What should museums keep or chuck out?

BBC Newsnight tonight (Thurs 8 July) is looking at how some museums are getting rid of things when they run out of storage space. There's a preview of the programme on the webpage below, and a link to BBC iplayer if you missed the programme.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/8757179.stm

The preview has a museum curator wanting to keep a collection of 7000 lace bobbins "because she likes them". When you see the size of their storage facility, makes you wonder if the public money is being well spent.

Richard

 

That is a really difficult choice to make. There are points on both sides! Here are a few of my thoughts on the subject.
The Museums and Galleries guidelines might need revising if more places take a view that the disposal of artifacts is justified / required. The unpleasasnt truth is that what ever is decided, it will inevitably upset someone! The upcoming problem will be that budgetary pressures may well pressurize some places into selling off items, if that is the case: I hope the right choices are made (carefully avoiding being specific here!). The other side is the current trend for only putting a few items out on display, this really requires that the displays are rotated at intervals so more items get their chance in public view. Another method is to develop something similar to "the warehouse" idea that the NRM have used at York.
Stoneroad