<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Thanks for mentioning the deaccessioning workshop, Patti.<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">Just to clarify--I do agree that accession and/or catalog numbers should never, ever, be re-used (after all, the supply of numbers is infinite...!). <br><br>Whether an accession number or catalog number should be removed from a specimen or object is a bit more nuanced. We didn't have time in the webinar to get into the fine details, but my position is as follows: <br><br>If the specimen or object is going to go to another museum, in almost all cases you should leave the number on it as it makes it far easier to track it down in the future, long after everyone has forgotten the details of the deacession and transfer. However, if the specimen or object is to be sold or destroyed, I would in almost all cases remove any accession or catalog numbers. There are several reasons for this. One is that the presence of the number makes the object or specimen appear to still belong to your institution when, in fact, you no longer own it, which can be confusing. Another is that this evidence that the object or specimen was once in a museum affects the price (usually makes it worth a lot more). A third reason is that leaving the number on may make it appear as though your institution is selling specimens or objects just to make money (deacessioning as a collections management tool is rarely understood by non-museum folks).<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">In natural history museums in particular, specimens are normally deaccessioned only for trade or exchange to another museum. In this case, leaving the original accession and/or catalog numbers attached is important for keeping track of the specimen (over the years I have worked in museums I have several times seen specimens with multiple catalog tags on them, making it easy to trace their history). For some kinds of specimens (e.g., amphibians and reptiles) the catalog tag usually just bears a number and museum identifier and can be replaced if needed, but for some other kind of specimens (e.g., birds or mammals) the catalog tag may carry original information and must be treated as an archival document and not be destroyed.<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">A couple of museums I have worked with have had the misfortune to discover that objects they deacessioned wound up for sale by a third party on eBay or similar sites listed as "from the collection of X museum," which does nobody any good and usually reflects badly on the museum that deacessioned the object.<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:rgb(0,0,0)">--John<br><br></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all"><div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr">John E. Simmons<br>Museologica<br>128 E. Burnside Street<br>Bellefonte, Pennsylvania 16823-2010<br><a href="mailto:simmons.johne@gmail.com" target="_blank">simmons.johne@gmail.com</a><br>303-681-5708<br><a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.museologica.com&d=AwMFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=yOSfhluLJOrCk2AbtWtDAGSqiX_3J2qQT3xklVB9i9w&s=mLoQcmPFRPVghtYWCKM0qyUzLohZZedolEothXdfCqg&e=" target="_blank">www.museologica.com</a><br>and<br>Adjunct Curator of Collections<br>Earth and Mineral Science Museum & Art Gallery<br>Penn State University<br>University Park, Pennsylvania<br>and<br>Instructor, Museum Studies<br>School of Library and Information Science<br>Kent State University<br>and<br>Lecturer in Art<br>Juniata College<br>Huntingdon, Pennsylvania<br></div></div></div>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Dec 14, 2015 at 1:27 PM, Leslie L Skibinski <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:lls94@cornell.edu" target="_blank">lls94@cornell.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
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<p class="MsoNormal">Hello everyone,<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What does your institutional policy say about “removing” your institutions catalog or accession numbers from specimens when you deaccession something? Do you remove or gesso over the number? Do you draw a line through it? Do you do nothing
to the number?<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do you have different procedures if you are disposing of the material in different ways (i.e. transfer to another institution vs destruction, etc.)?<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you are transferring it to another institution and you have obliterated the number on the object, do you also take the number off the label? If you do, how do you ensure the information on the label/the label itself stays with the specimen?
Do you remove the label and lose provenance or do you keep the label with the specimen?<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Any insights, examples or literature citations would be appreciated.<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Leslie L. Skibinski<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Collection Manager<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Paleontological Research Institution<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">1259 Trumansburg Road<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ithaca, New York 14850<u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Ph. <a href="tel:%28607%29%20273-6623%C2%A0%20ext.%2028" value="+16072736623" target="_blank">(607) 273-6623 ext. 28</a><u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Fax: <a href="tel:%28607%29%20273-6620" value="+16072736620" target="_blank">(607) 273-6620</a><u></u><u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p>
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