[NHCOLL-L:5005] thanks for valuation reponses!

[Opitz, Cindy]

Thank you for your responses to my query about how to approach valuation of collections!  Many asked me to share the results. Many posts were sent to the list, but here's a list of references passed my way that might not have been sent to the list:

Research value: Lyman, R. Lee. 2010. Paleozoology's Dependence on Natural History Collections. Journal of Ethnobiology 30(1):126-136.

 "Categories of Specimens: a collection management tool" in SPNHC's Collection Forum.  You can find it on page 8 here:
http://140.247.98.87/files/1996_12_01.pdf

And a recent thread forwarded from the AAMG-L:


From: Janice Klein <jkhm at mindspring.com<mailto:jkhm at mindspring.com>>
Subject: RE: [AAMG-L] Insuring museum collections
To: AAMG-L at yahoogroups.com<mailto:AAMG-L at yahoogroups.com>
Date: Wednesday, September 29, 2010, 3:40 PM


Mark is absolutely correct in how most museums establish their insurance coverage.   Rather than try to determine an approximate total value for the collection, or even (heaven help us) values for every individual object, most museums insure for the "maximum probable loss" or the value of what they would lose in a single event (theft, fire, flood, etc.) balanced again how high an insurance premium they can afford.


There are basically three steps.

1. First, you identify the ways in which your museum is physically divided.   For example:  Are there separate buildings?   Separate rooms?  Fire doors between floors?   Between galleries?   Other barriers that would stop fire or flood?   How are your sprinkler systems set up?   Will an alarm in one part of your building trigger the whole system (flooding areas that don't need it)?     It may be that the only separation is between your storage area and your gallery.    In that case you only have two areas.   Or you may have fire doors between all three of your galleries and five separate storage rooms.   Then you'd have 8 areas.


2.  Once you know how many physically distinct areas you then figure out which area has the highest value of objects in it and what that approximate value is.    This is the place where most of us turn funny colors and give up.   However, there are approaches that do not require tons of money and time with a formal appraiser.    Most fine art insurers ask for a list of the 10 to 20 most valuable objects in the collection.   That's generally not too hard.    The next step is to categorize the collection by type of object or artist and estimate the average value for the main categories.    For example I worked with a collection that had 120 Navajo rugs; I estimated  an average value of $5,000 for each rug.   Some were worth much more, some much less, but it was a decent approximation.    How many Impressionist paintings?   What's a reasonable average cost?   Remember, you've already set values for your most valuable objects, so this is for the  "good to fair" quality pieces.   The finer the category divisions (Impressionists vs paintings as a whole), the more accurate the estimate, but also the more time you need to spend.


Natural history and archaeology collections are notoriously hard to value.   One way to determine a level for insurance coverage for those items is to think about what it would cost to obtain similar collections.   You would probably not be able to replace those exact objects, but you could figure out what it would take to get equivalently important (for research or exhibit) objects.  Are those collections ever available for sale?  Would you need to mount an expedition?   How much would that cost?


3.  Finally, how much insurance can you afford?    While it may be tempting to jump right to this step, it has the twin dangers of either paying too much for insurance or missing an opportunity to argue for increased funds for collections care.


Finally, you want insurance coverage that does not require individual values, but reimburses at value at time of loss (up to your maximum).   As Mark says there's lots of information available on the subject.   A good place to start is the newly revised Museum Registrations Methods 5, available from AAM.


Janice


Janice Klein

EightSixSix Consulting

jkhm at mindspring.com<mailto:jkhm at mindspring.com>


From: AAMG-L at yahoogroups.com<mailto:AAMG-L at yahoogroups.com> [mailto:AAMG-L at yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Janzen, Mark
Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2010 1:16 PM
To: AAMG-L at yahoogroups.com<mailto:AAMG-L at yahoogroups.com>
Subject: RE: [AAMG-L] Insuring museum collections



Hi Todd and Pete,

I'll throw in my two cents...

I was part of an insurance workshop we presented at the most recent Mountain Plains Museums Association regional conference, and this was one of the general topics.

The answer to this question depends on a variety of factors, including collection type, volume, and composition, institutional resources, staff time and expertise, as well as budget. The result is that the best course of action is often unique to the institution in question.

What it generally comes down to is that setting individual values for everything or trying to insure a collection based on a schedule of values is ultimately self defeating and leaves your collections under insured. Since most of us can not afford to insure our collections at "full value," the best course of action is to determine a probable maximum loss level and to insure your collection with a standard museum wall-to-wall policy at that level, or at the highest level your budget can stand. How to determine that loss level is the trick.

That way you are protected against all of the threats you listed at the highest values you can muster, and you do not have to play the continuous chase-the-value game. If an unfortunate loss occurs, you are covered to a specific limit irrespective of the individual values of objects in need of replacement. There is no need to maintain floating values other than for your own internal purposes, or for the above estimation purposes. In a loss situation it is the insurance adjuster who will set the value for your replacement, not your database or your staff.

I would suggest going to your insurance broker, or finding one through the AAM resources page and exploring your options with a museum insurance specialist.

Good luck.

Mark Janzen

Registrar/Collection Manager

Ulrich Museum of Art

Martin H. Bush Outdoor Sculpture Collection

316-978-5850



>>> Christian Cicimurri <cmcici at clemson.edu<mailto:cmcici at clemson.edu>> 9/22/2010 2:12 PM >>>



Hello. I'm Director of the Bob Campbell Geology Museum in Clemson, South Carolina. The staff and I would like to hear how peer institutions go about establishing a value for their collections. The vast majority of our collection was gifted to us over many years. In some cases the value cited at the time of the gift is far lower than the current value and in some cases the cited value is higher than the current value. Our primary focus is on protecting the collection from fire, water, smoke or theft. However should a catastrophe come our way, we are unsure of current practices to establish a replacement value. Any thoughts?

Thank you in advance.

Todd


Todd A. Steadman
S.C. Botanical Garden
Bob Campbell Geology Museum
150 Discovery Trail
Clemson, SC 29634
864-656-2536


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