| (a) Goals of the manual. (1) The Capitol Collections Management Manual has been developed by the curator of the Capitol to further define the Texas Capitol collections policy, detailing the specific procedures that are to be followed to fully carry out the guidelines of the collections policy. (2) The overall goal of the policy and the management manual is to collect, preserve, protect, interpret, and maintain information on original or period objects of historical significance to the Capitol or the State of Texas or appropriate to the early period of the Capitol's history (circa 1880-1920). (b) Responsibility for collections and Collections Review Committee. (1) The State Preservation Board was established as an agency in 1983 to preserve, maintain, and restore the State Capitol, its contents, and grounds (Texas Government Code, Chapter 443). (2) In order to assist
the State Preservation Board and the office of the State Preservation Board in carrying out the purpose of the collections policy, a collections review committee shall be formed. (3) The Collections Review Committee shall be composed of five members appointed by the Permanent Advisory Committee to the State Preservation Board in consultation with the office of the State Preservation Board and approved by the State Preservation Board. The committee members shall be residents of the State of Texas and recognized authorities or scholars in one or more of the following fields: Texas material culture; American decorative arts (19th century emphasis); Texas paintings (historical); Texas history; or a related field. The term of the appointments shall be three years. To allow for staggered terms, two of the first appointments will be for two years, and the remaining three appointments will be for the full three-year term, to be determined by random selection.
(4) The Collections Review Committee's responsibilities primarily focus on the advisory review of staff recommendations concerning acquisitions, deaccessions, and loans. The committee may conduct its advisory review process via correspondence, but shall meet as a group at least once a year prior to each year's first meeting of the State Preservation Board, and shall report to the board, along with the curator of the Capitol, on the status of the collections based on the prior year's activities. The curator of the Capitol and other related staff shall attend each committee meeting and shall assist with the formulation of the meeting's agenda. (c) Methods of acquisition. (1) The office of the State Preservation Board shall acquire the collections through purchase, gift, bequest, or any other transaction consistent with applicable state or federal requirements by which title to objects is transferred to the
board. The office of the State Preservation Board shall acquire objects unencumbered by conditions imposed by the owner, donor, consignee, or by the nature of the material itself, unless otherwise approved by the board. The curator of the Capitol will report to the board on new acquisitions and request the board's formal approval of the acquisitions at each meeting of the board. (2) Prior to a purchase, the office of the State Preservation Board will attempt to acquire the object or comparable material through gift, bequest, or transfer. Only items which the office of the State Preservation Board feels can be given proper care for an indefinite period of time will be acquired. Items known to have questionable provenance or title or obtained through illicit trade shall not be acquired. Only when the office of the State Preservation Board has determined to the best of its ability that material has been collected, exported, or imported in compliance with the laws
and regulations of the country of origin, of the federal government of the United States, and of individual states within the United States shall material be acquired by the board. The office of the State Preservation Board will conduct its collecting activities with a reasonable certainty that its approach is consistent with the spirit and intent of these laws and programs. (3) If it is determined that an object offered for acquisition is stolen property or has entered the United States illegally, the office of the State Preservation Board will report all pertinent facts, in writing, to the Collections Review Committee and the board. (d) Donation, bequests, purchases, and other transactions. (1) All donations shall be referred by the office of the State Preservation Board to the Collections Review Committee for advisory review and comment. Taking into consideration the comments of the Collections Review Committee, if a
donation is unencumbered and meets the purposes of the board, the office of the State Preservation Board may accept the material for receipt. If the item is encumbered in any manner, the donation shall be submitted for prior approval to the board. All encumbrances shall be stated clearly in an instrument of conveyance, shall be made part of the State Preservation Board permanent record, and shall be observed by the executive director and the curator of the Capitol of the State Preservation Board. Whenever possible donations should be accompanied by funds which will be restricted to an endowment for conservation of the collection. Applicable Internal Revenue Service rules related to donations shall be adhered to by all relevant parties. (2) In the absence of indication to the contrary, the State Preservation Board, the executive director, the curator of the Capitol, and the Collections Review Committee shall assume that all donors are sole owners and shall have no
responsibility for confirming ownership. In addition, if the donor possesses copyright to material, he shall be encouraged to relinquish and transfer to the board all right, title, and interest in copyright and transfer the exclusive rights of reproduction, adaptation, and distribution to the board. If this is not agreed upon, the material shall be treated as an encumbered donation. (3) The board reserves the right to accept or refuse any bequest of collection material or any part thereof made to it. In reviewing a bequest, the board shall follow the same procedures as for donations. (4) All items considered for purchase shall be referred by the curator of the Capitol to the Collections Review Committee for advisory review and comment. A written appraisal from a licensed appraiser shall be obtained by the curator prior to the purchase of items over $10,000 and otherwise as deemed advisable. Taking into consideration the comments of the
committee and the recommendations of the curator of the Capitol, the office of the State Preservation Board may purchase items under $10,000 given the availability of necessary funds. Items over $10,000 shall require the approval of the board prior to purchase. (5) The board may also acquire items through interagency transfer as provided by the Texas Government Code, §443.017, and other applicable state law. (6) Any other transaction by which title to material is transferred to the board shall be approved by the board upon the recommendation of the executive director of the State Preservation Board, the curator of the Capitol, and the advisory review of the Collections Review Committee. (7) Board members, staff of the State Preservation Board, or Collections Review Committee members shall not give appraisals, either of donations, of privately owned materials, or otherwise; however, upon request the curator of the Capitol
may suggest possible appraisers to the potential donor. In most cases, at least three appraisers should be suggested. (8) State law provides that in most cases all records of a governmental body are open to the public following procedures established under the Open Records Act. One exception to that rule is information pertaining to appraisals or the purchase price of personal property for public purposes prior to the formal award of the contract. (e) Deaccessioning. (1) The board may deaccession material in order to refine its collections and effect exchanges or purchases of material more in keeping with its purposes. All material considered for deaccessioning by the curator of the Capitol must be referred to the Collections Review Committee for advisory review, and then approved by the executive director of the State Preservation Board and the board prior to deaccession. No donated object shall be deaccessioned for any reason
for two years and one day after the date of its acquisition. (2) The procedures for deaccessioning material from the Capitol collections shall be consistent with those procedures established by Texas Civil Statutes, Article 601b. Items shall not be returned to donors. However, when applicable, the donor shall not be precluded from purchasing material if it is offered at public sale. The curator of the Capitol shall make a reasonable attempt to notify the donors of the material 30 days prior to any such sale. All monies received from the deaccessioning of material shall be placed in a fund restricted for acquisitions or direct care of the collections. (3) Prior to deaccessioning, the curator of the Capitol shall determine current fair market value of the material. Two independent appraisals shall be obtained for items valued potentially over $10,000. Cont'd... |
