Donations and bequests

The acceptance by Elmbridge Museum of donations and bequests to the collection is guided by the "Elmbridge Museum Acquisition and Disposal Policy 2007 - 2012". The purpose of this policy is to set out the conditions (see 'object acquisition conditions' below) under which Elmbridge Museum will acquire and dispose of items in its collections.

The final decision on the acquisition of an object will be made by the Elmbridge Museum Manager in consultation with Museum colleagues. Advice will be sought, where necessary, from colleagues at Elmbridge Borough Council, colleagues at other institutions, Friends of Elmbridge Museum and volunteers at the Museum. Acquisitions outside the current stated policy will only be made in very exceptional circumstances, and then only after proper consideration by the governing body of the Museum itself, having regard to the interests of other museums.

Elmbridge Museum recognises its responsibility, in acquiring additions to its collections, to ensure that care of collections, documentation arrangements and use of collections will meet the requirements of the MLA Accreditation Standard. It will take into account limitations on collecting imposed by such factors as inadequate staffing, storage and care of collection arrangements.

In view of this, Elmbridge Museum has had a moratorium on collections acquisitions since 2005. This moratorium is intended as a time-limited temporary measure pending the recruitment of new staff into the new staff structure. Six-monthly reviews of the moratorium are carried out.

Object acquisition conditions

Objects considered for acquisition by Elmbridge Museum must meet one of the following criteria:

• Falls within the geographical boundaries of the Elmbridge Borough Council area;
• Is of direct relevance to a person, place, event or subject already represented in the Museum collections;
• Is of direct relevance to a person, place, event or subject of significance to the history of the Elmbridge area not already represented in the collections;
• Is of direct relevance to any of the Museum's existing or future exhibitions, learning resources and handling collection objects.

Additionally, the following considerations need to be addressed:

• financial implications
• condition of object(s) and conservation requirements
• documentation
• historic significance
• staffing implications
• storage
• use
• accessioning and cataloguing backlog

Loans to Elmbridge Museum

Loans from the public may be accepted on a temporary basis for specific purposes such as the copying of original photographs or the lending of items for display in exhibitions.

The offer of permanent loans from the public will not be accepted except in exceptional circumstances such as the risk of the destruction or loss of items of great historical value.

Loans from other organisations will be accepted only for display purposes and not for storage unless the lending organisation funds this storage. The terms of the loan agreement between the lending organisation and Elmbridge Museum will be agreed before the Museum accepts any loan.

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