Balancing Resources and Collections Needs: II. Deaccessioning and Disposal of Fossil Invertebrates and Microfossils

Abstract

AS RECENTLY as thirty years ago, deaccessioning was a dirty word in museums. It was considered an abrogation of an institution's fundamental responsibility to care of its collections in the public trust. Miller (1985) has chronicled some of the public controversy that attended deaccessioning in the early 1970's. However, in the intervening time, museums' approach to deaccessioning has changed as they grapple with burgeoning collections, decreasing funding bases, pressure to narrow and focus their missions, and rising standards of care. Now deaccessioning is regarded by the majority as a necessary and appropriate tool in collections management, albeit one that operates within strict ethical and legal constraints.A museum's collections policy should address criteria for deaccessioning, levels of approval needed, methods of disposition, use of funds resulting from sales, and records keeping. In addition, staff must develop procedures for identifying material for deaccessioning. In the following sections we review the currently accepted standards in the museum field for these areas, as well as discussing how some of these issues apply particularly to paleontological collections. It may be appropriate for paleontology departments to develop guidelines and procedures that further refine the museum's overall collections policy to fit the needs of their collections and the conventions of their field.