(a) Purpose.
(1) The State Preservation Board sets as its purpose 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).
The board will encourage study of its collections including publications concerning
the objects, and will maintain the highest ethical standards in its interpretation
of the collection.
(2) In order to assist the board in carrying out the purpose
of this policy, a collections review committee composed of five members, will
be formed, whose specific qualifications, appointments, and duties are further
defined in the Capitol collections management manual. The collections review
committee will be abolished on September 1, 2002 unless the board affirmatively
votes to continue the existence of the committee.
(b) Types of collections.
(1) It is recognized the Capitol is primarily a functioning
building and not a museum. As a historic structure it is appropriately the
repository for a limited number of original or period objects of the highest
quality and significance to the history of the building or the State of Texas,
or appropriate to the early period of the Capitol's history (circa 1880-1920).
(2) Unlike museums, however, that are equipped and designed
to maintain secondary research or exchange collections, the board will only
maintain a primary Capitol collection including paintings, furnishings, sculpture,
decorative arts, and other related artifacts. The board will acquire only
artifacts that are appropriate to the purpose of the Capitol collections policy.
Objects that do not meet the standards noted in paragraph (1) of this subsection
may be referred to other state or appropriate depositories.
(c) Methods of acquisition.
(1) The board shall acquire its 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.
(2) The 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 office of the State Preservation
Board will report to the board on new acquisitions and request the board's
formal approval of the acquisitions at each meeting of the board.
(3) The board may accept loans from individuals, institutions,
organizations, or foundations only if they enhance the purposes and activities
of the board. Loans will only be accepted for display or use in buildings
or on grounds which are under the jurisdiction of the board. As a general
rule, the board shall not approve the loan of items from the Capitol collection.
(4) In addition, the board maintains the right to deaccession
items from the collection. Only material that is no longer considered relevant
or useful to the purposes of the board will be considered for deaccessioning.
(5) To deviate from any of the policies will require the
advisory review of the Collections Review Committee and the approval of the
executive director of the State Preservation Board, curator of the Capitol,
and the board.
(d) Care and documentation of collections.
(1) The curator of the Capitol is responsible for the care
of the collections. Appropriate maintenance, security, and conservation procedures
shall be developed and followed.
(2) Proper records on collected material, permanent or
loan, shall be maintained by the curator of the Capitol, and a report to the
board on the status of the collections will be made on an annual basis.
(e) Capitol collections management manual.
(1) A Capitol collections management manual in §111.18
of this title (relating to Capitol Collections Management Manual) shall be
developed by the curator of the Capitol to effectively carry out the guidelines
contained in the Capitol collections policy.
(2) The collections management manual shall expand the
contents of the collections policy by detailing specific procedures for acquisitions,
deaccessions, and loans. Complete accessioning, cataloguing, care, and conservation
procedures shall be outlined in the manual.
(f) Standards of conduct, other Capitol collections and related
materials, revisions to the policy.
(1) As a general policy, all parties shall adhere to the ethical
guidelines recommended by the American Association of Museums. No member of
the board, the office of the State Preservation Board, the Collections Review
Committee, or any other individuals specified by the board shall personally
receive, directly or indirectly, any favor, promise, or thing of value which
could or appear to induce, discourage, or influence a recommendation, decision,
or action affecting accessions, deaccessions, loans, exhibitions, or activities
related to the Capitol collection. All parties shall demonstrate a good faith
effort to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.
(2) While the board does not have complete location control
over certain historical artifacts used in legislative members' offices in
the historic Capitol, all other aspects of the collections policy and collections
management manual apply to all such artifacts.
(3) Any revisions to the policy must be referred to the
Collections Review Committee for advisory comment and approved by the office
of the State Preservation Board, and the board.
(4) Upon recommendation of the Collections Review Committee
and the curator of the Capitol, the board may approve exceptions to this policy.
(g) Items in the Capitol collection, unless on loan or in storage
as provided under these rules, shall be located in the Capitol, except that
portraits originally identified with the supreme court or the court of criminal
appeals initially displayed in the Capitol after 1915 shall be located, at
the particular court's discretion, in the present quarters of the court to
which the item is identified. An item located at the direction of a court
remains part of the Capitol collection and is subject to preservation and
protection by the board.
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