BradfordMuseums & Galleries

Collections Development Policy

2013 – 2018

BradfordMuseums Galleries

Regeneration & Culture

Name of museum:BradfordMuseums Galleries

Name of governing body:City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council

  1. Museum’s statement of purpose

Bradford Museums Galleries’ purpose is:

To enhance the quality of life of Bradford people, by providing and enabling inspiring museum experiences that support the delivery of the 2020 Vision through the collection, preservation, interpretation of, and community engagement with, relevant collections, heritage activity and art forms.

Aims:

1.To provide Bradford with a quality Museums & Galleries service that promotes and enhances the cultural heritage and life of the District.

2.To support the delivery of the 2020 vision, Corporate Plan and Cultural Strategy

3.To maintain, develop, research and conserve the collections held in trust by Bradford MDC for future generations.

4.To provide a service that is visitor orientated, accessible and available to all through displays, activities, promotions and new technology.

5.To encourage participation as well as observation.

6.To develop facilities for their social and educational value, reflecting and building upon the heritage and cultural diversity of the District.

7.To participate in the formulation and delivery of Council policies directed at the preservation and enhancement of the local heritage, environment and the creation of sustainable communities.

8.To develop partnerships at local, regional national and international level, with organisations and individuals that will aid service delivery and income generation.

9. To abide by the Museums Association Code of Ethics for Museums

1.2Bradford Museums & Galleries Service exists to collect, record, conserve, exhibit and interpret the human and natural heritage of the City & District of Bradford, and to provide access through the provision of quality services for the public benefit.

1.3 Bradford Museums & Galleries aspires to build a representative record of the lives of the people of the City and District.

  1. An overview of current collections

2.1History of Museum Collections

BMG’s collections have developed over more than 150 years even before a museum service existed in the district. Early collections belonging to the Mechanics Institute and local amateur enthusiasts were collected from late 18th through 19th centuries. In 1974, when Bradford Metropolitan District Council was established the main museums of Keighley (founded 1899), Ilkley (1892) Cartwright Memorial Hall (1904) and Bolling Hall (1915) were united as a single service. The new metropolitan district was serving a wider community. To augment these a sites was bornBradford Industrial Museum. Each site was allocated as the districts site for a specific collection, Archaeology at Manor House, Ilkley, Art at CMH, Natural Sciences at Cliffe Castle Museum, Keighley, Middle Ages at Bolling Hall, Industrial Collections at BIM.

2.2Archaeology Collection

The collection comprises some 38,000 items, the majority of which is excavated pot sherds. The core of the collection, some 5500 items, is of local provenance. This in turn divides into approximate thirds, for Prehistoric, Roman and Medieval/Post medieval material. There is a small collection of Egyptology, acquired during the early years of the last century through subscriptions to the Egypt Exploration Fund. A large part of the Roman collection was derived from the excavation of the Roman Fort, at Ilkley.

2.3Art Collections

Fine Art

The Fine Art collection comprises of some 8000 items and was begun in 1879 when the first public museum and art gallery opened in Bradford. Oil paintings mainly dating from the mid-nineteenth century onwards form 23% of the whole, and another 27% is watercolours, to date mainly from the 19th and 20th centuries. The largest part of the collection is made up of prints, 50% of the total, and half of these date from 1868 or later. There are fewer than 100 items of sculpture.

International Art

Included are South Asian works that began in 1986; the aim was to collect material of high qualityincluding contemporary fine arts relating to the homelands of Bradfordians. The service has a reputation in collecting work by British Asian (BAME) artists and artists from South Asia.Textiles form the largest proportion (31%), followed by paintings (22%) and decorative objects (15%).

2.4Decorative Art Collection (including Ethnography)

Thiscollection comprises some 5000 items, shared almost equally between furniture and ceramics. The ceramic collection is the kind found in many larger provincial museums. The North Country English Furniture, mainly oak, and of 17th century, is widely regarded as one of the best in he country. Since the mid-1980s the Service actively acquired a significant collection of South Asian material including crafts, calligraphy from the Muslim world, gold and silver, garments and textiles.

The Ethnography Collectionincludes a modest but significant collection of material representing native cultures of theSouth Pacific, Australasia, Africa, North America, Japan and China amongst others. The collection of 3000 20th century artefacts was developed as a regional specialism working with the Yorkshire Museums Council and other professionals in the field.

2.5 Industrial Collections

This collection began in 1966 and now contains over 112,000 items. The main sections include textiles, engineering, public and domestic transport, the history of science, motive power, printing, communications, crafts and professions, as well as technical information. All have a strong bias towards material from, or are closely associated with the present Bradford Metropolitan District and its environs.

2.6Natural Science Collections

The Natural Sciences comprise three separate collections; zoology, geology andbotany. There are approximately 90,000 zoology specimens of which over 70% are invertebrate zoology including entomology and conchology. Approximately 8% are vertebrate specimens comprising study skins and taxidermy mounts.

There are over 100,000 geological specimens. This collection is the subject of a paper in Naturalist: 104 pp 17-23 (1979), which details the scope of the collection in some detail.

The museum’s botany collections comprise the nationally and internationally important F.A. Lees collection and W.A. Sledge collection of flowering plants and other important lichen and bryophyte collections totalling approximately 60,000 specimens. These important reference collections are based on those made by local naturalists, and have a strong local emphasis.

2.7Social History Collections

The vast majority of material is local social history, including local agricultural and craft tools and comprises some 60,000 objects. Notable sections with it are Costume and textiles (14%), collected primarily on the basis of Bradford’s history in textile manufacturing, and domestic material (16%).

2.8Photographic Archive

A large collection, approximately 300,000, of photographs and negatives was acquired by the service in 2004 from C.H. Woods Ltd. The collection is accessible by the existing cataloguing and card index system and an enquiry service is available as a result. The existing documentation system is maintained by the collections management procedures set out in the Service’s Collections Management Handbook.

Please see Appendix A for more detailed descriptions of the existing collections.

  1. Themes and priorities for future collecting

All collecting activity must take account of the following principles:

3.1 Items collected should normally have a strong connection with the Bradford area or with existing collections.

3.2 Items collected should, ideally, be in good condition and require minimalconservation treatment. Some archaeological and natural history items collectedfrom the field will require preparation. Archival material may require specialconservation treatment.

3.3 Items collected should not contain materials that pose a risk to health or safety andshould take account of current legislation, for example, Ionising RadiationRegulations 1999 (IRR99) and the associated Approved Code of Practice (IRR99ACoP).

3.4 Consideration will be given to the desirability, or otherwise, of collecting material thatis similar to existing collections: whilst duplication is discouraged, in principle, thiswill not preclude the collection of comparative material for research, display oreducational purposes, particularly in the Natural Sciences where multiple specimensare of importance for taxonomy, systematics and comparative scientific analysis.Disposal of similar or supposedly duplicate items will be considered in line with theDisposal section of this policy.

3.5 Where appropriate, transfer to Bradford Museums & Galleries of copyright/and or reproduction rights willbe sought at the time of acquisition. If this is not possible, then permission to makeand use reproductions will be requested.

3.6Advice regarding collections acquisition will be sought from qualified personsoutside the service where appropriate.

3.7Where appropriate BMG will acquire certain material for educational purposes including handling that is not intended for retention in the permanent collections. Documentation of such material will clearly show the intended use and donors and any special arrangements made by donors such as return after use. These objects shall be recorded separately outside the main accession records and shall not be treated as part of the permanent collections since their intended use implies that preservation cannot be guaranteed.

Please see Appendix B for more detailed information relating to future acquisitions bycollection.

  1. Themes and priorities for rationalisation and disposal

The museum has a responsibility to future generations by ensuring that collections are well managed and sustainable. Although there is a strong presumption in favour of the retention of items within the public domain, sometimes transfer within the public domain, or another form of disposal may improve access to, or the use, care or context of items or collections. Responsible curatorially-motivated disposal may be recommended as part of the museum’s long-term collections policy where it can be evidenced that it will increase the public benefit derived from the collections. All proposals for disposal as a part of rationalisation must meet the criteria outlined in the Disposal Procedures in Section 13.

  1. Limitations on collecting

5.1 The Museums Service recognises its responsibility, in acquiring additions to its collections, to ensure that care of collections, documentation arrangements and use of collections will meet the requirements of the Accreditation Standard. It will take into account limitations on collecting imposed by such factors as inadequate staffing, storage, insurance costs, relevance to current collections, and care of collection arrangements.

5.2Prospective acquisitions that bear resource implications will be reviewed by a Committee chaired by the Museums and Galleries Manager and attended by the Area Museum Managers, Collections Manager, Curators and collections staff.

  1. Collecting policies of other museums

6.1The museum will take account of the collecting policies of other museums and other organisations collecting in the same or related areas or subject fields. It will consult with these organisations where conflicts of interest may arise or to define areas of specialism, in order to avoid unnecessary duplication and waste of resources.

6.2Specific reference is made to the following museum(s):

  • Calderdale Museums and Galleries
  • Craven Museums
  • Harrogate Museums and Galleries
  • Kirklees Museums and Galleries
  • Leeds Museums and Galleries
  • Wakefield Museums
  1. Policy review procedure

7.1Collections Development Policy will be published and periodically reviewed at least once every five years. The date when the policy is next due for review is noted above.

7.2Arts Council Englandwill be notified of any changes to the Collections Development Policy, and the implications of any such changes for the future of existing collections.

  1. Acquisitions not covered by the policy

8.1Acquisitions outside the current stated policy will only be made in very exceptional circumstances, and then only after proper consideration by the Acquisitions & Disposals Panel, having regard to the interests of other museums.

  1. Acquisition procedures
  1. The museum will exercise due diligence and make every effort not to acquire, whether by purchase, gift, bequest or exchange, any object or specimen unless the Acquisitions & Disposals Panel or responsible Curator is satisfied that the museum can acquire a valid title to the item in question.
  1. In particular, the museum will not acquire any object or specimen unless it is satisfied that the object or specimen has not been acquired in, or exported from, its country of origin (or any intermediate country in which it may have been legally owned) in violation of that country’s laws. (For the purposes of this paragraph ‘country of origin’ includes the United Kingdom).
  1. In accordance with the provisions of the UNESCO 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, which the UK ratified with effect from November 1 2002, and the Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act 2003, the museum will reject any items that have been illicitly traded. The governing body will be guided by the national guidance on the responsible acquisition of cultural property issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in 2005.
  1. So far as biological and geological material is concerned, the museum will not acquire by any direct or indirect means any specimen that has been collected, sold or otherwise transferred in contravention of any national or international wildlife protection or natural history conservation law or treaty of the United Kingdom or any other country, except with the express consent of an appropriate outside authority.
  1. The museum will not acquire archaeological antiquities (including excavated ceramics) in any case where the Acquisitions & Disposals Panelor responsible Curator has any suspicion that the circumstances of their recovery involved a failure to follow the appropriate legal procedures. This includes reporting finds to the landowner or occupier of the land and to the proper authorities in the case of possible treasure as defined by the Treasure Act 1996.
  1. Any exceptions to the above clauses 9a, 9b, 9c, or 9e will only be because the museum is:
  • acting as an externally approved repository of last resort for material of local (UK) origin
  • acquiring an item of minor importance that lacks secure ownership history but in the best judgement of experts in the field concerned has not been illicitly traded
  • acting with the permission of authorities with the requisite jurisdiction in the country of origin
  • in possession of reliable documentary evidence that the item was exported from its country of origin before 1970

In these cases the museum will be open and transparent in the way it makes decisions and will act only with the express consent of an appropriate outside authority.

g.As the museum holds or intends to acquire human remains from any period, it will follow the procedures in the ‘Guidance for the care of human remains in museums’ issued by DCMS in 2005 and where applicable will obtain the necessary licence under the Human Tissue Act 2004.

  1. Spoliation

10.1The museum will use the statement of principles ‘Spoliation of Works of Art during the Nazi, Holocaust and World War II period’, issued for non-national museums in 1999 by the Museums and Galleries Commission.

  1. The Repatriation and Restitution of objects and human remains

11.1The museum’s Acquisitions & Disposals Panel, acting on the advice of the museum’s professional staff, if any, may take a decision to return human remains (unless covered by the ‘Guidance for the care of human remains in museums’ issued by DCMS in 2005) , objects or specimens to a country or people of origin. The museum will take such decisions on a case by case basis; within its legal position and taking into account all ethical implications and available guidance. This will mean that the procedures described in 13a-13d, 13g and 13o/s below will be followed but the remaining procedures are not appropriate.

11.2The disposal of human remains from museums in England, Northern Ireland and Wales will follow the procedures in the ‘Guidance for the care of human remains in museums’.

  1. Management of archives

12.1 As the museum holds and intends to acquire archives, including photographs and printed ephemera, the Acquisitions & Disposals Panel will be guided by the Code of Practice on Archives for Museums and Galleries in the United Kingdom (third edition, 2002).

  1. Disposal procedures

Disposal preliminaries

  1. The Acquisitions & Disposals Panelwill ensure that the disposal process is carried out openly and with transparency.
  1. By definition, the museum has a long-term purpose and holds collections in trust for society in relation to its stated objectives. The governing body therefore accepts the principle that sound curatorial reasons for disposal must be established before consideration is given to the disposal of any items in the museum’s collection.
  1. The museum will confirm that it is legally free to dispose of an item and agreements on disposal made with donors will be taken into account.
  1. When disposal of a museum object is being considered, the museum will establish if it was acquired with the aid of an external funding organisation. In such cases, any conditions attached to the original grant will be followed. This may include repayment of the original grant and a proportion of the proceeds if the item is disposed of by sale.

Motivation for disposal and method of disposal

  1. When disposal is motivated by curatorial reasons the procedures outlined in paragraphs 13g-13s will be followed and the method of disposal may be by gift, sale or exchange.
  1. In exceptional cases, the disposal may be motivated principally by financial reasons. The method of disposal will therefore be by sale and the procedures outlined below in paragraphs 13g-13m and 13o/s will be followed. In cases where disposal is motivated by financial reasons, the Acquisitions & Disposals Panelwill not undertake disposal unless it can be demonstrated that all the following exceptional circumstances are met in full:
  • the disposal will significantly improve the long-term public benefit derived from the remaining collection
  • the disposal will not be undertaken to generate short-term revenue (for example to meet a budget deficit)
  • the disposal will be undertaken as a last resort after other sources of funding have been thoroughly explored

The disposal decision-making process

  1. Whether the disposal is motivated either by curatorial or financial reasons, the decision to dispose of material from the collections will be taken by the Acquisitions & Disposals Panelonly after full consideration of the reasons for disposal. Other factors including the public benefit, the implications for the museum’s collections and collections held by museums and other organisations collecting the same material or in related fields will be considered. External expert advice will be obtained and the views of stakeholders such as donors, researchers, local and source communities and others served by the museum will also be sought.

Responsibility for disposal decision-making

  1. A decision to dispose of a specimen or object, whether by gift, exchange, sale or destruction (in the case of an item too badly damaged or deteriorated to be of any use for the purposes of the collections or for reasons of health and safety), will be the responsibility of the Acquisitions & Disposals Panelacting on the advice of professional curatorial staff, if any, and not of the curator of the collection acting alone.

Use of proceeds of sale

  1. Any monies received by the museum governing body from the disposal of items will be applied for the benefit of the collections. This normally means the purchase of further acquisitions. In exceptional cases, improvements relating to the care of collections in order to meet or exceed Accreditation requirements relating to the risk of damage to and deterioration of the collections may be justifiable. Any monies received in compensation for the damage, loss or destruction of items will be applied in the same way. Advice on those cases where the monies are intended to be used for the care of collections will be sought from Arts Council England.
  1. The proceeds of a sale will be ring-fenced so it can be demonstrated that they are spent in a manner compatible with the requirements of the Accreditation standard.

Disposal by gift or sale

  1. Once a decision to dispose of material in the collection has been taken, priority will be given to retaining it within the public domain, unless it is to be destroyed. It will therefore be offered in the first instance, by gift or sale, directly to other Accredited Museums likely to be interested in its acquisition.
  1. If the material is not acquired by any Accredited Museums to which it was offered directly as a gift or for sale, then the museum community at large will be advised of the intention to dispose of the material through current museum information exchange networks.
  1. The announcement relating to gift or sale will indicate the number and nature of specimens or objects involved, and the basis on which the material will be transferred to another institution. Preference will be given to expressions of interest from other Accredited Museums. A period of at least two months will be allowed for an interest in acquiring the material to be expressed. At the end of this period, if no expressions of interest have been received, the museum may consider disposing of the material to other interested individuals and organisations giving priority to organisations in the public domain.

Disposal by exchange

n.The nature of disposal by exchange means that the museum will not necessarily be in a position to exchange the material with another AccreditedMuseum. The Acquisitions & Disposals Panelwill therefore ensure that issues relating to accountability and impartiality are carefully considered to avoid undue influence on its decision-making process.