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Ethics Q&A: Acquisitions 5
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February 2000
A private collector has indicated, without making any concrete promises, that he may one day be willing to part with certain items that would make outstanding additions to our collections.
As an initial gesture, he has offered something, which, unfortunately, is one of the few items he owns which is not relevant to what we collect. Opinion is divided here about what to do.
Some argue that we should accept the offer because if we were to decline, his feelings would be hurt and the loss of goodwill would jeopardise our chances of his donating other, more relevant items in the future. Others feel that this collector is fully aware of what we do and don't collect and that he is merely teasing us. Please advise.
Your collecting policy should be a publicly available document. Refer openly, explicitly and honestly to it and the rationale for it in your dealings with the collector.
Adhere to that policy, express gratitude for this particular offer but do not accept it and explain why you have to turn the item down.
Acquiring any item incurs an obligation not only for you but also for future museum staff to care for it. Over time accumulating material which does not have any value to the collection compromises your ability to care for material which does.
Assume, in the first instance, goodwill on his part. He may be genuinely unaware of those aspects of your collecting policy which preclude your acceptance of the item.
If he is serious about donating, raise with him the possibility of offering the item to a museum you know of that would provide a more appropriate home.
Be open about your agenda and encourage him to reciprocrate by clarifying his. Accomodating gamesmanship, caprice and innuendo are not the basis on which you should be cultivating relationships with your donors.
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