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Ethics of Deaccessioning



I agree with those who have already said the AAM code of ethics provides good guidelines.  The point about keeping trust with donors raised by Barbara Austen is an excellent one.  Donors do not expect that the precious materials that have donated to an archives or museum to be sold, exchanged, given to another institution, or whatever.

At my former place of employment at the University of Connecticut, the deed of gift form had two boxes asking the donor to tell the University what he/she wanted done should the Archives later decide that some/all of the papers donated to not fit in with the institution's collecting policy.  The donor was asked to check a box to indicate (1) that unwanted materials be returned to him/her or (2) that they could be disposed of by the Archives in a manner it though proper.




Bruce P. Stark
Assistant State Archivist
Connecticut State Library
231 Capitol Avenue
Hartford, CT 06106
860-757-6512

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