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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-CA link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>My initial reaction is that they are legally yours and there is no reason to give it to anyone else.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>A few questions<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='color:#1F497D'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>1.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span style='color:#1F497D'> Who owns the collection? Is it the Barkerville Trust? The Province? Or a separate entity?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='color:#1F497D'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>2.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span style='color:#1F497D'>Was there a tax receipt given for the collection?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='color:#1F497D'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>3.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span style='color:#1F497D'>Does the material fit into your collections mandate? Would you normally consider deaccessioning the material?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-indent:-18.0pt;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='color:#1F497D'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>4.<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span style='color:#1F497D'>Is the person requesting the material saying the person that donated it was not the legal owner of the material?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>If it is the Barkerville Trust that owns the collection, being a federally registered Charity and if a tax receipt was given, then there is potential for real legal problems by returning the collection. Even if there was no tax receipt given and the Trust is the owner, there could be legal problems with Revenue Canada, as giving away stuff to a private individual could run you afoul of charity tax laws.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Not sure whom I would recommend in terms of lawyers, not a lot of recent case law there is around this ( Beaverbrook Art Gallery??)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Cheers<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Lee Boyko<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Sooke Region Museum<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> bcma-bounces@lists.vifa.ca [mailto:bcma-bounces@lists.vifa.ca] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.<br><b>Sent:</b> December 1, 2014 11:09 AM<br><b>To:</b> bcma@lists.vifa.ca<br><b>Subject:</b> [BCMA] Seeking legal advice about returning donated artifacts.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>Hi all,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>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.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>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. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>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.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>Can anyone recommend legal resources or lawyers that specialize in dealing with this type of issue? Any advice would be welcome.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>Mandy Kilsby<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>Curator, Barkerville Historic Town<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>250-994-3302 ext. 35 <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US><a href="mailto:mandy.kilsby@barkerville.ca">mandy.kilsby@barkerville.ca</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>14301 Highway 26 E. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US>Box 19, Barkerville BC, V0K 1B0<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US><a href="http://www.barkerville.ca">www.barkerville.ca</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div>
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