Gabrielle Lewis-Hardwick

HIST 6302 Collections Management in Museums

Dr. Ann McCleary
Ms. Erica Hague
June 23, 2022

Processing Museum Collections Essay

Before the acquisition process of an item, The Museum of Civil Rights will always refer

to our collection policy. If the incoming item does not fall within the collection plan of the

museum the item will not be accepted by the committee. The Museum of Civil Rights collection

policy clearly points out who is responsible for the intake of donations, which departments will

be on which committee with explanation. The Museum of Civil Rights collection policy will also

explain in detail the museum’s collection plan, acquisition process, the criteria, how items are to

be acquisitioned, the approval process the accessioning and deaccessioning process.1 The

collection policy of the museum of Civil Rights meets the needs of the museum. With the

Museum of Civil Rights being a smaller museum, the acquisition process is a little different than

larger museums. Our collection policy is created to meet the needs of our museum. With the size

of the museum being smaller our acquisition process is scaled to fit the size of our collection

department. We prioritize our storage space and referring to the collection plan when accepting

donations, loan, and other gifts. Currently the museum is accepting items that will fit into our

current exhibit of highlighting influential LGBTQIA+ members during social movements.

The Museum of Civil Rights accepts donations in two methods. Members and people of

the community can schedule an appointment with the collections department and drop off an

1
Rebecca A. Buck and Jean Allman Gilmore, Museum Registration Methods (AAM Press, American
Association of Museums, 2010), 24-27.
item for donation. The second method of donating items, members, and people within the

community, will be able to complete a form on the museum’s website. Through the form, donors

will detail their items, how they came into possession of the item, the historical significance of

the item, and pictures of the item. Through this method, the acquisition process can occur a lot

faster. The collection management team can take this information to the Collection Management

Committee, and then decide if this is an item that will fit within the museum’s collection.2 A

member of the museum created an appointment with our collection manage to donate a Hymn

Book that once belonged to Bayard Rusti during the Civil Rights Era. The Hymn Book belong to

a family member that was once a close friend of Rustin and was passed down to her. The donor

wanted to donate the hymn book to the museum because she believed it should be shared with

the community. The collections manager decided to accept this donation because this hymn book

can be placed on display in the exhibit that is highlighting LGBTQIA+ members during social

movements. The collections manager completed a Temporary Custody Report. This report will

include the contact information of the donor description of the object, the location where the

book will be stored until it will be accessed. The Temporary Custody Report will include a brief

but detailed condition of the book before taking possession of the item.3 The condition of the

hymn book is older and have wear and tear on the spine of the book. The pages are tattered and

some pages are teared. Once completed the temporary custody report will be signed by the

museum manager and the donor. On the back of the temporary custody report will include the

legality of the temporary custody report. The donor will receive a copy of the Temporary

2
Rebecca A. Buck and Jean Allman Gilmore, Museum Registration Methods (AAM Press, American
Association of Museums, 2010), 44-47.
3
Rebecca A. Buck and Jean Allman Gilmore, Museum Registration Methods (AAM Press, American
Association of Museums, 2010), 38-40.
Custody Report. The collections manager will keep a copy for documentation, the last copy will

stay with the item during the acquisition process.4

Once the Temporary Custody Report is completed, the Hymn book will receive an

acquisition number. The collection manager will then conduct research further into the item and

the person associated with the item. Through research, the collection manager discovered Bayard

Rustin is an American Civil Rights Activist who advised Martin Luther King, Jr. Rustin was

instrumental in the organization of the March on Washington in 1963. Bayard Rustin was also

heavily involved in Gay Rights Movement. Because of his sexual orientation, Rustin had to take

a behind the scenes role during the Civil Rights movement. Following the research, the

collection manager will then present the research and the Hymn Book to the collection

management committee. The collection management committee will consist of the following

departments: Head of the Education department, Head of the Collections department, Head of

the local LGBTQIA+ Organization that is working with the museum on the current exhibit, the

registrar, Head of the Marketing Team, and the Museum’s CEO. During the committee meeting

the committee will review the donated item and discuss how this item is related to the current

collection plan. The committee will also evaluate how this item will fit within the current exhibit.

Due to the condition of the book, the committee had to evaluate how the museum will be able to

keep up with the care of the Hymn book. The committee took in all the factors and decided to

accept the donation. With the historical significance if the book Bayard Rustin, the collection

management committee believed this would be a great addition to the museum’s collection.

4
Rebecca A. Buck and Jean Allman Gilmore, Museum Registration Methods (AAM Press, American
Association of Museums, 2010), 233-225.
 Following the acceptance of the donation. The collection manager will send a Deed of

Gift and a Thank you letter to the donor. Now that the Hymn book is in possession of the

Museum of Civil Rights the collection manager will now begin the accession process. The Hymn

will receive on accession number – the accessioning number should be assigned to newly

acquired items and all documentation. The Museum of Civil Rights assigns accession numbers

by starting with ‘MCR’ meaning the abbreviation for the Museum of Civil Rights, the year it as

accepted and the numbered item accepted within the year (MCR2022.102).5 The museum’s

collections manager will complete a catalog worksheet and a condition report. A catalog sheet

will provide detailed description of the Hymn book. With these detail on the catalog worksheet,

the collection manager will need to detail, who is the artist/maker, the curatorial area, object

type, where the item is located, the material of the Hymn book, and any other distinctive marks

of the Hymn book that can be identified by anyone reading the catalog worksheet. The Hymn

Book is currently located in the museum’s collection storage center located with other books in

the museum’s collection. The Hymn book will remain there until it is time to move to the exhibit

location. The Museum’s collection manager will complete the condition report for the hymn

book. The condition of the book will be detailed within the report. The museum can take the

information from the Temporary Custody Report and then further elaborate on the condition of

the hymn book. The Condition report and catalog worksheet is important to keep records on the

hymn book. These reports can be used as backup records. The collection manager completed the

condition of the hymn book as a brownish red hymnal book with faded gold embossed lettering

that states “church hymnal” with a design under the lettering. The collection manager noted the

5
Rebecca A. Buck and Jean Allman Gilmore, Museum Registration Methods (AAM Press,
American Association of Museums, 2010), 233.
condition of the pages within the hymn book. The pages were of an off white/ cream-colored

page with tears of the pages at the upper right corner of the pages. The spine pf the book was

weak and flimsy. There is slight fraying of the upper and bottom of the spine. The collection

manager then noted the book will need to be handled with care when opening and turning pages.

The person preserving and processing the hymn book will need to wear gloves and use book

binds. The collection manager noted the condition of the hymn book the material of the hymn

book. Upon the completion of the condition report the collection manager will then sign off on

the form. The catalog worksheet is similar to the condition report and provides more details. The

catalog worksheet requires the name of the item, the accessioning number, photographs, the

curatorial classification, the type of object, the location where the item is stored, what type of

materials are used, another brief description, any key identifying marks, how to handle the item,

and the dimensions of the hymn book. This document along with the condition report and

photographs will be entered into the Museum of Civil Rights software database. The Museum of

Civil Rights collection manager takes pictures of the hymn books. Having pictures attached helps

museum personnel to identify items within the database and when it is being held on display.

This also helps with tracking location of the item.6 Having pictures will also track the condition

of the hymn book. Taking pictures will show the condition of the book when it was accepted into

the museum and through the accessioning process to the point when or if they are deaccessioned.

Having pictures will also help with keeping the condition of the book when the book is loaned

out to other museums and institutions. The Museum of Civil Rights collection management

departments uses digital imaging when organizing photos into the database. Digital imaging is an

6
Rebecca A. Buck and Jean Allman Gilmore, Museum Registration Methods (AAM Press,
American Association of Museums, 2010), 277.
electronic photograph taken with a digital camera. The use of these digital images can be used to

keep the conditioning of the items in a digital exhibit. Digital photography is the best method to

storage these digital images. Additional copies of these images can be stored on the museum’s

computer and any backup hard drives. The digital images that are taken during this collection

process can be used to put on digital display in an online digital archive. The importance of the

database for a small museum is to keep records of all items in the museum’s collection. The

database software should be flexible to be expand if needed.7 As the collection manager is

processing the pictures and imputing the information into the museum’s database. The database

that the Museum of Civil Rights decided to use was decided by the collection management

committee and is outlined in the museums collection policy. Within the policy, it outlines who is

responsible for updating the database.8 The museum manager will then tag the item with the

accessioning number. Objects within a museum’s collection should be marked according to the

museums unique cataloging system. The markings on these objects should be consistent within

the institution. When labeling or marking an item it is important to make sure the marking does

not damage the surface of the item. The collection manger will place the accessioning number on

the reverse of the title page and inside the front cover at the lower right side near the spine of the

book in pencil. Once all the materials are completed for the accessioning process, the museum’s

registrar will review the files for compliance. Upon completion of the accessioning process of

the Bayard Rustin Hymn Book, the book is held in the Museum of Civil Rights collection

storage until it is ready to be placed on display in the exhibit. The museum collection storage is

7
Rebecca A. Buck and Jean Allman Gilmore, Museum Registration Methods (AAM Press,
American Association of Museums, 2010), 161.
8
Rebecca A. Buck and Jean Allman Gilmore, Museum Registration Methods (AAM Press,
American Association of Museums, 2010), 169.
organized by items. The items are house in a way that best keep the items in the greatest

preservation condition. All art donations and collections are housed by year collected. Textiles,

other materials, and items will also have the same organizational methods. Books will be placed

on a bookshelf based by their accessioned year.9 Once the book has been placed within the

exhibit, the collections manager will update the item location in the system database. The Hymn

book will be placed on display in the new exhibit. The book will be held in a vitrine. The book

will be opened to a page that has notes written on the hymnal page. Because the pages within the

book is already fading, the lighting in the vitrine will be adjusted to prevent further

decolorization of the pages.10 The book will stay on display until the end of the exhibit. Once the

exhibit is over the museum collection manager will then place the book back into the collection

storage area. Before placing the book back in the storage area, the museum manager will perform

another condition report, and update the photos in the Museums database.

The deaccessioning process is outlined in the Museum of Civil Rights collection policy.

The policy outlines, how the deaccessioning process will occur and who is involved in the

decision making. The policy also outlines how items will be destroyed if they are to be

deaccessioned. Once the collection manager performs an inventory check, the Bayard Rustin

Hymn book was selected for review for deaccession.11 The museum’s collection management

committee met to decide if the book would be deaccessioned. Because of the size of the Museum

of Civil Rights, the Collections management committee makes the decisions for acquisitions and

9
Rebecca A. Buck and Jean Allman Gilmore, Museum Registration Methods (AAM Press,
American Association of Museums, 2010), 302-305.
10
Rebecca A. Buck and Jean Allman Gilmore, Museum Registration Methods (AAM Press,
American Association of Museums, 2010), 289-290.
11
Rebecca A. Buck and Jean Allman Gilmore, Museum Registration Methods (AAM Press, American
Association of Museums, 2010), 101-102.
deaccessions. A list of items was put on an agenda that will be acquisitioned and deaccessioned.

The committee will review each item and then decide on how to move forward. Depending on

some of the items, being acquisitioned or deaccessioned, members from community

organizations that the museum has built strong relationships with will be invited to be on the

committee. Because of the size of the museum, which receives a lot of community support,

having members of the community organizations to have input within the acquisitions and

deaccessioning of items help bring new ideas and perspectives to the museum. The collections

manager drafted a written justification letter stating why the item should be deaccessioned.12 In

the letter, the manager states due to the size of my museum, and the preservation of the book, the

Hymnal book should be deaccessioned. These justifications fall within the museums collection

policy. The committee also verified the legality of ownership and made sure The Museum of

Civil Rights had full ownership of this item. After reviewing documentation of the Hymn book,

using the temporary custody report, and the signed deed of gift as verification documentation, the

committee moved forward with the deaccessioning process. Now that the museum knows they

have ownership of the Hymnal book and a written justification, next the committee will examine

the condition of the hymnal book to further determine if the item should be disposed of or not.

With the current condition of the pages of the book, and the significance of the book during the

meeting the deaccessioning committee referred to the collection policy and analyzing how the

book still falls within the collection policy, and how it continues to meet the mission of the

institution. During the meeting a member of the committee mentioned placing the hymn in a

permanent exhibit that has a section mentioning how the church played an important part in the

12
Rebecca A. Buck and Jean Allman Gilmore, Museum Registration Methods (AAM Press,
American Association of Museums, 2010), 101.
civil rights movement. After analyzing the information presented to them, the members on the

committee decided to keep the Bayard Rustin Hymnal book within the museum’s collection. The

book was then transitioned to a permanent exhibit where it will stay. The hymnal book will be

updated into the database. The location of the book has been changed. The item will receive a

new location number according to the collection policy.

If the committee did decide to deaccession the hymnal book, the committee would have

gone through the entire deaccessioning process that is outlined in the collection policy. A written

justification letter that explains why the hymnal book no longer fits within the museums current

collection plan, along with stating the decision criteria. During the deaccessioning the committee

would check for ownership of the hymnal book. The condition of the item will also be evaluated

at this time of the deaccessioning meeting. Because of the nature of the hymnal book being a

religious item, the committee consulted a local Baptist preacher on the best way to dispose of the

item.13 The committee chose the option to physically destroy the item to prevent the item from

being returned to the museum as well as bringing bad publicity to the museum if found

elsewhere.14 Once the item was destroyed, the museum collection manager would then update

the current status of the hymnal book.

13
Rebecca A. Buck and Jean Allman Gilmore, Museum Registration Methods (AAM Press,
American Association of Museums, 2010), 102.
14
Rebecca A. Buck and Jean Allman Gilmore, Museum Registration Methods (AAM Press,
American Association of Museums, 2010), 102-105.
References

Buck, Rebecca A., and Jean Allman Gilmore. Museum Registration Methods. AAM Press,
American Association of Museums, 2010.