can be chartered by the State Board of Regents,           and NPS requires its park units with museum collections to have such           a written policy (National Park Service 1990). 

Archeologists and other public officials employed in           regulatory agencies should become familiar with collections management           policies and the role of repositories, through these policies, to assist           in managing archeological resources. If collections management policies           are to be used effectively and positively, archeologists must become           actively involved in policy formulation. The potential exists for these           policies to be detrimental to future research efforts if the needs of           archeological research are not considerations in policy formulation.           Archeologists can neither afford to "leave off" when it comes to managing           collections nor to invest often costly and scarce curation resources           unwisely. 

**Steps           Toward Coordinated Regional Planning**

Regional variation in the archeological record suggests           that the most logical arena for developing plans for collections growth           is at the regional level. As discussed previously, State plans for managing           cultural resources, which are required by Federal regulation,8           historically have not incorporated curated collections as elements of           these comprehensive management plans. As has been argued here, the accumulating           data bank in the form of curated collections should be considered explicitly           in such planning efforts. Developing plans to manage better what is           curated will require coordination between those Federal and State agencies           charged with making decisions about which sites are to be excavated,           the archeologists who make and use the collections, the public and private           repositories that ultimately curate the collected materials, and Native           American tribes whose cultural heritage may be represented in the collections.           

The best coordination of regional planning efforts may           be initiated by statewide, archeological professional organizations           working in conjunction with State Historic Preservation Offices. Task           forces that bring together the repositories and archeologists having           long-term research and collecting interests in specific regions would           be one means of accomplishing this synthesis. The repositories should           solicit Native American involvement. Many museums now have or are in           the process of forming Native American advisory groups. Representatives           of Federal programs having major influence in the regions also should           be included. For example, if the Forest Service, NPS, or Bureau of Land           Management have major land holdings in a region, input from these agencies           is necessary for coordination with their cultural resource management           master plans. Such regional task forces may prove of benefit to collections           policies in general, as a wider constituency becomes aware of and involved           with collections issues. 

A major goal of such regional task forces would be to           work with the repositories to draft collections management policies           that could be used to shape the sample of the archeological record that           will come to be contained in curated collections. In some cases, inter-institutional           agreements may have to be made where there is overlap in the geographic           areas covered by two or more museums. Such plans would neither require           nor preclude designation of regional repositories (Marquardt 1977) as           it is the plans that would be regional in nature, not necessarily the           repositories. Periodic review and revision of the plans and museum policies           would also be necessary as collections grow, and as archeological knowledge           expands and evolves. 

A preliminary step in the planning process is to know           what already is contained in curated collections. Repositories must           inventory and assess their collections. Regional task forces potentially           could assist with these inventories and assessments. The current repatriation           concern may well prove to be a benefit to these steps, as repositories           begin to form cooperatives with wider constituencies and to conduct           required inventories and assessments of the collections in their custody.           Once the strengths, weaknesses, gaps, and biases of existing information           are known, particular kinds of collections that are needed can be identified.           

In the interim, repositories must continue to make decisions           about what to curate without benefit of such comprehensive plans. Since           this is the case, it is in the best interest of both the museum and           archeological professions for repositories to take an active approach           to acquisitions. They must become critical collectors and seek actively           those materials for curation that result from well-conceived and systematically           conducted and documented projects. Repositories that do not have archeologists           in positions of responsibility for managing collections should seek           advice from archeologists about acquisitions. Archeologists should respond           to such requests both with sensitivity to the problems of managing collections           and thoughtful justifications for curating specific collections. 

The following general guidelines for research collections           acquisition are proposed for consideration: 
Define the geographic area(s) that is encompassed             by the repository's mission and accept materials only from that area;             
- Assess the present coverage of the area in terms             of space, time, kind, and quality;   Define priorities for acquisition based on the present             character of the collection, the institutional mission, and gaps perceived             in the database; Question whether potential new collections contribute             to the information base being developed; 
- Refuse to accept collections that have severe spatial             sampling, materials recovery, or documentation problems;   Develop standards and guidelines for collections             preparation that must be followed by archeologists planning to have             the repository curate collections; and Stay informed as to projects being done in the defined             collecting area while actively seeking those collections that fit             identified priorities. 
Developing plans to guide growth and content of curated           archeological collections can be a complex process, but the lack of           such plans will perpetuate the curation crisis. Some collections will           be preserved to the detriment of others without regard to research needs           and information potential. If there is to be a future for the past,           research collections must be built with adequate and appropriate consideration           of long-term information needs. 
**Acknowledgements**
An earlier version of this paper was read at the 1990           annual meeting of the Southeastern Archaeological Conference in Mobile,           AL. Veletta Canouts provided the encouragement to discuss these issues           in a national forum. She also served as chief critic and editor. Francis           P. McManamon, Michael K. Trimble, and seven anonymous reviewers read           earlier drafts and made many helpful suggestions. Lisa Anderson, of           the New York State Museum's Anthropological Survey, prepared Figures           1 and 3. The support of the National Science Foundation for the inventory           of the New York State Museum's archeological collections under Grants           BNS-8709135 and BNS-8907268 also is gratefully acknowledged. 
Return to: Technical           Briefs | Section 1 | Section           2 | Section 3 | Section 4 | References | Notes             

**introduction**

**curation                 in the context of cultural resource management**

**curation                 as resource management**

**the                 ethical dilemma in the context of research museums**

**the                 new york state museum's collections: a case study of the present                 sample**

**mechanisms                 for effecting collections management by museums**

**steps                 toward coordinated regional planning**

**references**

**notes**

**print                 version  **

**technical briefs                 index**

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