General Guidelines for Gifts:

All donations are considered unrestricted gifts and must be accompanied by a declared value from the donor. All donors will receive a receipt for tax purposes. The SRJC Museum does not provide appraisals. The SRJC Museum reserves the right to turn away donations that do not meet our criteria.

Acquisition Criteria for Cultural Items:

1. The item(s) must be consistent with and relevant to the stated purpose, scope, and activities of the Museum.
2. Primary consideration will be given to the Museum's ability to provide proper care and storage for any object. No item(s) will be considered for acquisition if future care and preservation needs exceed the Museum's resources.
3. Items must have clear title and be free of copyright restrictions.
4. Donors must provide verifiable record of authenticity and provenance for all proposed cultural donations. The Museum will make every effort to ascertain that items offered are not stolen, wrongfully converted, or acquired under false pretenses. The Museum is bound by international antiquities laws. Foreign antiquities must have documentation indicating that they were exported from their country of origin prior to the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. The provenance of acquired items shall be a matter of public record.
5. No items will be accepted that are affected by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 or the CalNAGPRA Act of 2001. Cultural objects must have been acquired in a manner that does not damage the natural or cultural resources of Native American Tribes.
6. If the Museum discovers that it has acquired item (s) in violation of the above statement (s), the Museum shall seek to return the item(s) to the legal owner or shall seek to determine the proper means of disposition through recognized authorities such as NAGPRA.
7. Access restrictions will be placed on materials in collections that may fall under NAGPRA or CalNAGPRA to ensure the dignity and respect accorded to all funerary and religious objects. A consistent effort will be made to repatriate any remaining NAGPRA items in the care of the museum.
8. All approved acquisitions are to be outright and unconditional. The Museum cannot guarantee that objects donated will be placed on exhibition, or that they will be exhibited or stored intact as a single collection. In addition, curatorial decisions made during cataloging of new collections may result in objects being deemed more appropriate for use in our education department or to be offered for sale to benefit the Museum.
9. All donations to the Museum's collections are irrevocable upon the formal and physical transfer to the Museum.
10. All legal instruments of conveyance and warranty of title, signed by the donor/seller/agent setting forth an adequate description of the items involved and the precise conditions of the transfer shall accompany all acquisitions.
11. All acquisitions by gift or bequest to the Museum will remain in the possession of the Museum for as long as they retain their physical integrity and authenticity, and as long as they remain useful for the purposes of the Museum.
12. Federal law prevents the Museum from providing identification services or appraisal values for donated items. Donors are responsible for appraisals of value.

Deaccessions

Objects which do not contribute to the purpose and goals of the Museum may be subject to removal from the collections.  Possible examples are duplicate, irrelevant, or badly deteriorated items.  Museum ownership of any item must be established before said item may be deaccessioned.

In order to improve existing collections, make maximum best use of available space, and best serve the public interest, the appropriate curator/collections manager may propose to the Director that an object or objects be removed from the collections.  The Director shall have the authority to approve deaccession action unless, in his/her judgment, there is a question concerning the intrinsic or cultural value of the proposed item(s).  In this case he/she shall refer the matter to an ad hoc advisory committee composed of Anthropology faculty and/or professional appraisals for approval (in the case of the Archives, this statement applies only to catalogued materials).

Deaccessioned items may be removed to expendable collections, traded to other institutions, or conveyed to other museums or educational institutions.  None shall, in any way or at any time, be sold or conveyed to any Museum employee, member of the Advisory Committee, member of the governing authority, or to their representatives.

To request an appointment with the museum to review your donation request, please contact us at museum@santarosa.edu

or call the museum at (707) 527-4479 to schedule an appointment.