• Section 1 - Purpose
• Scope
• Section 2 - Policy
• Responsibilities
• Acquisition
• Collection Management
• Establishment, Recognition and Disposal of Collections
• Ethics
• Section 3 - Procedures
• Section 4 - Guidelines

February 2022 – This document is rescinded and has been replaced by the Collections Policy.

Section 1 - Purpose

(1) This documents sets out Charles Sturt University's policy on the management and operation of the Museums and Collections acquired by Charles Sturt University (the University).

(2) The objective of the Museums and Collections Policy is to:

1. make plain the establishment of the University's museums and collections, and detail the acquisition, collection management and disposal of the objects and items contained within the museums and collections.

Scope

(3) This Policy applies to those University employees who have administrative and managerial responsibilities for the museums and collections acquired by the Sturt University.

Section 2 - Policy

(4) This policy should be read in conjunction with the University Art Collection Policy and the Regional Archives Policy.

Responsibilities

(5) The officer with responsibility for the Museums and Collections of the University is the Vice-Chancellor.

Acquisition

(6) Charles Sturt University shall acquire and should retain in its custody only those objects of collectable or intrinsic value which will enhance in the foreseeable future the University's teaching, research, service to the community or public image, and which are consistent with relevant written mission statements and policies of particular museums and collections.

(7) Clear legal title is required for all objects of collectable or intrinsic value permanently acquired by the University. If clear legal title cannot be provided then acquisition should not proceed. Title shall pass to the University and not to any individual or organisational unit.

Collection Management

(8) Objects permanently acquired by the University shall be subject to ongoing management, and shall be placed in the care of appropriate museums or collections.

(9) Every object shall be accessioned and an accessions register maintained for each museum or collection.

(10) All objects loaned to Charles Sturt University's museums and collections shall be loaned to the Universityas a whole and not to any individual or organisational unit. The terms and conditions of each loan shall be specified in writing and shall include the proposed duration of the loan and define responsibilities for preservation, security and insurance.

(11) A suitably qualified officer shall be given responsibility for management of each museum or collection, and an advisory committee established if such expertise is deemed necessary for effective collection management.

Establishment, Recognition and Disposal of Collections

(12) No museum or collection shall be established and/or remain in existence without:

1. the written approval of the head of the organisational unit and/or the manager of the cost centre responsible for its upkeep; and
2. a written mission statement, objective and policy which shall include the purpose of the collection, the manner in which it is to be managed and preserved, and the procedures for deaccessioning and disposal in the event that any or all of the objects in the collection should no longer be required.

(13) Those museums and collections which the University wishes to support as separate cost centres with dedicated funding and staff establishments shall be recognised by resolution of the Council. Recognised collections presently comprise the Regional Archives and the University Art Collection.

(14) The University's non-recognised museums and collections shall be funded by the organisational unit which established them, or currently has responsibility for their management, but shall be subject to relevant University policies and regulations.

(15) Reviews of the University's collections shall be made from time to time to assess and ensure relevance to the University's mission and strategic plans.

(16) The deaccessioning and disposal of a significant object or group of objects from a museum or collection shall only occur in accordance with normal University procedures for the disposal of assets, and formal deaccessioning and disposal procedures specific to the collection, and/or restrictions imposed by donors or depositors.

(17) The deaccessioning and disposal of entire holdings of a museum or collection, whether recognised or otherwise, shall not occur without the written approval of the Vice-Chancellor.

(18) Wherever possible deaccessioned objects should be offered in the first instance to another appropriate museum or collection.

Ethics

(19) The University and its officers responsible for museums or collections shall be guided by the University's codes of conduct together with codes of ethics appropriate to particular fields of professional expertise.

Section 3 - Procedures

(20) Nil.

Section 4 - Guidelines

(21) Nil.