Collections Development Policy

1 Relationship to other relevant policies/ plans of the organisation:

1.1     The museum’s statement of purpose is:

• To establish and maintain a heritage facility in Bishopsteignton, Devon, in order to advance the education of and for the benefit of the community.
• To develop, preserve and make accessible a museum and archive collection.

1.2 The governing body will ensure that both acquisition and disposal are carried out openly and with transparency.

1.3 By definition, the museum has a long-term purpose and holds collections in trust for the benefit of the public in relation to its stated objectives. The governing body therefore accepts the principle that sound curatorial reasons must be established before consideration is given to any acquisition to the collection, or the disposal of any items in the museum’s collection.

1.4 Acquisitions outside the current stated policy will only be made in exceptional circumstances.

1.5 The museum recognises its responsibility, when acquiring additions to its collections, to ensure that care of collections, documentation arrangements and use of collections will meet the requirements of the Museum Accreditation Standard. This includes using Spectrum primary procedures for collections management. It will take into account limitations on collecting imposed by such factors as staffing, storage and care of collection arrangements.

1.6 The museum will undertake due diligence and make every effort not to acquire, whether by purchase, gift, bequest or exchange, any object or specimen unless the governing body or responsible officer is satisfied that the museum can acquire a valid title to the item in question.

1.7 In exceptional cases, disposal may be motivated principally by financial reasons. The method of disposal will therefore be by sale and the procedures outlined below will be followed. In cases where disposal is motivated by financial reasons, the governing body will not undertake disposal unless it can be demonstrated that all the following exceptional circumstances are met in full:

• the disposal will significantly improve the long-term public benefit derived from the remaining collection
• the disposal will not be undertaken to generate short-term revenue (for example to meet a budget deficit)
• the disposal will be undertaken as a last resort after other sources of funding have been thoroughly explored
• extensive prior consultation with sector bodies has been undertaken
• the item under consideration lies outside the museum’s established core collection.

2 History of the collections

1983-2012 – Bishopsteignton Museum of Rural Life(BMRL) – an unofficial, volunteer run organisation managing a collection of gifted and loaned items mostly relating to the parish.

2007 – Molly Coombe’s bequest for the creation of a museum facility for the benefit of the parish.

2012 – Creation of Bishopsteignton Museum Charity Trust to draw down and manage the bequest.

2017 – Superseded by Bishopsteignton Heritage Charitable Incorporated Organisation which now manages Molly Coombe’s bequest and items from her personal collection and starts to collect further items relating to current and past people, places, events and environment within the parish.

2018 – Bishopsteignton Heritage starts to manage items from the defunct Bishopsteignton Museum Rural Life on behalf of the owners of Bishopsteignton Community Centre, 

Collections held elsewhere by individuals and organisations are also digitalised and recorded for audience development.

3 An overview of current collections

Bishopsteignton Heritage currently cares for a substantial, diverse and mixed collection including over 4000 records in a range of formats including:

• Objects, manuscripts, volumes, photographic, maps and plans, printed material, digital images, video and audio recordings that relate to the people, places, events and environment of Bishopsteignton. 
• Notable collections we hold include Molly Coombe’s and other family archives including the Back, Dawe, Renton, Robbins and Davey families who lived or still live in the parish.
• The collection also contains research material from local historians of the recent past of Jenny Ridd and Nigel Walker. 
• Other notable collections include: the large Football collection of photos, newspaper cuttings and ephemera by the Bishopsteignton United Football Club and objects from Bishopsteignton Scouts Group.
• Whilst, we still manage the BMRL collection on behalf of the Community Centre we have begun the process of transferring and accessioning physical objects that include medals and other military memorabilia, framed pictures, textiles, sporting trophies and equipment, photo albums, farming equipment, local business and transport memorabilia into our own collection. 

4 Themes and priorities for future collecting

Following a review of the collection some areas were noted and found to be underrepresented and therefore these will be prioritised especially those missing objects relating to the time spans within our history prior to the 1800’s, during the 1950’s 1970’s with relation to our themes below:

Themes

For the purposes of future collecting, Bishopsteignton Heritage will acquire items originating from, used in or having relevance to the parish of Bishopsteignton from prehistory to the present. BH will actively manage and develop its collection in an ethical, transparent and consultative manner to ensure its usability and usefulness and be available to all while meeting our mission and statement of purpose within the charity.  

Bishopsteignton People: 

• People born in the village or who have lived a portion of their lives there.
• People who worked in the village or left a notable impression. 
• People that have contributed to a Bishopsteignton event, organisation or story.

Bishopsteignton Places:

All areas within the Parish and/or surrounding area which are generally considered to be part of the village.

Bishopsteignton Events:

Any event of any length that occurred within the above stated Parish or involving Bishopsteignton People.

Bishopsteignton Environments:

This theme is identified in order to encourage the acquisition of material relating to local flora and fauna and other aspects of natural science.

Handling collection items:

Exceptions to this collecting remit are: Non accessioned handling collection items.

Priorities

Our main priority is to completely ensure that Bishopsteignton Heritage has full ownership of non accessioned objects that have been received from the previous Rural Life Museum of Bishopsteignton.

Priority will also be given to items that may otherwise be at risk of loss or destruction, loaned items and items that will facilitate the maintenance, growth, inclusivity and diversification of our audience.

5 Themes and priorities for rationalisation and disposal

5.1 The museum recognises that the principles on which priorities for rationalisation and disposal are determined will be through a formal review process that identifies which collections are included and excluded from the review. The outcome of review and any subsequent rationalisation will not reduce the quality or significance of the collection and will result in a more useable, well managed collection.

5.2 The procedures used will meet professional standards. The process will be documented, open and transparent. There will be clear communication with key stakeholders about the outcomes and the process.

6 Legal and ethical framework for acquisition and disposal of items

6.1 The museum recognises its responsibility to work within the parameters of the Museum Association Code of Ethics when considering acquisition and disposal.

7 Collecting policies of other museums

7.1 The museum will take account of the collecting policies of other museums and other organisations collecting in the same or related areas or subject fields. It will consult with these organisations where conflicts of interest may arise or to define areas of specialism, in order to avoid unnecessary duplication and waste of resources.

7.2 Specific reference is made to the following museum(s)/organisation(s):

Collecting policies of other organisations

Teign Heritage Centre – collections describing the life and times of the people of Teignmouth and Shaldon. 

Newton Abbot Museum – more than 17,000 accessioned objects, documents and photographs focusing on the rich social history of Newton Abbot and surrounding villages, in two main groups: the social history of Newton Abbot and environs and Great Western Railway (GWR) 

Devon Rural Archive – an independent heritage centre for the study of Devon county’s buildings and landscapes.

Royal Albert Memorial Museum Exeter – over one million individual objects and specimens from all over the globe divided into the following curatorial departments: antiquities, costume and textiles, decorative art, ethnography, fine art, natural sciences, numismatics and social history. 

South West Heritage Trust, Devon Heritage Centre – holds all types of historical archives relating to the county of Devon and the City of Exeter (excluding Plymouth.) They include records of churches and chapels, of county, district and parish councils and of many families, estates, schools and other organisations.

7.3    We are open to joint acquisition agreements with other organisations if and where there is demonstrable benefit. Legal advice will be looked at when required.

8 Archival holdings

Archive holdings are treated in the same manner and are subject to the same conditions as any collection material.  

9 Acquisition

The policy for agreeing acquisitions is:

• When considering an item for acceptance as a donation/gift BH must consider the best possible option for the item itself and the collection overall, taking into account storage availability, care of the item and benefit to audience development.
• Object items undergo a formal process in line with our acquisition/ accessioning procedures to enable Permanent transfer of title to ensure care and preservation over the long term.  
• Objects are reviewed by the curatorial team (Hub Manager/Digital Assets Manager) in order, to ensure that diligence has been undertaken to ascertain if legal title can be obtained.
• Permanent gifts must firstly be authorised by an appropriate member of the Hub Team staff. 
• Before authorising an acquisition, those managing the acquisition will consider any special terms and conditions from the lender/donor, the capacity of the display and storage areas and any necessary costs such as for conservation.
• If the object is recommended for acquisition by the curatorial team (Hub Manager/ Digital Assets Manager) then the object is passed for review by the Trustee board at their monthly meeting for formal agreement prior to full accessioning. 
• Acquisitions will be managed by trained volunteers or staff working to all necessary workflows described in this Framework and the collections Plans and Guides.

• The museum will not acquire any object or specimen unless it is satisfied that the object or specimen has not been acquired in, or exported from, its country of origin (or any intermediate country in which it may have been legally owned) in violation of that country’s laws. (For the purposes of this paragraph ‘country of origin’ includes the United Kingdom).

• In accordance with the provisions of the UNESCO 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, which the UK ratified with effect from November 1 2002, and the Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act 2003, the museum will reject any items that have been illicitly traded. The governing body will be guided by the national guidance on the responsible acquisition of cultural property issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in 2005.

10 Human remains

10.1 The museum does not hold or intend to acquire any human remains

11 Biological and geological material

11.1 So far as biological and geological material is concerned, the museum will not acquire by any direct or indirect means any specimen that has been collected, sold or otherwise transferred in contravention of any national or international wildlife protection or natural history conservation law or treaty of the United Kingdom or any other country, except with the express consent of an appropriate outside authority.

12 Archaeological material

• The museum will not acquire archaeological material (including excavated ceramics) in any case where the governing body or responsible officer has any suspicion that the circumstances of their recovery involved a failure to follow the appropriate legal procedures.

• In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the procedures include reporting finds to the landowner or occupier of the land and to the proper authorities in the case of possible treasure (i.e. the Coroner for Treasure) as set out in the Treasure Act 1996 (as amended by the Coroners & Justice Act 2009).

Exceptions

• Any exceptions to the above clauses will only be because the museum is:

• acting as an externally approved repository of last resort for material of local (UK) origin

• acting with the permission of authorities with the requisite jurisdiction in the country of origin.

In these cases the museum will be open and transparent in the way it makes decisions and will act only with the express consent of an appropriate outside authority. The museum will document when these exceptions occur.

14 Spoliation

14.1 The museum will use the statement of principles ‘Spoliation of Works of Art during the Nazi, Holocaust and World War II period’, issued for non-national museums in 1999 by the Museums and Galleries Commission.

15 The Repatriation and Restitution of objects and human remains

• The museum’s governing body, acting on the advice of the museum’s professional staff, if any, may take a decision to return human remains (unless covered by the ‘Guidance for the care of human remains in museums’ issued by DCMS in 2005), objects or specimens to a country or people of origin. The museum will take such decisions on a case by case basis; within its legal position and taking into account all ethical implications and available guidance. This will mean that the procedures described in 16.1-5 will be followed but the remaining procedures are not appropriate.

• The disposal of human remains from museums in England, Northern Ireland and Wales will follow the procedures in the ‘Guidance for the care of human remains in museums’.

Disposal procedures

• All disposals will be undertaken with reference to the Spectrum primary procedures on disposal.

• The governing body will confirm that it is legally free to dispose of an item. Agreements on disposal made with donors will also be taken into account.

• When disposal of a museum object is being considered, the museum will establish if it was acquired with the aid of an external funding organisation. In such cases, any conditions attached to the original grant will be followed. This may include repayment of the original grant and a proportion of the proceeds if the item is disposed of by sale.

• When disposal is motivated by curatorial reasons the procedures outlined below will be followed and the method of disposal may be by gift, sale, exchange or as a last resort – destruction.

• The decision to dispose of material from the collections will be taken by the governing body only after full consideration of the reasons for disposal. Other factors including public benefit, the implications for the museum’s collections and collections held by museums and other organisations collecting the same material or in related fields will be considered. Expert advice will be obtained and the views of stakeholders such as donors, researchers, local and source communities and others served by the museum will also be sought.

• A decision to dispose of a specimen or object, whether by gift, exchange, sale or destruction (in the case of an item too badly damaged or deteriorated to be of any use for the purposes of the collections or for reasons of health and safety), will be the responsibility of the governing body of the museum acting on the advice of professional curatorial staff, if any, and not of the curator or manager of the collection acting alone.

• Once a decision to dispose of material in the collection has been taken, priority will be given to retaining it within the public domain. It will therefore be offered in the first instance, by gift or sale, directly to other Accredited Museums likely to be interested in its acquisition.

• If the material is not acquired by any Accredited museum to which it was offered as a gift or for sale, then the museum community at large will be advised of the intention to dispose of the material normally through a notice on the MA’s Find an Object web listing service, an announcement in the Museums Association’s Museums Journal or in other specialist publications and websites (if appropriate).

• The announcement relating to gift or sale will indicate the number and nature of specimens or objects involved, and the basis on which the material will be transferred to another institution. Preference will be given to expressions of interest from other Accredited Museums. A period of at least two months will be allowed for an interest in acquiring the material to be expressed. At the end of this period, if no expressions of interest have been received, the museum may consider disposing of the material to other interested individuals and organisations giving priority to organisations in the public domain.

• Any monies received by the museum governing body from the disposal of items will be applied solely and directly for the benefit of the collections. This normally means the purchase of further acquisitions. In exceptional cases, improvements relating to the care of collections in order to meet or exceed Accreditation requirements relating to the risk of damage to and deterioration of the collections may be justifiable. Any monies received in compensation for the damage, loss or destruction of items will be applied in the same way. Advice on those cases where the monies are intended to be used for the care of collections will be sought from the Arts Council England.

• The proceeds of a sale will be allocated so it can be demonstrated that they are spent in a manner compatible with the requirements of the Accreditation standard. Money must be restricted to the long-term sustainability, use and development of the collection.

• Full records will be kept of all decisions on disposals 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 in accordance with Spectrum procedure on deaccession and disposal.

All disposals will be undertaken with reference to professional standard of practice such as the Spectrum standard for museum collections management. When disposal is motivated by re-appraisal, the procedures outlined below will be followed and the method of disposal may be gift, sale, exchange or – as a last resort – destruction:

• The decision to dispose of material will be taken by at least 2 members of the Hub Team staff only after full consideration of the reasons for disposal and other factors including public benefit, impact on collections held by other organisations, the views of stakeholders such as the Trustees and volunteers and, if necessary, local and source communities and an expert.  Disposal can then be referred to the Trustee board for final sign off. 
• Once a decision to dispose of material in the collection has been taken, priority will be given to retaining it within the public domain. It will therefore be offered in the first instance, by gift or sale, directly to other Museums or collecting organisations likely to be interested in its acquisition. A period of at least two months will be allowed for an interest in acquiring the material to be expressed. At the end of this period, if no expressions of interest have been received, BH may consider disposing of the material to other interested organisations or individuals giving priority to organisations in the public domain.
• Records will be kept of all decisions on disposals 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 in accordance with Spectrum procedure on deaccession and disposal.

It is acceptable to destroy disposal material of low intrinsic significance (mass-produced articles or common specimens which lack significant provenance) where no alternative is possible or where material is in extremely poor condition or poses high health and safety risks.

Disposal by exchange

• The nature of disposal by exchange means that the museum will not necessarily be in a position to exchange the material with another Accredited museum. The governing body will therefore ensure that issues relating to accountability and impartiality are carefully considered to avoid undue influence on its decision-making process.

• In cases where the governing body wishes for sound curatorial reasons to exchange material directly with Accredited or non-Accredited museums, with other organisations or with individuals, the procedures in paragraphs 16.1-5 will apply.

• If the exchange is proposed to be made with a specific Accredited museum, other Accredited museums which collect in the same or related areas will be directly notified of the proposal and their comments will be requested.

• If the exchange is proposed with a non-Accredited museum, with another type of organisation or with an individual, the museum will place a notice on the MA’s Find an Object web listing service, or make an announcement in the Museums Association’s Museums Journal or in other specialist publications and websites (if appropriate).

• Both the notification and announcement must provide information on the number and nature of the specimens or objects involved both in the museum’s collection and those intended to be acquired in exchange. A period of at least two months must be allowed for comments to be received. At the end of this period, the governing body must consider the comments before a final decision on the exchange is made.

Disposal by destruction

• If it is not possible to dispose of an object through transfer or sale, the governing body may decide to destroy it.

• It is acceptable to destroy material of low intrinsic significance (duplicate mass-produced articles or common specimens which lack significant provenance) where no alternative method of disposal can be found.

• Destruction is also an acceptable method of disposal in cases where an object is in extremely poor condition, has high associated health and safety risks or is part of an approved destructive testing request identified in an organisation’s research policy.

• Where necessary, specialist advice will be sought to establish the appropriate method of destruction. Health and safety risk assessments will be carried out by trained staff where required.

• The destruction of objects should be witnessed by an appropriate member of the museum workforce. In circumstances where this is not possible, eg the destruction of controlled substances, a police certificate should be obtained and kept in the relevant object history file.