Code of ethics
Recognise the interests of people who made, used, owned, collected or gave items in the collections
7.0 Museums try to develop constructive relationships with people who contributed to collections, with representatives of these people, their heirs and cultural descendants, balancing responsibilities to a range of stakeholders.
Gifts and bequests of items are usually made in the expectation that items will be preserved. Museums reconcile the wider public interest with that expectation.
All those who work for or govern museums should ensure that they:
7.1 Acknowledge that the museum benefits from all those who have contributed to the making, meaning and presence in the museum of its collections. Establish working relationships based on mutual understanding, wherever practical.
7.2 Establish principles that assist people who contributed to collections to develop mutually agreed arrangements with the museum, wherever practical. Specify and record these arrangements clearly and unambiguously.
7.3 Articulate clearly intentions and expectations about projects such as commissions, collaborations and workshops. Specify agreements over matters such as funding, copyright, site preparation and maintenance. Make written exhibition policies available to exhibitors. (See also section 4, consult and involve communities, users and supporters.)
7.4 Inform originating communities of the presence of items relevant to them in the museum’s collections, wherever practical.
7.5 Respect the interests of originating communities with regard to elements of their cultural heritage present or represented in the museum. Involve originating communities, wherever practical, in decisions about how the museum stores, researches, presents or otherwise uses collections and information about them.
7.6 Consider restricting access to certain specified items, particularly those of ceremonial or religious importance, where unrestricted access may cause offence or distress to actual or cultural descendants. (See also section 3, encourage people to explore collections for inspiration, learning and enjoyment.)
7.7 Deal sensitively and promptly with requests for repatriation both within the UK and from abroad of items in the museum’s collection, taking into account: the law; current thinking on the subject; the interests of actual and cultural descendants; the strength of claimants’ relationship to the items; their scientific, educational, cultural and historical importance; their future treatment.
Refer to Guidelines on Restitution and Repatriation issued by Resource, the Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries and guidelines on human remains issued by the Museum Ethnographers Group. Refer to any subsequent guidance issued by the bodies and their successors listed above. (See also section 6, safeguard the long-term public interest in the collections.)
7.8 Exercise sensitivity and seek professional advice whenever acquiring items from fieldwork. Consider always the desirability of recording and preserving items where they are. Uphold guidelines issued by relevant bodies.
7.9 Exercise sensitivity and seek professional advice whenever reminiscence and oral history work is undertaken. Uphold guidelines issued by relevant bodies.
7.10 Follow up accepted gifts or bequests with a written acknowledgement and confirmation of the terms on which the gift or bequest is being accepted. (See also Guidelines for Donors to Museums, issued by the Museums Association Ethics Committee and section 5, acquire items honestly and responsibly.)
7.11 Uphold and comply with conditions set by benefactors and accepted by the museum, unless changed circumstances mean that conditions need to be reconsidered in the light of what is generally held to be the public interest.
Gifts and bequests of items are usually made in the expectation that items will be preserved. Museums reconcile the wider public interest with that expectation.
All those who work for or govern museums should ensure that they:
7.1 Acknowledge that the museum benefits from all those who have contributed to the making, meaning and presence in the museum of its collections. Establish working relationships based on mutual understanding, wherever practical.
7.2 Establish principles that assist people who contributed to collections to develop mutually agreed arrangements with the museum, wherever practical. Specify and record these arrangements clearly and unambiguously.
7.3 Articulate clearly intentions and expectations about projects such as commissions, collaborations and workshops. Specify agreements over matters such as funding, copyright, site preparation and maintenance. Make written exhibition policies available to exhibitors. (See also section 4, consult and involve communities, users and supporters.)
7.4 Inform originating communities of the presence of items relevant to them in the museum’s collections, wherever practical.
7.5 Respect the interests of originating communities with regard to elements of their cultural heritage present or represented in the museum. Involve originating communities, wherever practical, in decisions about how the museum stores, researches, presents or otherwise uses collections and information about them.
7.6 Consider restricting access to certain specified items, particularly those of ceremonial or religious importance, where unrestricted access may cause offence or distress to actual or cultural descendants. (See also section 3, encourage people to explore collections for inspiration, learning and enjoyment.)
7.7 Deal sensitively and promptly with requests for repatriation both within the UK and from abroad of items in the museum’s collection, taking into account: the law; current thinking on the subject; the interests of actual and cultural descendants; the strength of claimants’ relationship to the items; their scientific, educational, cultural and historical importance; their future treatment.
Refer to Guidelines on Restitution and Repatriation issued by Resource, the Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries and guidelines on human remains issued by the Museum Ethnographers Group. Refer to any subsequent guidance issued by the bodies and their successors listed above. (See also section 6, safeguard the long-term public interest in the collections.)
7.8 Exercise sensitivity and seek professional advice whenever acquiring items from fieldwork. Consider always the desirability of recording and preserving items where they are. Uphold guidelines issued by relevant bodies.
7.9 Exercise sensitivity and seek professional advice whenever reminiscence and oral history work is undertaken. Uphold guidelines issued by relevant bodies.
7.10 Follow up accepted gifts or bequests with a written acknowledgement and confirmation of the terms on which the gift or bequest is being accepted. (See also Guidelines for Donors to Museums, issued by the Museums Association Ethics Committee and section 5, acquire items honestly and responsibly.)
7.11 Uphold and comply with conditions set by benefactors and accepted by the museum, unless changed circumstances mean that conditions need to be reconsidered in the light of what is generally held to be the public interest.
Click links below for Q&As relating to this section of the code
Access (building)
Access (collections) 2
Access (collections) 3 Acquisition 4
Copyright
Ethnography 1
Ethnography 2
Oral history
Trustees
Access (building)
Access (collections) 2
Access (collections) 3 Acquisition 4
Copyright
Ethnography 1
Ethnography 2
Oral history
Trustees
