Survey on use of reproductions as surrogates

Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village staff are in the process of
developing a set of policies and procedures to aid in the
preservation of collections that are handled or operated for
educational or program use. Specifically we are attempting to set
criteria by which the decision to use reproductions in lieu of
collection items is made. We are interested in gathering information
from museums that routinely deal with similar situations. We would
appreciate it if you  took a moment to answer the following
questions:

    1.  Does your museum or living history site own any collections
        that are utilized for "hands on" demonstrations? Examples of
        these types of collection could include: automobiles,
        carriages, locomotives, household items, industrial
        collections, agricultural collections etc.

    2.  If your museum utilizes collections for "hands on"
        demonstrations, are the items part of the museums
        accessioned collections or are they considered to be a
        separate collection Ex. a study collection?

    3.  If your museum utilizes collections for "hands on"
        demonstrations, who is responsible for the preservation of
        these "hands on" collections?

    2.  How would you describe your museum? (Ex. historical museum,
        science center, living history site, historic house, other)

    3.  Who determines which items are to be "used" or "operated"?
        (Ex. curators, exhibit planners, program developers,
        conservators, museum directors, a committee).

    4.  Who determines when reproductions will be used in place of
        collection items?

    5.  Have you encountered situations where the cost of purchasing
        or making a reproduction was higher than the cost of
        purchasing an antique? If so how were there situations
        resolved?

Mary M. Fahey
Chief Conservator/Head of Preservation
Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village
20900 Oakwood Blvd
Dearborn, Michigan 48121
313-982-6072
Fax: 313-982-6245


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 14:26
                Distributed: Wednesday, November 8, 2000
                       Message Id: cdl-14-26-020
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