Deaccession Policy for the Juniata College
Library Special Collections
Disposal of items must be authorized by the Provost.
Reasons for the deaccessioning and disposal of an item or items
in the Special Collections may include:
- Lack of historical relevance to the College;
- Lack of relevance to the College's long term strategic plan;
- Absence of clear legal title;
- Theft or loss;
- Damage or serious deterioration in condition;
- Repatriation of cultural property; and
- New information which leads to a reappraisal of relevance.
In some circumstances it may be necessary to cull the collection of any items of inferior
quality of which are inappropriate to the nature of the collection.
Deaccessioning and disposal should occur following routine
review and with good reason, and not for capricious immediate
need. Wherever possible, a deaccessioned item should be offered
in the first instance to another collection.
It is recommended that if possible, deaccession of items acquired through donation
from a source outside the College (e.g. private benefactor,
gift in kind) requires the consultation of all parties who had
contributed to the purchase or controlled the bequest or donation.
Any monies received by the College from disposal of items
deaccessioned from the Special Collections shall be applied
for benefit first of the Special Collections, and second the
library.
The Library Director must be satisfied that an object
proposed for deaccessioning will not be of use to the Special
Collections in any ways set out in the Collecting Policy, or
in any others which might be envisaged. If in doubt the Director
should seek outside expert opinion.
The Library Director shall
submit a recommendation for deaccessioning to the Provost. The
Proposal shall provide catalogue information about the object
and a statement justifying the deaccessional proposal. The recommendation
shall include additional proposals for disposal of the object,
either by sale, donation or destruction.
Once approved, deaccession
shall take place only after a three-month period. If no use
of the object in the intervening three-month period is recorded
the decision to deaccession stands. Registration records should
be amended, noting the method of disposal, but record of the
previous existence of the item in the collection should remain.
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