The Collection

The Canal Museum Trust
London Canal Museum Collections Management Policy
(incorporating acquisition and disposal policy)
January 2010

Date of approval by the Council of Management:

January 12^th 2010

Date at which policy due for review:

(5 years after approval date) - January 2015

Version 6.1

1. Introduction

1.1. The London Canal Museum's mission is set out above and in the Constitution of the Canal Museum Trust and the museum's Forward Plan. The museum's collections exist to support the mission, to preserve and interpret the history of London's canals and the ice trade. They include social historical objects, industrial objects, archives, photographs and records on other media.

1.2. The purpose of this Collection Management Policy is to be a guide for museum staff, supporters, and the public, to the professional standards the museum will observe towards the objects in its care. It seeks to reassure the public that the museum is operating within an ethical framework and is publicly accountable.

1.3. This document will be published on the museum's Internet website and a copy on paper will be supplied to any person who wishes to receive it at no greater charge than is sufficient to cover the expenses of stationary and postage in so doing.

1.4. The Trust's Council of Management is the governing body of the museum.

2. The Existing Collection

2.1. The museum's collections include objects related to canals, social history, industry, and art. The museum also includes archives which contain papers, maps, photographs, audio and video tapes.

2.2. Specific areas in which the museum has a collection of artefacts are:

Canal equipment
Canal art
Equipment related to the ice trade
Horses and their care and use for transport
Cargo handling and weighing equipment

2.3. The museum recognises that it has an obligation to care for its collections in perpetuity.

3. Period of time and geographical scope of collecting

Most items relating to the areas of collection will be from the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries but the museum will be free to accept earlier items if they are offered.
There is a strong bias towards collecting items which were used in or are otherwise connected with the greater London area and surrounding counties. However, the museum will not forbear to collect items from other areas which are representative of items of a type used throughout the country, or which help to illuminate the general context of the history of inland waterways in the London area.
Items related exclusively to the river Thames will only be collected if they illustrate a general point or the interchange between canal and river navigation.
Items related to the ice trade and ice cream will be collected irrespective of geography
Items related to the history of the museum's building and the family of Carlo Gatti will be collected irrespective of geography.

4. Limitations on Collecting

The museum will not accept all artefacts which may be offered to it. In particular offers of artefacts will be declined in the following circumstances:
1. Where the proposed gift is encumbered by conditions considered unacceptable.
2. Where the item is infested with pests or disease, unless it can be easily treated or the item is rare and the cost or difficulty of treating it is judged worthwhile.
3. If the museum cannot provide long term care for the artefact.
4. If the museum has insufficient storage space or other resources needed to accept the item.
5. If accepting the item would be prejudicial to the health and safety of museum staff or visitors.

5. Collecting Policy of other museums

The museum will take due account of the collecting policies of other museums collecting in the same or related areas or subject fields and will consult with such organisations where conflicts of interest may arise or to define areas of specialisms, in order to avoid unnecessary duplication and waste of resources. Specific reference is made to the following other museums:
1. The National Waterways Museum, Gloucester Docks
2. The National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port
3. The National Waterways Museum, Stoke Bruerne
4. Foxton Canal Museum
5. Kennet and Avon Canal Museum
6. Museum of London
7. River and Rowing Museum

6. Policy Review Procedure

The Acquisitions and Disposal policy will be published and reviewed from time to time, at least once every five years. The date when the policy is next due for review is noted above. The Regional MLA will be notified of any changes to the Acquisition and Disposal Policy, and the implications of any such changes for the future of existing collections

7. Acquisitions not covered by the Collections Management Policy

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.

8. Acquisition Policy

The museum will exercise 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.
In particular, the museum will not acquire any object unless it is satisfied that the object or 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.
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.
The museum will not acquire archaeological antiquities (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, Northern Ireland and Wales the procedures include reporting finds to the landowner or occupier of the land and to the proper authorities in the case of possible treasure as defined by the Treasure Act 1996.
Any exceptions to the above clauses 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, or 8.5 will only be because the museum is either: -acting as an externally approved repository of last resort for material of local (UK) origin; or -acquiring an item of minor importance that lacks secure ownership history but in the best judgement of experts in the field concerned has not been illicitly traded; or -acting with the permission of authorities with the requisite jurisdiction in the country of origin; or -in possession of reliable documentary evidence that the item was exported from its country of origin before 1970. 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 does not hold or intend to acquire any human remains.

9. Spoilation

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.

10. Management of Archives

As the museum holds, including photographs and printed ephemera, its governing body will be guided by the Code of Practice on Archives for Museums and Galleries in the United Kingdom (3rd ed., 2002).

11. Disposal Prelimineries

The Council of Management will ensure that the disposal process is carried out openly and with transparency.
By definition, the museum has a long-term purpose and holds collections in trust for society in relation to its stated objectives. The Council of Management therefore accepts the principle that sound curatorial reasons for disposal must be established before consideration is given to the disposal of any items in the museum's collection.
The museum will confirm that it is legally free to dispose of an item and agreements on disposal made with donors will 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.

12. Motivation for disposal and method of disposal

When disposal is motivated by curatorial reasons the procedures outlined in paragraphs 12.3-12.11 will be followed and the method of disposal may be by gift, sale or exchange.
The museum will not undertake disposal motivated principally by financial reasons
The disposal decision-making process Whether the disposal is motivated either by curatorial or financial reasons, 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 the 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. External 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.
Responsibility for disposal decision-making.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 of the collection acting alone.
Use of proceeds of sale. Any monies received by the museum governing body from the disposal of items will be applied 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 MLA.
The proceeds of a sale will be ring-fenced so it can be demonstrated that they are spent in a manner compatible with the requirements of the Accreditation standard.
Disposal by gift or sale. Once a decision to dispose of material in the collection has been taken, priority will be given to retaining it within the public domain, unless it is to be destroyed. 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 Museums to which it was offered directly 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 an announcement in the Museums Association's Museums Journal, and in other specialist journals where 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.
Disposal by exchange. The museum will not dispose of items by exchange.
Documenting disposal. 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.

13. Loans to the museum

The museum will accept items on loan from individuals or organisations, including other museums, for the purpose of temporary and long term exhibition, where no suitable alternative artefact owned by the Canal Museum Trust is available. Items will not be accepted on loan if they are not required for display, or likely to be so required in the foreseeable future. Loans will be authorised either by the Council of Management, or by the Collections Management Committee.
Loans of photographs and other media may also be accepted on a short term basis for copying.
Loans will be accepted only if the museum is able to offer a standard of care equivalent to that given to items in the permanent collection, and has the resources so to do.
In all cases a loan agreement in writing shall be signed by the owner and a representative of the museum. Such agreements will be for specified terms of no more than ten years (and normally no more than five) and in no circumstances will be described as permanent loans. Loan agreements may be renewed for a further period by agreement with the owner, when they expire.
Items on loan will be recorded as loans on a computer database in like manner to items which are accessioned to the permanent collection.
Items may be accepted on a temporary loan basis for examination or assessment prior to a decision being made on acceptance of the item as a gift or longer term loan.

14. Loans by the museum to others

Loans of artefacts in the museum's permanent collection may be made. The museum may impose conditions on the loan. All loans must be authorised by either the Council of Management or the Collection Management Committee who may refuse at their discretion. The loan period shall be decided according to circumstances but for a maximum of five years.
In all cases a loan agreement will be signed by the borrower and a representative of the museum. The agreement must cover:
- The duration of the loan
- Any questions of copyright which arise
- Acknowledgement of the London Canal Museum
- Requirements for security if applicable
- Requirements for transport of the item
- Care of the item during the loan period
- Requirements for insurance
- If applicable, whether the item may be worked or used.
3 Loans will only be made if by so doing the museum's exhibitions are not seriously diminished.

15. Access to collections

A high proportion of the museum's collection is on regular exhibition to the public. Where objects are held in store, persons wishing to view may do so by prior arrangement. Such appointments will not be unreasonably withheld but persons wishing to see objects will be offered appointments when appropriate museum staff are available and they may not be possible at short notice.
Access to the museum's library and archive collection is restricted to bona fide researchers and students and is by prior arrangement only. Such appointments will not be unreasonably withheld but persons wishing to study the archives or use the library will be offered times and dates when appropriate museum staff are available and an appointment may not be possible at short notice. The museum reserves the right to refuse access to vulnerable material in the interests of its safe preservation. Where the field of study can be pursued using the resources of public or university libraries or the purchase of currently available books the museum may at its discretion direct the student or researcher to those sources. In certain cases references may be required of the researcher or student.

16. Education Handling Collection

The museum will maintain a separate Education Collection for the purpose of providing material for handling and outreach work.
In the case of such material, documentation will clearly show the intended use of the object and donors will be made aware of the possibility of use in this way.
These objects will be recorded separately outside the main accession record and shall not be treated as part of the permanent collection since their intended use implies that preservation cannot be guaranteed.
When such materials are loaned to schools or other organisations for educational purposes, the policy described in section 14 above will not apply. Reasonable arrangements will be made by the museum's Education Officer appropriate to the circumstances.

17. Documentation

The museum will maintain the following documentation in respect of its collection:
- Records to indicate what items are held, whether owned or on loan, and where each item is located
- Records of all objects leaving the premises and in transit
- Records in an Object Entry Register of all in-incoming items, whether for accession, identification or loan,
The museum will maintain procedures for the return of items received for identification or possible acquisition once a decision has been made.
Artefacts in the permanent collection and on long term loan are assigned with an accession number recorded in the computerised Accessions Register and where practicable without risk of damage to the item are discretely labelled, tagged, or otherwise physically identified by the number. The computer records include a detailed description, and as much information as available on the provenance of the artefact, together with a record of the current location.
A backup copy of the registers will be kept off the premises in a bound paper volume and also in an electronic format.

18. Security and insurance

The museum strives to educate its staff, including casual volunteers, to make them aware that it is their responsibility to protect and preserve the items in their care and of issues of security in relation to theft, accidental damage and danger from the elements.
Staff involved in the handling of objects will receive appropriate basic training
Rooms housing archive materials and collection items in store are kept locked at all times except when in use. The keys to these rooms are in restricted circulation. Risks to other items are minimised by practical, common sense procedures and good ‘house keeping’.
The Canal Museum Trust maintains a comprehensive insurance policy covering the building, its contents, and liabilities to volunteers and the public