SHARLOT HALL MUSEUM
COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT POLICY.

INTRODUCTION

Part 1 of this document contains policies for management of the object and archival permanent collections of the Sharlot Hall Historical Society. Included are policies describing scope of collections; acquisition; accession; deaccession; loans; staff ethics regarding collections; treatment of human remains, sacred, ceremonial, and tribal patrimony objects and their repatriation under NAGPRA to Native Americans; and access to collections.

Part II of this policy describes the management of the Reproduction and Prop (R & P) collection.

1. DEFINITIONS

• Accession - The formal process used to add to the Museum's permanent collections.
• Acquisition - The discovery, preliminary evaluation, and negotiation for custody and title of potential additions to the Museum's collections.
• Collections - Material held in trust and preserved by the Museum.
• Collections Managers - Museum staff having direct responsibility for working with collections, including the Senior Curator, the Archivist, the Curator of Anthropology, the Registrar, and their assistants and volunteers.
• Deaccession - The formal process used to remove an object from the Museum's permanent collection.
• Human remains - Any physical part of a person; most commonly, skeletal material.
• Loans - Temporary transfers of material to or from the Museum that do not involve change of ownership.
• Museum - A public or private nonprofit agency organized on a permanent basis for educational or aesthetic purposes which, utilizing a professional staff, owns or utilizes tangible objects, cares for them and exhibits them to the public on a regular basis, as defined by the Museum Services Act, 20 U.S.C-986(4).
• Tribal Patrimony - Any Native American made object which could not be owned by any individual, but belonged to the tribe as a whole.
• Sacred Object - An object which can be demonstrated to be necessary for the religious practice of a Native American group with both legal and cultural standing.
• Ceremonial Object - An object which is necessary for the traditional ceremonies of a Native American group with both legal and cultural standing.
• Trust - A fiduciary relationship in which a trustee holds legal title to property that must be managed for the benefit of others."

"The collection exists for the benefit of present and future generations. It should be as easily accessible as is consistent with the safety of the individual objects." Report of ethics and standards committee, Association of Art Museum Directors, (1981)."

II. AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Authority for these policies rests with the Boards of Trustees of the Societies and is administered through the Museum Director. Daily application of these standards is the responsibility of the Museum's collections managers under the supervision of the director. The object artifact collection is managed by a Senior Curator, a Curator of Anthropology, and a Registrar; the archival collection by an Archivist and an Assistant Archivist.

The collections managers have responsibility for safely and efficiently housing these collections; for adding to the holdings through donation and purchase; for preparing materials for use in research, exhibition, and loans; and for compiling and maintaining the documents which record provenience, accession, deaccession, registration, loans, and internal functions of the collections.

III. COLLECTIONS COMMITTEE
Decisions on accessions, deaccessions, loan requests not conforming to the Museum's loan policy, trades, ethics regarding collections, and disposal of deaccessioned or unaccessioned material will be made by the Collections Committee. This group will include the Museum Director, Collections Managers, other staff, representatives from the community, and at least two members of the Board of Trustees. The Registrar will chair the committee. Meetings will be publicized and posted twenty-four hours in advance. All interested historical society members may attend and advise, but may not vote unless they are committee members. Meetings will normally be held monthly. Decisions by the committee will be kept as a part of collections records. Members of the Collections Committee, in addition to designated staff and board members, will be selected from volunteers and friends of the Museum who express interest in collections decisions, or who have expertise in particular areas. See policy for Collections Committee ethics.

IV. ACQUISITION
Items to be considered for accession must be evaluated by the collections managers for compatibility with the Museum's Mission Statement and for compliance with the priorities of accession listed below. They will then be presented to the Collections Committee at the monthly meeting.

V. CRITERIA FOR ACCESSION
Items to be considered for accession must:
A. Document directly the history, prehistory, culture, or natural history of the Central Highlands of Arizona: or, on a more selective basis, be representative of the material culture or natural material of those areas.
B. Be in good physical condition unless they have such outstanding historical value, rarity, or significance that they are otherwise desirable; or unless their condition can be brought to an acceptable level.
C. Be capable of appropriate storage, protection, and preservation under conditions at the Museum.
D. Be accompanied by a clear and valid title, or by a designation of the Museum as repository of trust from an appropriate state or federal land manager. To this end, donors will sign the Museum's Accession Form (revised 8/98) certifying that they have clear and valid title that they transfer to the Museum without donor-imposed restrictions or stipulations except that:

1. Anonymous donations may be considered with the stipulation that the Museum will apply the measures of A.R.S. 44-380 through 44-388 that define the process of acquiring title to abandoned property.
2. Proffered donations bearing donor-imposed restrictions may be accepted if the Collections Committee decides their value exceeds the burden of the restrictions.
3. Illegally obtained material can never convey good title; therefore, ethnographic and archaeological specimens will not be considered if there is reason to believe they have been collected in contravention of state or federal laws/* or in violation of accepted museum ethical standards. However, such material may be held in trust if it is assigned to the Museum by the appropriate land manager. Natural history material will not be accepted if there is reason to believe it has been collected in violation of state, federal or international laws regulating such collecting.**

E. Be accompanied by documentation of its provenience, if possible. * Including but not limited to the American Antiquities Act of 1906; the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (PL.96-95); the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966; and Arizona Revised Statute 41-841-846, dealing with resources on state land. * * In particular the Lacey Act of 1900, amended 1981; the Endangered Species Act of 1973; the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972; the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918; and the Bald Eagle Protection Act of 1940.

VI. MATERIALS DONATED FOR RESALE FOR OTHER NONCOLLECTIONS USE
A. If, during preliminary negotiation, some or all of the material in a proposed acquisition seems unsuitable for the permanent collection but suitable for resale, or trade to another museum, the donor must be apprised of this intent and must mark and sign the Accession Form / indicating his or her approval of this use. Alternately, donors may specify return of items refused by the collections committee.

B. Collections-related materials which are donated specifically for resale or noncollections use will be so marked on the Museum's Accession Form , and will be reviewed by the Collections Committee, but will not be accessioned into the collections.

Money from the sale of these materials will be used only for purchase of additions to the permanent collections. Sale and disposal will be governed by the criteria in section VI11. of this policy.

VII. LOANS A. Loans from the Museum's Collections:

1. Will be evaluated by the appropriate collections managers for conformity with the criteria of this policy. Requests which clearly comply with policy may be approved directly by the collections managers. If the request does not conform to policy, the request will be evaluated by the Collections Committee.
2. Require the borrowing institution's insurance coverage, trained staff, appropriate security, safe exhibit practices, and environmental controls are appropriate to condition and value of the material.
3. Will be administered by the Museum's registrar using Contract of Loan of Collections Material (form revised 3/96), and a condition report for each loaned item. These documents will be retained as a part of the object's history.
4. Must not conflict with the Museum's use of the materials, nor of staff time or expertise, or other resources.
5. Must be consistent with the philosophy of public trust and be for exhibition to the general public or for scholarly research.
6. Must help the Museum to achieve its goals or have a public benefit to an extent that unequivocally outweighs any risk to the material or loss to the Museum's other programs.
7. Will be packed by Museum staff, and transported by staff or a carrier approved by the appropriate collections manager, and returned to the Museum packed in the containers and manner in which it was sent.
8. Will be for a specific period of time, not to exceed one year. Requests for renewal may be considered by the Museum's collections managers.
9. Must be requested in writing at least twenty working days before the date needed. Requests made with less lead time may be granted if staff and committee time permits.
10. Will be credited prominently as "From the Collections of the Sharlot Hall Museum.

B. Loans To the Museum-

Will be documented, photographed, and examined for damage by the Museum's collections managers. These data will be recorded as a condition report. Will be cared for to a degree at least equal to that given the Museum's own collections of similar items. Will be for a specified length of time, not exceeding one year, with option to renew. No permanent or open-ended loans will be taken unless adjudicated by the Collections Committee.

VIII. DEACCESSION
A. Permanently removing materials from the Museum's collections must be done with extreme care and carefully documented so as to avoid possible appearance of violation of public trust.

B. No accessioned object shall be deaccessioned until at least two years after the date of its accession (see U.S. Tax Reform Act of 1984) if the donor claimed an IRS deduction for that donation.

C. Criteria for Deaccession. Material may be considered for deaccession if it:

1. Is outside of the scope of the Museum's collecting priorities.
2. Is irrelevant to the purpose of the Museum.
3. Had been misidentified or wrongly attributed.
4. Is a poorer duplicate adequately represented by better example.
5. Can't be properly preserved by the Museum.
6. Is damaged or has deteriorated beyond usefulness.
7. Is dangerous to staff or harmful to other collection materials.
8. Has been accessioned more than once.
9. Has been lost or stolen from the collections for more than two years.

B. Procedures for Deaccession

1. Will be initiated by the appropriate collections manager.
2. Will be documented on a standardized Deaccession Form (7/97),
   which will be kept as a permanent record.
3. Will include a reasonable effort to ascertain that the Museum is
   legally free to dispose of the item, considering possible donor
   restrictions.
4. Material to be considered for deaccession will be presented to the
   Museum's Collections Committee, which may approve or reject
   deaccession.
5. If material for deaccession has a value of more than $1/000.
   deaccession will be approved by the Board of Trustees after being
   approved by the Collections Committee.

C. Method of Disposal

1. Will be determined by the Collections Committee.
2. Will be considered first for trade, sale, or transfer to another institution of public trust.
3. If 2 above is not applicable but the object has monetary value, disposal will be by public sale either locally or at collector's shows, public auction, or electronic auction such as E-Bay. The decision will be approved by the Collections Committee.
4. Will include appraisal by a recognized authority or appraiser if commercial value is believed to be significant and greater than $500, and unless the fair market value of the item can be documented, to the satisfaction of the Collections Committee, by comparison to similar items in current price guides or sales catalogs.
5. May not be to any employee of the Museum, to any member of the Board of Trustees, their immediate families, or agents acting for them.
6. May be by disposal in the city landfill if the item has no commercial or educational value.
7. Will require that all museum markings such as catalog numbers have been removed.
8. Will be thoroughly documented, including name of buyer, price, and date. Such documentation will be kept as a permanent record.
9. Registration numbers will not be reused.
10. Will not violate federal or Arizona laws regulating the sale of archaeological resources, plants, animals, or mineral specimens.

IX. STAFF ETHICS REGARDING COLLECTIONS
A. All Museum employees will observe accepted high ethical
standards regarding their work and access to the Museum's collections. The employee holds his or her position as a public trust, and any effort to realize personal gain through official conduct is a violation of that trust. The reputation and name of the Museum and the Historical Societies must not be exploited for personal advantage.
B. Staff will not deal commercially in subject areas in which the Museum has collections. Potential conflicts of interest will be divulged by the employee to his supervisor and the director. This does not prevent occasional sale of privately owned antiques, art, nor other items by staff members, although the Museum must be given right of first refusal (chance to buy the material at the price which the employee is asking). If such sale is to the Museum, there must be an independent appraisal of the material.

C. Personal collecting of items that overlap the Museum's collections is permissible only when:

1. The employee has divulged his collecting to the director who then may choose to inform the Board of Trustees.
2. The employee scrupulously gives the Museum first refusal (a chance to buy the material at the price that he is paying) on any item he acquires by informing the appropriate collections manager, and the director of his purchase.
3. Competition with the Museum in collecting, or the appearance of such, does not occur.
4. Personal collection material which overlaps the Museum's collections will be prominently marked or registered as "Private Property" if it is brought into the Museum.
5. Staff will not accept gifts to their personal collections from contacts
   which they make through the Museum.

XI. APPRAISAL OR "EXPERT OPINION" BY STAFF MEMBERS
A. No staff member may furnish appraisals of monetary value of donations to
the Museum. They may help donors to obtain appraisals by:

1. Furnishing a list of known appraisers, noting their areas of expertise, but not specifically recommending any of them.
2. Permitting access to the donated material by appraisers.
3. Providing publicly circulated sales catalogs or price lists to the donor, or suggesting where they may see similar items offered for sale.

B. Staff members with expertise may identify or authenticate items for professional or educational purposes. They must take care not to give opinions to the public that could affect a decision to purchase, or otherwise cause ill will toward the Museum. Items left at the Museum for the purpose of authentication must be listed on a Private Property form (revised 8/98), stipulating the length of time (not more than 30 days) for the deposition.

XI. CARE OF COLLECTIONS
A. The Museum's staff will make every reasonable effort to assure that its collections are stored, handled, preserved, and exhibited by the best currently accepted standards. They will keep records that are necessary to establish
title, to maintain physical control, and to retain provenance and historical associations of the materials in the collections.

XII. TREATMENT OF HUMAN REMAINS
A. The Museum will not collect human skeletal material. A small amount of human bone, such as a composite skeleton, may be kept for educational or public service uses—e.g., comparison with bones brought into the Museum for identification. It may hold human remains preceding reburial at the behest of a tribal authority.
B. Remains of people of all races and religions will be treated with appropriate respect.
C. Human remains will not be exhibited in any context that is not in unequivocal good taste. Remains that have been identified as, or are likely to have been, members of groups whose beliefs prohibit viewing or reference to the dead (see Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act, 1994 - hereafter 'NAGPRA') will not be exhibited.
D. Human remains brought to the Museum from public or private land will
be referred to the Arizona State Museum as stipulated by NAGPRA.

Xlll. TREATMENT OF SACRED AND CEREMONIAL OBJECTS AND OBJECTS OF
TRIBAL PATRIMONY
A. The Museum will not actively seek to collect sacred or ceremonial objects or objects of tribal patrimony.
B. Sacred objects and objects of patrimony of all races and religions will treated with appropriate respect.
C. The Museum will decline objects known to be of current religious or ceremonial significance to Native Americans, or to be of tribal patrimony, and will inform appropriate tribal leaders of such objects on the market or in non-Indian hands.
D. Collections managers may consult with Native Americans or recognized experts if they question whether or not materials in the present collection, or which may be donated to the Museum, are sacred, ceremonial, or objects of tribal patrimony.
E. Sacred or ceremonial objects and objects of tribal patrimony in the collection will be offered for repatriation to appropriate Native American leaders as stipulated by NAGPRA.
G. In lieu of repatriation, the Museum may negotiate with tribes to arrange relationships where the Museum maintains custody of sacred, ceremonial, or patrimonial objects, but tribal members monitor its exhibition, storage, handling, and conservation to prevent sacrilege, or are given access for periodic treatment (i.e. - ritual feeding of Katsina masks), or for prayer.
F. If Native Americans request repatriation of accessioned Museum material, they must prove their authority to speak for their tribe as stipulated in NAGPRA. The Museum's board may be asked to review and approve the request.

A. Policy for access to archival information:

1. Information concerning the nature and location of any
   archaeological or historical resource on public land the excavation or removal of which requires a permit under federal or Arizona statute, will not be released to the public without permission from the appropriate land manager. This restriction does not apply to books or published documents which are normally for sale to the public.
2. The archivist may withhold access to archival documents if it is
   believed that such access would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, encourage theft, expose an individual to physical harm, release business secrets, violate donor restrictions, or inhibit ongoing negotiations or litigations.

B. Policy for access to collections materials:

1. Individuals requesting access to collections must make written request to the appropriate collections manager, stating their reason for the request and describing the objects which they wish to examine. Positive identification and written references may be required.
2. Objects to be studied will be retrieved from storage by collections managers and brought to the researcher. For heavy or numerous objects, the researcher may be accompanied into storage areas by staff members as time requirements permit.

C. Policy for access to collections records:

1. Access to internal collections records must be requested in writing to the appropriate collections manager, stating the reason for making the request.
2. Information such as storage location, appraised value, donor names, and site locations will not be released without compelling reasons. Positive identification and written references may be required.

D. Authority for and appeal of decisions.

1. Decisions to refuse or release information or provide access will be made by the appropriate collections manager.
2. Appeal of such decisions may be made through the director to the Board of Trustees.

E. Staff access to collections will be based upon need to work there. No non-collections work will be done in collections storage areas unless it is necessary for security, building maintenance, or similar Museum needs. The
appropriate collections manager should be notified of need to enter storage areas, preferably at the time, but later if done while managers were absent.

PART II. THE REPRODUCTION AND PROP COLLECTION
INTRODUCTION.
This document contains policies for the management of the Reproduction and Prop collections of the Prescott Historical Society and Sharlot Hall Museum.

1. DEFINITIONS AND USES
A. Reproduction/Prop objects (referred to here as R/Ps) are used to supplement permanent collections items or to replace them when the artifact
can not be used because its life span or preservation would be jeopardized.

B. Such uses include, but are not limited to:

1. Educational programs
2. " Hands on" material for living history..
3. Materials for craft demonstrations.
4. Traveling educational kits.
5. Public lectures.
6. To replace a permanent collection item in exhibit that can not be used without threat to its safety or is unavailable.
7. For any use where original materials would be subjected to unacceptable risks or environmental exposures.

B. Examples of items which would be in the R/P Collection:

1. Reproductions of historic or artistic material, made commercially, by staff, or by other craftsmen.
2. Original historic materials for which reproductions are not produced, or for which reproductions are prohibitively expensive, and which are deemed appropriate for program use and qualify for R/P status as determined by the Collections Committee.

C. Examples of items which would not be in the R/P collection:

1. Expendable supplies, or materials for craft projects.
2. Exhibit captions, cases, photos, or "furniture" built as dividers or supports for exhibits.
3. Furniture, tools, or equipment that are carried on the Prescott Historical Society inventory; or dishes, table cloths, or silverware which are used by the Society.
4. Decorations such as modern Christmas tree ornaments.
5. Living plants or modern artificial plants.
6. Any object that the collections committee decides should be part of the permanent collection because of local provenance.

II. AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Authority for these policies and responsibility for their application is the same as for the permanent collections (see Collections Management Policy, Part I, Section II).

III. ACQUISITION

A. R/P materials may be acquired:

1. Through purchase.
2. R/P or Permanent Collection status of purchased artifacts will be determined by collections and education curators before purchase except in cases where an opportunity to buy might be lost by inaction.
3. Through donation.

B. . All original objects offered for donation will be first considered by the Collections Committee for accession to the permanent collection.

1. If rejected for the permanent collection, objects may be considered for the R/P collection.
2. Donors that check the box, "I/We request that any materials in this gift that are not accessioned into the Museum's collections be returned to me/us or my/our heirs" will be contacted for permission to include their materials in R/P. Those that check "—may be used by the Society as it sees fit—" on the Accession Form need not be asked for such permission.

IV. CRITERIA FOR ACCESSION A. Criteria for accession of R/P materials are the same as for the Permanent Collection (see section V, A-E, Collections Management Policy, Part I), except as follows:

1. Collections Management Policy, Part I, Section V, B states that candidates for accession must," Be in good physical condition—". R/P materials may be of lesser condition, for instance a fragment which could be used in hands-on education.

B. Collections Management Policy, Part I, Section IV, E states that candidates for accession will be accompanied by documentation of provenance if possible. This would rarely be true for R/P materials, and, in fact, Arizona or Southwestern provenance would usually make an item ineligible for R/P status, (see I, C, 6 above).

V. LOANS OUT
A. Criteria for loans of R/P materials differ from those for the permanent collections (Collections Management Policy, Part 1, VII) only in that:

1. Less stringent conditions will be required regarding security, handling, etc. (See Collections Management Policy, Part I, VII, A, 1.).

B. Verification of insurance coverage, trained staff, security, environmental controls, etc. (Collections Management Policy, Part I, VII, A, 2.) may be
waived at the discretion of the appropriate curator.

C. Will be recorded on a Loan of Collections Material, document and will not normally require a condition report prior to loan (Collections
Management Policy, Part I, VII, A, 3.)

VI. LOANS IN
A. Loans of items for the R/P collection will be documented similarly to those for the permanent collections (Collections Management Policy, Part I, Vll, B,)
except that photos and condition reports won't normally be required.
VII. DEACCESSION
A. Criteria and procedures for deaccession/ and methods of disposal for deaccessioned R/P material will be the same as for the permanent collection (see Collections Management Policy, Part I, VIII A through VIII C.)
VIII. REGISTRATION PROCEDURES
A. Will be similar to that for the permanent collection but will use a separate number series having the prefix "R/P".