{ THE NRM’S POLICY ON ‘DISPOSALS’ }

Since it opened in 1975, the National Railway Museum has disposed of thousands of items and artefacts which have been determined ‘unsuitable’ for the National Collection. The method of disposal varies from gifting to selling and auctioning, divesting to other museums or public bodies, scrapping, and even burning. The procedure and practice of disposal or ‘deaccessioning’ is governed by the National Heritage Act 1983, and two policies - the NRM’s own, and that of its ‘parent’, the Science Museum Group. The two policies are very similar, and run, more or less, in parallel. Here, we summarise the Science Museum Group policy (otherwise known as its Collection Development Strategy), to which the NRM is required to abide. 1) The Science Museum Group will actively manage its collections in order to ensure their long-term sustainability, significance and safety. The group’s museums have a long-term purpose, and except for sound curatorial reasons (including collections management), there is a strong presumption against the disposal of any item in the collection. However, the breadth of the collection, and the ways in which it has been developed, mean that SMG is currently holding material that is duplicate, unsuitable, or unusable. 2) Disposals will be guided by the National Heritage Act 1983 (as amended) and the Museums Association’s Code of Ethics (as amended). SMG will dispose of material that is unsuitable for retention in the collection and can be disposed of without detriment to the interests of students or other members of the public 3) Material may be unsuitable for retention if: a) It is a duplicate of another accessioned item in the collection, beyond the number of similar items that would reasonably be of interest and future use; b) It is more suitable for transfer to the collection of another national museum, other accredited museum, or other organisation in the public domain that can improve access to, or the use, care or context of the material; c) It is otherwise unsuitable for the collection, because it falls outside its scope and content; d) It is useless for the purposes of the collection because it is in poor or hazardous condition by reason of damage, physical deterioration, or infestation by destructive organisms. All material that is in such poor condition as to render it unusable will be destroyed to remove the risk of contamination or infestation. 4) SMG will give priority to transferring items, preferably by gift to accredited museums. It will consider donating items to other public institutions if it is not possible for another museum to accept them. Wherever possible it will not transfer items out of the public domain; where such a home cannot be found, objects will be offered for sale on the open market. If this does not happen, alternative options include recycling and destruction. 5) Disposals will take into account any special conditions agreed at the time of acquisition. The Railway Heritage Designation Advisory Board will be consulted with regard to designated items. Items disposed of will be recorded in appropriate detail. 6) SMG recognises that financially motivated disposal risks damaging public confidence in museums and that collections should not normally be regarded as financially negotiable assets. 7) SMG accepts that sound curatorial reasons for disposal must be established. It will not undertake disposal principally for financial reasons, except in exceptional circumstances, when it can be demonstrated that: a) It will significantly improve the long-term public benefit derived from the remaining collection; b) It is not to generate short-term revenue (for example to meet a budget deficit); c) It is as a last resort after other sources of funding have been thoroughly explored; d) Extensive prior consultation with sector bodies has been undertaken; e) The item lies outside the museum’s established core collection; 8) The proceeds of disposal through sale will be applied solely and directly for the benefit of the museum’s collection.