Internal Fire, Museum of Power

 

 

Acquisition and Disposal Policy.

 

1^st. January 2003 to 1^st. January 2008

(Unless revised previously).

 

 

1.0      Purpose of the Acquisition & Disposal Policy.

 

             To comply with the requirements of the re:source Registration Scheme for Museums and Galleries concerning Acquisitions & Disposal of collections and to inform and respect the interests of other Museums.

 

1.1        The Museum will collect internal combustion engines of all types and other related driven equipment and ancillaries.

 

1 .2       A very limited number of items may be acquired outside the core collecting policy but only if it is necessary to use same as a comparison with the core objects.

 

1.3       A particular emphasis will be given to the development of the diesel engine from conception to the current day.

 

1.4        The Museum will not acquire any item for use for which it cannot provide skilled advice and knowledge to maintain the object in a safe manner following established good practice for a working Museum.

 

1.5        The Museum adopts as its policy the Museums Association’s Code of Practice for Museum Authorities and (as far as is applicable) the UNESCO Convention on means of prohibiting the illicit import of Ownership of cultural property, 1970.

 

2.0       Mission Statement of the Museum.

 

The Museum collects documents, preserves, exhibits and interprets (including demonstration and operation of) material evidence and associated information relating to the history of the internal combustion engine primarily within the British Isles to the benefit of the local community and its visitors.

 

3.0    Existing Collection.

 

The Collection contains items ranging from early semidiesel engines to gas turbines and includes some vehicles with early or interesting internal combustion engines. While there is a presumption to expand the permanent collection, termed loans fill identified gaps until purchase or gifting is possible. The Museum Collection is in several sections, the Core Collections and loan collections. The accession register clearly identifies the section to which an item belongs. The Core Collection comprises objects that are of historical significance in the terms indicated by the Mission Statement of the Museum.

 

 

4.0              Limitations on Collecting.

 

The Museum recognises its responsibility in acquiring material, to ensure adequate conservation, documentation and proper use of such material and takes into account limitations on collecting imposed by such factors as staffing, storage and conservation resources.

Gifts and bequests shall only be accepted on the basis that any conditions are approved by the Museum and in all cases, reference will be made to the limitations as specified above. The Museum shall reserve the right to refuse any offer of material.

 

5.0       Reference to other Organisations.

 

The Museum will take due account of the collecting policies of UK Museums with similar or overlapping interests and will consult with such organisations where conflicts of interest may arise or to define areas of specialisms in order to avoid unnecessary duplication and waste of resources.

 

6.0          Loan policy.

 

The Museum will not normally accept material on loan unless for the purpose of temporary exhibition or copying or where the item is of exceptional interest to the Museum. Any loan will be agreed in writing by the lender and the Executive Committee as advised by the Curatorial Advisor, including the allocation of responsibilities for insurance and transport arrangements and shall be for a specific fixed term only, renewable in writing. The term ‘permanent loan’ has no legal status and items will not be accepted on this basis.

 

7.0       Archive material.

 

Where the museum holds or intends to acquire archives, including photographs and printed ephemera, its governing body will be guided by the Code of Practice on Archives for Museums in the United Kingdom (1996).  The Museum will also aim to meet the standards outlined in the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts’ Standards for Record Repositories (1990).

 

8.0     Material not accepted for the permanent collection.

 

Due to the nature of the Museum’s activities, the Museum may occasionally acquire certain items that are not intended to be retained for the permanent collection and therefore will not be accessioned into the permanent collection.

 

In the case of such material, documentation will clearly show the intended use of the object and donors will be made aware of this possibility at the time of entry and informed as soon as the decision has been made regarding the material. These objects will be recorded separately outside the main accession record and shall not be treated as part of the Permanent Collection since their intended use implies that preservation cannot be guaranteed.

 

9.0     Acquisition and Disposal.

 

The Acquisition and Disposal policy will be published and reviewed from time to time, at least once every five years. Acquisitions outside the current stated policy will only be made in very exceptional circumstances and then only after proper considerations by the governing body of the Museum itself having regard to the interests of other Museums. The Area Museum Service will be notified of any changes in policy or after any periodic review of the policy.

 

 

The Museum will not acquire, whether by purchase, gift, bequest or exchange any works of art or object unless the Executive Committee is satisfied that the Museum can acquire a valid title to the specimen in question, and that in particular it has not been acquired in, or exported from, its country of origin (or any intermediate country in which it may have been illegally owned) in violation of that country’s laws. (For the purpose of this paragraph ‘country’ of origin’ includes the United Kingdom).

 

The Museum will not acquire any biological or geological material.

The Museum will not acquire any archaeological material.

 

By definition the Museum has a long-term purpose and possesses (or intends to acquire) substantial permanent collections in relation to its stated objectives. The Museum ‘s Executive Committee accepts the principle that there is a strong presumption against the disposal of any items in the Museum’s collection excepting as set out below.

 

In those cases where the Museum is free to dispose of an item (if this is in doubt, advice will be sought), it is agreed that any decision to sell or dispose of material from the collections will be taken only after due consideration by the Museum’s Executive Committee. Decisions to dispose of items will not be made with the principal aim of generating funds. Once a decision to dispose of an item has been taken, priority will be given to retaining the item within the public domain and with this in view it will be offered first by loan, exchange, gift or sale to Registered museums before disposal to other interested individuals or organisations is considered.

 

In cases in which an arrangement for exchange, gift or private treaty sale of material is not being made with an individual Registered museum, the museum community at large will be advised of the intention to dispose of material. This will normally be through an announcement in the Museums Association’s Museum Journal and other professional journals if appropriate. The announcement will indicate the number and nature of the specimens or objects involved, and the basis on which the material would be transferred to another institution. A period of at least two months will be allowed for an interest in acquiring the material to be expressed.

 

A decision to dispose of a specimen or object whether by exchange, sale, gift or destruction (in the case of an item too badly damaged or deteriorated to be of any further use for the purpose of the collection), be the responsibility of the governing body of the museum acting on the advice of the Curatorial Advisor, and not of the curator of the collection acting alone. Full records will be kept of all such decisions and the items involved and proper arrangements made for the preservation and/or transfer, as appropriate, of the documentation relating to the items concerned including photographic records where practicable.

 

Any money received by the museum’s governing body from the disposal of items will be applied for the benefit of the museum’s collection. This will normally mean the purchase of further acquisitions but in exceptional cases improvements relating to the care of collections may be justifiable. Advice on these cases may be sought from  re:source.

 

         Where a museum object has been acquired with the aid of an external funding organisation, permission from that organisation will be sought before the object is deaccessioned or transferred to another museum and, if required, repayment of the original grant will be made.