• 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)."

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Must not conflict with the Museum's use of the materials, nor of staff time or expertise, or other resources.
• Must be consistent with the philosophy of public trust and be for exhibition to the general public or for scholarly research.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Will be credited prominently as "From the Collections of the Sharlot Hall 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.

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

• Will be initiated by the appropriate collections manager.
• Will be documented on a standardized Deaccession Form (7/97), which will be kept as a permanent record.
• Will include a reasonable effort to ascertain that the Museum islegally free to dispose of the item, considering possible donor restrictions.
• Material to be considered for deaccession will be presented to the
• Museum's Collections Committee, which may approve or reject deaccession.
• 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.

• Will be determined by the Collections Committee.
• Will be considered first for trade, sale, or transfer to another institution of public trust.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• May be by disposal in the city landfill if the item has no commercial or educational value.
• Will require that all museum markings such as catalog numbers have been removed.
• Will be thoroughly documented, including name of buyer, price, and date. Such documentation will be kept as a permanent record.
• Registration numbers will not be reused.
• Will not violate federal or Arizona laws regulating the sale of archaeological resources, plants, animals, or mineral specimens.

1. The employee has divulged his collecting to the director who then may choose to inform the Board of Trustees.

• • 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.
  • Competition with the Museum in collecting, or the appearance of such, does not occur.
  • 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.
  • Staff will not accept gifts to their personal collections from contacts which they make through the Museum.

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

• A. Reproduction/Prop objects (referred to here as R/Ps) are used to supplement permanent collections items or to replace them when the artifact cannot 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.
• C. 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.
• D. 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.
  .

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, and representatives from the community as deemed necessary. The Chief Curator 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.

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.

Items to be considered for accession must:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Be capable of appropriate storage, protection, and preservation under conditions at the Museum.
4. 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.
5. Be accompanied by documentation of its provenience, if possible.

1. 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.
2. 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.

1. 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.
2. Loans To the Museum:
   
   1. Will be documented, photographed, and examined for damage by the Museum's collections managers. These data will be recorded as a condition report.
   2. Will be cared for to a degree at least equal to that given the Museum's own collections of similar items.
   3. 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.

    

1. 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
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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 Director after being approved by the Collections Committee.
5. 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 $1,000 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
   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.
   
   
   

1. 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.
2. 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.