Museum Collection Policy

Franklin Historical Commission --  Museum Collection Policy Statement  (as of February 15, 2016)

The work of the Museum Collections Department is to build a Collection of material and objects pertinent to the interests of the Franklin Historical Commission, thereby fulfilling the stated mission of the Commission.

Objects that relate to the history of the people of Franklin shall be collected by the Franklin Historical Commission and maintained by the Museum Collections Department.

The Franklin Historical Commission seeks quality artifacts that are documented or documentable as to provenience, date, age, location, etc. The quality and historical relevance of the museum collections is stressed over the quantity of collections.

Museum objects of historical significance that are worthy of preservation will be accessioned into the Museum Collections. The Franklin Historical Commission may also accept donations of objects solely for interpretive purposes. Such objects will be registered as donations to the Historical Commission, but will not be accessioned or considered a part of the Museum Collections.

Physical, graphic, or photographic reproduction of objects in the museum collections, made for the sole purpose of sale of such reproductions is expressly forbidden without the written permission of the Franklin Historical Commission Museum Collections Department.

Museum objects, and information about these objects, will be made available to the public regularly through exhibits and interpretive programming. Museum objects in storage may be made available for research purposes within the constraints of staff availability and the safety and security of the museum objects themselves.

Museum objects shall not be exhibited, handled, or otherwise used in such a way as to cause unnecessary damage to the objects themselves. The Museum Collections Department shall monitor such uses and shall be authorized to order changes in exhibit technique, or other use as needed, to protect objects in the Museum Collections. Additionally, the Franklin Historical Commission Museum Collections Department does not guarantee that any donated item will go on exhibit, on a temporary or permanent basis.

No indefinite loans will be accepted by the Franklin Historical Commission. Temporary loans for limited periods of time may be accepted for specific exhibits or research purposes at the discretion of the Historical Commission.

No objects shall be considered as a possible addition to the Museum Collections for the sole purpose of selling the object or exchanging for something else.

Donations made to the Franklin Historical Commission Museum Collections may be tax-deductible. Please consult your tax advisor or the Internal Revenue Service for details. The Franklin Historical Commission cannot set values or give opinions on the value of an object for tax purposes. Franklin Historical Commission may assist the donor in locating a qualified appraiser, but cannot recommend one appraiser over another. The Franklin Historical Commission will provide the donating individual with paperwork that can serve as a receipt for Internal Revenue Service purposes. The Franklin Historical Commission will not pay for the appraisal of donated items.

Staff of the Franklin Historical Commission Museum Collections Department cannot make definitive statements regarding the authenticity of objects brought to them for identification by the public. Professional opinions or sources for information may be given.