[BCMA] Princeton Museum Requests Help

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

If the collection is also owned by the Town, it can be placed under the Town's insurance which can be less expensive than independent insurance. They would want a total value and ideally a copy of the database as back-up (this also gives the museum a back-up copy off site). The database should have individual values for artifacts. This is a stumbling block for most museums, but I did develop a technique for accomplishing it. 

Having values written down in advance before an insurance claim is highly recommended whether it be for home or a museum. Trying to remember what there was before a disaster and convince a cynical insurance adjuster of its value after it has been destroyed.

A potential area of confusion is the word "appraisal". In museums it means establishing a Fair Market Value (FMV) of artifacts, equipment, furnishings etc. for insurance purposes. In archives however they have chosen to use the word  " appraisal " to describe the culling process i.e. Determining what to keep and what to throw away. 

If the collection is not owned by the town you have two options. 
1. Insure it via an insurance provider.
2. Chose not to insure the collection. 

The Museum Board should determine if the cost of insurance is affordable and indeed worth it. The collection is in someways irreplaceable. What would you do with the money in case if total loss for example? Go shopping in antique stores for items with no provenance? Why? As long as you have a building, you can fill it as donations that would come in. 

Sent from my iPhone

Colin MacGregor Stevens
Museum Manager (retired)
Richmond,
British Columbia,
CANADA



> On Sep 24, 2014, at 3:14 PM, "Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv." <bcma at lists.vvv.com> wrote:
> 
> Dear Colleague:
> I write to you today as a Director of the Princeton & District Museum & Archives to ask for your assistance with some aspects of museum management.  Briefly, our Museum has undergone dramatic changes in structure and design, and we are looking at parallel changes in our organization.
> 
>  The areas where we need help are in a job description and a model contract for our manager, as well as questions as to the ownership and insurance of our collection.
> 
>  Our building is owned by the Town and we are checking into whether the physical building is insured.  What is the standard practice of other museums regarding insurance of their collections?  Do other museums typically insure their collections?  And if so, how are such collections typically valued?
> 
>  Any help you could give us with these matters would be greatly appreciated.
> 
>  Jon Bartlett
> Director, Princeton & District Museum & Archives
> 
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