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HomeMy Public PortalAbout253.6 - Orlando Venues - H.P. Leu Gardens Board of Trustees - Leu House Museum CollectionAdministrative Offices 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 Policies and Procedures Manual Page 1 Administrative Offices 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. Policies and Procedures Manual Page 2 Administrative Offices 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 Policies and Procedures Manual Page 3 Administrative Offices Harry P. Leu Gardens Board of Trustees Section 253.6 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. Policies and Procedures Manual Page 4