I have run into this situation while working for a univeristy, where it's
president received all sorts of gifts which he had no desire to keep close
at hand. Upon reviewing the materials and appraising them, with
consideration of retention policies, I came to the following conclusion:
Unsolicited gifts are not records and do not capture/record the transactions
of the office of the president. Consequently, since I apprasied them as
non-records we did not need to accession them unless we felt they had an
intellectual/cultural value that expressed more than a passing relationship
between the president/university and the donor. Those gifts that did not fit
the criteria for archival accession  remained the responsibility of the
president's office. It was his staff's responsibility to dispose of those
odd gifts at their discretion.

In similar instances when individuals just sent me items to add to the
archives without advance notice, I was clear to ask the donor if he/she
wanted the item back if it "did not fit our collecting scope" or if I could
dispose of it as I see fit. Most chose the latter. For items with no
provenance, and no apparent historical/cultural/intellectual value, I
retained the items for 24 months then disposed of them. The 24 month waiting
period was a good faith effort in case one of the unknown donors came
forward. When they didn't (none did) we felt it was safe for disposal since
they didi not fit the collecting policy.

--Stephen Cohen
On 1/18/06, Miller, Kerry <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Good afternoon,
>
> I am the manager of the mayor's office in the City of Surrey, BC,
> Canada.  We have a small room which has historically been used to house
> gifts and artefacts donated to the city, as well as the more recent
> additions of a paper shredder, computer printer, coat rack, a library of
> sorts, extra furniture... I'm sure you get the picture.  Did I mention the
> room is really small?
>
> My problem is arranging to remove and dispose of the less historically
> valuable items.  I can't find a city policy which deals directly with
> artefacts, only documents, and no support or ideas forthcoming from the city
> clerk's office.  I am aware though, of previously accessioned works of art
> being deaccessioned and sold through auction, but I don't think that's they
> way to go in this case.
>
> None of the gifts were officially accessioned, and I've been told that
> they therefore cannot be deaccessioned.  We have no record of where, when or
> from whom the gifts originated.
>
> Our city's archivist has indicated that he will take only those items
> which can be readily identified as having some historic or cultural
> value.  That leaves me with items to dispose of.  I have concerns about a
> previous donor contacting us to borrow an item back for an occasion, only to
> hear that we've thrown it out.
>
> Can someone on the list provide some advice?
>
> Many thanks.
>
> K. Miller, Manager
> Offices of the Mayor and Council
> 604-591-4301
> ps  I was a lurker for quite some time before I unsubscribed in 2005, and
> now that I'm back on board, I am looking forward to being more involved.
>
>
> List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
> Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
>



--
<><><><><><><><><><><><>
Stephen E. Cohen, MLIS
Project Manager
Forrest Solutions
[log in to unmask]
<><><><><><><><><><><><>

List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance