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Collections Policy
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Douglas County Museum
Formally adopted October 22, 1987 by board of trustees
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- The scope of the collections is to be consistent with the spheres of interest described in the Statement
of Purpose of the Museum Association of Douglas County, found in Article II of the Constitution.
Collecting is to be directed toward the history of Douglas County and East Central Illinois. Items
collected should include printed material, manuscripts, documents, photographs, objects, and ephemera
illustrative of life, conditions, events, and activities of the past and the present pertinent to Douglas
County and to East Central Illinois.
- The donating of worthwhile material to the museum by both individuals and organizations is to be
encouraged. Arrangements have been made to have gifts deductible from taxable income in accordance
with the provisions of the Federal Income Tax Act. The Museum Association acquired tax-exempt status
from the Internal Revenue Service in March of 1985 under Section 501c3 of the Internal Revenue Code.
- A donation is to be treated as a gift outright to the museum, and this fact is to be made known on any
acknowledgement forms issued. At no time will an agent for the Museum Association act as an appraiser
for gifts received into the collection. Appraisal is the sole responsibility of the donor.
- Once a donor signs a release form for gifts, the Board of Trustees is free to dispose of any item on the
advice of the museum director at a subsequent date should that object be found to be no longer appropriate
to the stated purpose of the Museum Association. Surplus items, with board approval, may be exchanged
for desired items, or disposed of by sale. The monies realized are to be placed in a fund for the
purchase of appropriate objects for the collection, or the conservation of objects already in the
collection.
- The Museum Association does not encourage accepting objects on a loan basis. An exception may be
made in the case of items that are of unusual importance to the museum. Short-term loans for special
exhibits may be accepted if accompanied by a loan release. The care and protection of loan item(s) is
the responsibility of the Museum Association.
- The museum will not guarantee to exhibit any object accepted for the permanent collection. In
addition, the Museum Association will not guarantee that all items in the gift will be kept together
physically both in the files and on display. It is possible that the name of the donor or some
designated relative will not be included prominently in displays that include the gift.
- The Museum Association may accept a wide scope of materials for the museum library. However, these
items should consist mainly of books that give the researcher a perspective of American history in relation
to Douglas County and East Central Illinois history, genealogical data from other counties and states that
is pertinent to past and present Douglas County residents, Douglas county newspapers, atlases, documents,
history books and local records. The museum may also accept reference books that provide genealogical
and historical information about other counties in East Central Illinois.
- Collecting worthwhile items for the museum may be the active concern of a number of the staff and
trustees. However, the actual selection of artifacts and specimens for the collections will be the
responsibility of the Accessions Committee with the board of trustees making the final decision on accepting
or rejecting an item for the collection.
- The gauge for determining acceptance and retention of any item is to be the importance and relevance of
that item to the stated scope and purpose of the museum.
- The approved registration system is to be followed in promptly recording all artifacts and specimens
added to the collections.
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