Last week the NY state government repealed a temporary law preventing museums from deaccessioning collections in order to cover operating expenses. This issue struck a rather raw and apparently vocal nerve in me (see AAM’s face book status about this issue). Partially I was incensed by the involvement of the government of NY deciding on a museum best practice in the name of the museum and the public trust. Yet if museums are funded by the state it should not be a surprise that the state feels it has a say in museum practice.
Rather it was the underlying distrust of museums to make responsible decisions. Between NY State enacting the temporary law in the first place and the Facebook commentary and AAM’s response after repealing the law, I assumed they expected that galleries would suddenly become empty halls as staff rushed to deaccession their objects and give themselves raises.
If we trust museums to care for, display, and research our cultural heritage then why do we not trust them to deaccession thoughtfully.
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