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Re: Selling/auctioning off collections



Well we do tell donors up front that such and such is going to be auctioned
off. Some donors who are more interested in the tax write off than
preserving something for generations of ENTs are very keen on our annual
silent auction. After the auction we tell them how much an item sold for
and they like that because for things going into the permanent collection
we can't quote them a price. Of course our silent auction is at our annual
meeting where we have thousands of otolaryngologists trapped in a
convention hall. Our take is about $5K but luckily we don't pay for
packing, it gets absorbed by another department. If we had to pay for it, I
doubt that it would be worth the money spent on staff, travel and shipping.

Our other option is trying to sell them to local booksellers, a hit and
miss operation. I've had friends with more specialized collections that
they have relationships with booksellers who are particularly interested in
what they have and will come over pick up discards.

Yet the main thing is to inform the donor about what you are doing and what
is going to happen to their donation.

my 2 c


M Marie Maxwell
Archivist
John Q. Adams Center for the History of Otolaryngology-
Head and Neck Surgery Foundation
1 Prince Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-519-1596

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