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Exhibition Policy
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Douglas County Museum, Tuscola, IL
Formally adopted January 5, 1995 by the museum trustees
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Goal
The Douglas County Museum will display its collection through appropriate methods to communicate to the
public the significance of our heritage within a local, state, and/or national context. To do this, it
will design and install short-term exhibitions to show the collection as it relates to the history of the
area in a meaningful and educational manner.
Objectives
- Exhibition themes will be developed to arouse the visitor’s interest in local history, in accordance
with the museum’s Statement of Purpose.
- To accomplish this, the museum will allocate 100% of its available exhibit space to special interest
temporary exhibitions in support of educational programs. There will be at least one new exhibit per
annum, and no more than four. The museum may host traveling exhibitions from other cultural
institutions providing that they complement the subject matter of the museum and that they do not disrupt
the normal activities or financial capabilities of the museum.
- The museum may exhibit collections owned by private citizens, including those who reside outside of
Douglas County’s boundaries within East Central Illinois, providing the museum has full authority governing
the terns of the agreement (i.e., time, content, promotion, interpretation, installations, and security).
- The museum will ensure that the areas designated for exhibition meet existing building codes and fire
safety regulations and are consistent with recommended conservation standards. The exhibition space
will be designed to allow sufficient aisle space for the public to move comfortably and safely at all times.
Handicapped accessibility must be an integral part of exhibition planning. The safety of all artifacts
will be a priority in exhibition planning.
- Each year the museum board will evaluate ideas and approve a schedule for exhibitions. All
proposals must use the format: why, how, who, where, and when. For instance, they must outline:
- The purpose of the exhibit
- The user group for which the exhibit is designed
- The historical accuracy & significance of research
- A list of the artifacts to be displayed
- Specifications & estimated cost for furniture & support materials, purchase of new materials & labor,
if applicable
- The museum does not guarantee to display all of the artifacts in the collection in any given year.
Only those objects that illustrate & relate to a chosen theme will be on display. Those objects must
be in stable condition, catalogued, and installed in a safe manner, taking into account the object’s size
and composition. No object will be allowed to deteriorate visibly while on display.
- All written material will be approved by the Director/Curator before exhibition. Wording should be
accurate and simple. Exceptions will be made for quotations or colloquial expressions if they make an
exhibit more understandable to the visitor.
- All labels and graphic illustrations will have a professional appearance. They should be
consistent with the lettering styles chosen by the museum. They should be installed in such a position
that they can easily be seen without obscuring the view of the artifacts on display.
- Educational programs should complement each exhibit. These programs whenever possible should
conform to the theme of the short-term exhibit. Education can also take the form of hands-on
activities within the exhibit design. Handouts and other complimentary materials should be sought and
distributed insofar as resources and budget restraints allow.
- Promotion of exhibits should take the form of publicity releases to radios, televisions, and newspapers
within Douglas County and surrounding counties. Advertising flyers should be posted on bulletin boards
and other locations where concentrations of readers are high. Paid advertisement is acceptable when
the budget allows. Letters to special interest groups such as schools, nursing homes, etc., are
encouraged.
- Artifacts accepted on short-term loan from the public will be itemized on a loan form. Each
artifact should be checked for damage that occurred prior to being placed on loan in the museum.
Damages should be noted on loan forms, and citizens who loan the items must sign the forms to acknowledge
any pre-existing conditions.
- Loaned artifacts cannot be released to anyone except the true owner. Owners must prove their
identity with a valid form of identification. Artifacts can be released to proxies only by
pre-arranged agreements.
- Items on exhibit in the Douglas County Museum that are on loan from the general public for temporary
exhibit cannot be displayed with “for sale” signs. Also, exhibitors cannot solicit the purchase of
like items from the museum’s visiting audience while the exhibitor(s) are on museum property.
Evaluation
The effectiveness of each exhibit will be evaluated by study of the museum’s guest register for
attendance figures, visitor evaluation responses, review of comments in correspondence, personal interviews
with visitors, media coverage, and other acceptable methods of assessment. Successes and failures of
each exhibition should be reviewed in order to improve the quality of future exhibits.
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