‘Confusing’ disposals dropped for transfers and removals

The National Railway Museum’s parent organisation, the Science Museum Group, has altered the language it uses in relation to disposals.

It says: “When used in the museum sector, the word ‘disposal’ covers multiple ways that an item leaves a museum collection. This can be confusing to the general public. “To address this potential confusion, the Science Museum Group now uses two different words for ‘disposals’. There has been no change to the underlying policy. “‘Transfer’ will be used when the ownership of an item from the collection is moved to another museum or public collection. We would transfer an item if it was better suited to display or research in another museum or public collection, or if it was a duplicate of an existing item in the collection that was not required for future use. “‘Removal’ is used in the rare cases when an item is removed from the collection and not transferred. Removals may occur if the item is particularly hazardous or its condition is beyond reasonable repair. When a transfer is not possible, items may also be removed from the collection via a sale, reinvesting the proceeds in the collection.” The removal of items from the collection was the focus of a Parliamentary debate on October 25 2017 (SR473).

●● SMG has also announced that it “embarked on a review of the collection to provide a greater understanding of the items we care for, examining their significance in light of curatorial research.”

It adds: “Like all major museums, we frequently add to and occasionally remove items from our collection. This review will enable us to focus on future collecting and may also identify objects that are no longer appropriate for the National Collection.

“We will look to transfer items to other museums and public collections if they are:

●● Better suited to display or research by another public institution;

●● A duplicate of an item we already hold in the collection. “Our aim is that transferred items remain in the public domain and we will give priority to accredited museums who wish to acquire items available for transfer.

“In rare circumstances, if attempts to find an alternative public home via a transfer are unsuccessful, we may sell an item (reinvesting the proceeds in the collection) or remove an item from the collection, recycling the item whenever possible.”

SMG states that its procedures are still guided by the Museums Association’s Disposal Toolkit.