The accreditation procedure will improve the curation and handling of archeological collections and will enable institutions to justify an upgrade in facilities and increasing fund levels from their funding institutions. A total of 41 of the 58 responding institutions have Texas-based collections, and 30 of these were interested and willing to undergo a practice review to assist in developing the manual. Some institutions no longer are interested in receiving Texas collections. Enough institutions will participate to schedule a trial review. By A.D. 2000, Texas code will require some level of accreditation.
Plans call for a field trial to train accreditation reviewers once the manual is completed.
Funds for ARC trial review procedures are not in the current budget for 1993-94. Mark Denton suggested that the members should wait until the Spring Meeting to see if the manual is ready before adding to the budget. Lodging will be accommodated in two separate hotels with a shuttle service. Tentative plans call for about four concurrent sessions over three and one-half days. An estimated 500 people may be present for the event.