How do you define direct care? What's included in acquisition costs?
Museum standards and ethics dictate that funds from the sale of deaccessioned collections be used for acquisition or direct care/preservation of collections. Many are confused by the term "direct care."
The American Alliance of Museums is conducting an online survey to find out what museum professionals, from a broad range of functions and types of museums, personally think should be included in the definition of these terms. The survey also asks about current museum practice regarding deaccessioning and the use of proceeds. The Alliance's cross-disciplinary Direct Care Task Force will use the survey results to provide guidance to the field on generally accepted uses of proceeds shared by all disciplines and those specific to each discipline.
The survey is open now and will remain active until March 4. It should take 15–20 minutes to complete. The majority of the questions ask for your personal professional opinion, not the stance of your museum. A few questions ask about your museum's policy; you'll want to have your collections management policy at hand. (Or you'll have the option to skip these questions.)
