collections will be sought from Museums Galleries Scotland.
l. The proceeds of a sale will be allocated so it can be demonstrated that they are spent in a manner compatible with the requirements of the Accreditation standard. Money must be restricted to the long-term sustainability, use and development of the collection.
Disposal by exchange
m. The museum will not dispose of items by exchange.
Disposal by destruction
n. If it is not possible to dispose of an object through transfer or sale, the governing body may decide to destroy it.
- It is acceptable to destroy material of low intrinsic significance (duplicate mass-produced
articles or common specimens which lack significant provenance) where no alternative method of
disposal can be found.
- Destruction is also an acceptable method of disposal in cases where an object is in extremely
poor condition, has high associated health and safety risks or is part of an approved destructive
testing request identified in an organisation’s research policy.
- Where necessary, specialist advice will be sought to establish the appropriate method of
destruction. Health and safety risk assessments will be carried out by trained staff where required.
- The destruction of objects should be witnessed by an appropriate member of the museum
workforce. In circumstances where this is not possible, e.g. the destruction of controlled
substances, a police certificate should be obtained and kept in the relevant object history file.
Documenting disposal
o. Full records will be kept of all decisions on disposals and the items involved and proper arrangements made for the preservation and/or transfer, as appropriate, of the documentation relating to the items concerned, including photographic records where practicable in accordance with SPECTRUM Procedure on deaccession and disposal.