[BCMA] Seeking legal advice about returning donated artifacts.

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

We have dealt with this sort of situation before and I have found that 
going back to the original donor usually solves the problem.  If they 
had a right to have the material and to donate it, then it is yours.  
Families sometimes have internal issues that spill over into our world 
but we can't solve their spats for them.  If you feel assured that the 
person who gave you the materials had the right to do so, then I would 
offer the disputing family member scanned copies and that may satisfy them.

I wouldn't recommend getting expensive lawyers involved until other 
avenues have been fully explored.

Val Patenaude

Maple Ridge Museum
22520 116th Ave., Maple Ridge, BC
604.463.5311

On 12/1/2014 11:09 AM, Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv. wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> We've recently had a request from someone to return items that are in 
> our collection to the family.  A few years ago we obtained a number of 
> old letters (mostly business correspondence) and books as a donation 
> from a the owners of a second hand store.   The member of the family 
> who was originally in possession of the items had donated them to the 
> second hand store when cleaning out their basement.  We were going to 
> purchase them, but the owners of the store offered them to our museum 
> as a donation instead, and we accepted.  We have since made high 
> resolution digital copies of all of the documents.
>
> A different member of the family has recently written to us asking 
> that the items be returned. This person has visited our archives a 
> number of times to review the letters, and until recently had always 
> been supportive of us having and preserving them.  The person asking 
> for the return of the letters is not the person from whom we received 
> them, nor the person who donated them to the second hand store, but 
> they are married to a grandchild of the person to whom the letters 
> were originally written.
>
> We are in a bit of a quandary as to how to proceed.  We would prefer 
> to keep the letters, or at least the copies, as they are valuable 
> historical resources, and we have expended a lot of staff time and 
> resources in digitizing and cataloguing them.  However, maintaining a 
> good relationship with the family is important too, and we don't want 
> to cause more animosity by returning them to someone to whom they did 
> not originally belong.
>
> Can anyone recommend legal resources or lawyers that specialize in 
> dealing with this type of issue? Any advice would be welcome.
>
> Mandy Kilsby
>
> Curator, Barkerville Historic Town
>
> 250-994-3302 ext. 35
>
> mandy.kilsby at barkerville.ca <mailto:mandy.kilsby at barkerville.ca>
>
> 14301 Highway 26 E.
>
> Box 19, Barkerville BC, V0K 1B0
>
> www.barkerville.ca <http://www.barkerville.ca>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> BCMA mailing list
> BCMA at lists.vifa.ca
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