Alaska Administrative Code › Title 4 - Education and Early Development › Chapter 58 - Museum Services › Article 4 - Designation of Natural and Cultural History Repositories › 4 AAC 58.305 - Alternative accreditation requirements

Current through May 31, 2024
An application submitted by an institution that is not
				  currently accredited by the American Alliance of Museums must demonstrate that
				  the applicant institution
(1)
				currently maintains a certification or accreditation issued by a nationally
				recognized entity other than the American Alliance of Museums;
(2) operates under a curatorial and
				collections management plan that includes procedures for accessioning,
				cataloging, and deaccessioning museum property and for handling incoming and
				outgoing loans;
(3) has a written
				plan for the care of all collections and materials in case of institution
				closure;
(4) has a designated
				curator of record and staff trained in the curation and basic conservation of
				the collections contained in the holdings;
(5) has a written scope of collections
				statement that details the nature of present and future collections at the
				repository;
(6) has a written
				access plan that provides access to collections for scientific research,
				educational, administrative, or exhibition purposes;
(7) has procedures in place to protect
				confidential or sensitive information including site-specific locality
				information, nature of certain ethnographic collections, and objects address
				under 25 U.S.C.
				3001 -
				3013 Native American Graves
				Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA);
(8) has implemented an ethics policy
				regarding the behavior of curatorial staff the policy must address the
				acquisition of personal collections, outside employment, and engagement in
				commercial collecting activities;
(9) stores specimens with appropriate
				environmental controls, including temperature and humidity, in order to prevent
				deterioration and minimize the need for conservation treatment;
(10) has a pest management plan and keeps the
				facility free of insects, vermin, mold, and mildew;
(11) forbids the consumption or storage of
				food and drink in the same rooms where collections are stored;
(12) protects all collection areas with both
				locks and alarm systems; a system must be in place that tracks all keys and
				security codes and identifies who is authorized to be in collections storage
				areas;
(13) has a fire prevention
				and suppression plan and equipment in place;
(14) maintains a visitor log or sign-in sheet
				in order to track the use of collections by non-museum staff;
(15) has a disaster preparedness plan in
				place which identifies known and potential hazards;
(16) separates collections storage areas from
				offices, employee gathering areas, and preparation and conservation
				laboratories, and has as few doors and windows as possible;
(17) stores collections away from utility
				service panels and water and sewer pipes; utility service panels and water and
				sewer pipes must be located outside of collections storage areas and procedure
				must be in place to minimize the necessity to access conduits and utility
				corridors from collections storage areas; however, if the construction of the
				building necessitates the presence of water or sewer pipes in collections
				areas, the applicant institution must demonstrate how the collections are
				protected from potential disasters resulting from catastrophic failures of the
				pipes;
(18) has taken steps to
				minimize ultraviolet light in collections areas; windows must be shuttered or
				covered with ultraviolet filters; lighting must be designed to minimize
				ultraviolet radiation;
(19) stores
				collections in stable and secure cabinetry with smooth moving drawers and
				adequate clearance above each specimen an oversized specimen may be stored on
				open shelving, but dust and ultraviolet covering must be considered in order to
				supplement protection;
(20) stores
				each object properly an archive must be in an archival acid-free box or folder
				an object or artifact must be in an ethafoam-lined box, a non-gassing
				polyethylene reclosable bag, a glass vial, or an other state-of-the-art
				container; Each object or artifact must be cradled, supported, or positioned so
				that damage will not occur by the object's or artifact's own weight over time
				or by the opening and closing of sliding drawers;
(21) has a custodial plan that addresses
				daily waste collection, periodic cleaning, and sanitation procedures;
(22) safely stores flammable
				liquids away from all archival materials;
(23) maintains accession files that contain
(A) transmittal documentation that certifies
				that the specific collection, object, or archive was acquired and transferred
				by legitimate means; documentation may include
(i) a copy of a federal permit under 50
				C.F.R. Parts 10-21;
(ii) a deed of
				gift;
(iii) a will and testament;
				or
(iv) a sales
				receipt;