Meeting of the Board of Regents | November 2010

Summary

Issue f
or Discussion

The Board of Regents goal is to produce a set of regulations regarding deaccessioning compatible with the accepted ethical and legal standards of the national accrediting organizations. To assist in reaching that goal, the Regents are establishing a small ad hoc committee of leaders of museums.

Reason for Consideration

For a number of years, at the request of the museum community, the Regents have worked to create criteria for permanent museum charters meeting standards that are both appropriate and doable for museums of all types and sizes. The concern of many outstanding museum professionals was that without clear and rigorous standards, institutions without sound operations or not acting in the public’s interest may continue to exist. Clear and generally accepted professional standards are in place for chartering libraries, but the regulations regarding museums were seen to be out of date and inadequate.

The proposed regulations (Regents Regulations, Section 3.27) brought before the Regents earlier this fall raised continuing concerns over the standards regarding deaccessioning of collections. To address those concerns, the Regents have asked for another review of the issues that were raised.  The Board of Regents goal is to produce a set of regulations regarding deaccessioning compatible with the generally accepted ethical and legal standards of the national accrediting organizations. To assist in reaching that goal, a small ad hoc committee consisting of leaders of museums of different types can provide clear recommendations that will help the Board develop permanent regulations regarding deaccessioning of collections.

 
Proposed Handling

The proposed charge and members of the ad hoc committee will be presented to the Cultural Education Committee for discussion, modification and approval at the November 2010 Regents meeting.  Once adopted by the Cultural Education Committee, the proposed charge and membership will be considered by the full Board of Regents.

Procedural History

This is the first formal discussion of the proposed ad hoc committee.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Board of Regents take the following action:   Establish an Ad Hoc Committee on Deaccessioning of Collections with a charge to produce a recommendation for regulations regarding deaccessioning of collections compatible with the accepted ethical and legal standards of the appropriate national accrediting organizations. The Board seeks a timely and clear recommendation from the ad hoc committee no later than March 31, 2011.  The Board will designate Carole Huxley as the chair of the ad hoc committee and will appoint other members of the committee based on a recommendation from the Regents’ Cultural Education Committee.   Staff will provide ad hoc committee members with appropriate background regarding existing Regents Regulations.