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Harry P. Leu Gardens Board of Trustees Section 253.6
253.6 SUBJECT: POLICY - LEU HOUSE MUSEUM COLLECTION
:1 OBJECTIVE:
To provide policies and procedures governing the acquisition, accession, records,
inventory, conservation, deaccession, use, access and maintenance of the collections in
the Leu House Museum.
:2 AUTHORITY:
This procedure adopted by City Council July 7, 1997, Item 10-DD.
:3 DIRECTION:
Board of Trustees, through Executive Director.
:4 FUNCTIONS:
A. Statement of Purpose
The mission of the Harry P. Leu House Museum is to preserve, maintain,
interpret, and perpetuate a locally significant historic home and its collections.
B. Acquisitions
1. To be considered for acquisition, items should meet guidelines for
acquisition to be consistent with the Statement of Purpose in accordance
with the mission of Harry P. Leu Gardens. Acquisitions must have
demonstrable education, conservation, historical, or research value. Only
items consistent with the house's historical periods and the lifestyle of its
occupants will be considered for acquisition.
2. General Guidelines for Acquisition:
a. Items will be acquired by donation, loan or purchase.
b. Items donated to or purchased by the City shall be acquired in
accordance with the provisions of Chapter 7 of the City Code.
c. Potential acquisitions will be evaluated by the Leu House
Curators who in turn will submit a written description and
justification of potential acquisitions to the Leu House Museum
Review Committee and the Executive Director with final
approval by either the Harry P. Leu Gardens Board of Trustees
or the Friends of Leu Gardens, as appropriate.. Items considered
for acceptance into the collection must be approved within two
weeks from date of initial review.
d. All items accepted for the collection must have a Deed of Gift
form that legally transfers ownership of the item to the City of
Orlando or the Friends of Leu Gardens Inc.
e. Temporary or permanently loaned items must specify length of
and guidelines for transfer of ownership. Any item that has been
left with the Museum as a loan for a period of five years from
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Harry P. Leu Gardens Board of Trustees Section 253.6
the loan date on the Receipt For Loans (see appendix), without a
request having been made in writing for its return, in
consideration for its storage and safeguarding during said time,
shall, after said five years, be deemed an unrestricted gift to the
Friends of Leu Gardens, Inc.
f. The donor is responsible for submitting a declaration of
appraised replacement value.
C. Accessions
1. Complete accurate and up-to-date records shall be maintained both for
all newly acquired items and for those already in the collection.
2. Accessioning Procedure
a. A museum accession number will include the year of accession,
classification, and sequential number. A current year accession
number and the City of Orlando property control number will be
assigned to City owned property in accordance with Policy and
Procedure 191.4. Ownership of donated items may be assigned
to the Friends of Harry P. Leu Gardens, Inc. or to the City of
Orlando. Items donated to the Friends, Inc, will not have a City
of Orlando property control number or tag. Numbers will be
affixed to items in accordance with generally accepted
professional museum management standards.
b. All information about the item will be entered into the data base
within two weeks after acquisition. This includes date of
accession, accession number, source and address of
donor/owner, appraised value, location in museum, ownership,
any defects or damage, deaccessioning information, and any
other pertinent information about the item.
3. It is the responsibility of all staff members and volunteers to immediately inform
the Curators of any change in the status of any item within the collection.
D. Deaccession Disposal
1. All items once accessioned must remain in the data base even though the item
has been physically removed from the collection.
2. Disposal Criteria -items can be considered for removal from the collection by the
Curators for any of the following reasons:
a. The item is deemed inconsistent with the Statement of Purpose for the
Leu House Museum.
b. The item lacks physical integrity and is declared by Curators as
unrepairable or poses a safety hazard to persons or property.
c. The item cannot be located or has been lost or stolen.
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Harry P. Leu Gardens Board of Trustees Section 253.6
d. The museum is unable to continue preserving, maintaining, or exhibiting
the item properly in a way that is consistent with professionally accepted
standards.
e. The item can be replaced with a more desirable item.
3. All deaccessioning requests must be initiated by the Leu House Museum
Curators and approved by the Leu House Museum Review Committee and the
Executive Director.
4. Items may be disposed of by sale, donation, exchange or destruction. Monies
received from the sale of deaccessioned items will be returned to City of Orlando
general revenue fund. Revenues generated from deaccessioned items donated to
the Harry of Harry P. Leu Gardens will be deposited to the Friends of Harry P.
Leu Garden general fund.
5. Individual requests for loans from the Leu House Museum collection will be
reviewed by the Curators and approved by the Executive Director. Only items
from the permanent collection will be considered for temporary loan.
E. Inventory
1. An inventory of all items will be performed annually in accordance with
generally accepted professional museum management standards by the Curators
and at other intervals when deemed necessary.
2. The inventory will verify the following for each accessioned item and make
modifications as needed:
a. Location
b. Accession Number if applicable
c. Status of item's physical integrity
3. Facilities Management Bureau staff of the City of Orlando will monitor and
maintain the physical condition of the museum building including all electrical
and mechanical systems under the supervision and direction of the museum
Curators. All repairs or renovations of the historic district structures (House,
Cottage and Summer Kitchen) must first be initiated by the Curators. All repairs
or renovations of the historic district structures must first be approved by the
Curators, the City of Orlando s Historic Preservation Officer and the Executive
Director of Harry P. Leu Gardens.
F. Collection Access
1. Access to the museum collections is limited to the Curators and volunteer staff
who have been trained in the proper handling of museum items.
2. Access to the collections or archives for research purposes must be scheduled in
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advance with the Curators.
3. Anyone accessing the collection must be accompanied by a Curator.
G. Collections Maintenance
1. The Curator is responsible for the care and conservation of the collections.
2. The Curators will use professionally accepted standards for effective
maintenance of the collection and its individual items to:
a. Protect items from environmental and human hazards
b. Implement and use proper storage techniques and archivally safe
materials
c. Oversee the proper training of all volunteers
d. Ensure the protection and safety of the collection and individual items
from fire, theft, vandalism, and mishandling.
e. Ensure that the collection and its individual items do not represent a
safety hazard or threat to any visitor and to remove or repair any that are.
H. Review of Collection
1. The Leu House Museum collection will be assessed annually by the Curators.
Changes in content and display must be approved by the Executive Director and
the Leu House Museum Design Review Committee.
2. Each item in the Leu House Museum will be reviewed every year by the
Curators and Executive Director to assess content, display, diversification of the
collection and its continuing justification within the overall mission of the Harry
P. Leu Gardens. They will report their recommendations to the Leu House
Museum Review Committee for their action.
:5 FORMS:
None.
:6 COMMITTEE RESPONSIBILITIES:
Not applicable.
:7 REFERENCE:
Procedure adopted by City Council July 7, 1997, Item 10-DD.
:8 EFFECTIVE DATE:
This procedure effective July 7, 1997.
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