Considerations Before Deaccessioning or Disposing of Paleontological Specimens

Extract

MUSEUMS HAVE always disposed of unneeded material, and the practice is an important means to keep collections functional and organized. However, it also is a potentially dangerous activity that should be undertaken only as a last resort and not used as a simple way to make collections management more convenient. This is especially true for catalogued or well-labeled specimens, but even “poorly-documented” specimens may have considerable importance. There are numerous examples of collections that have been damaged and irreplaceable material that has been lost to science through poor disposal choices, regardless of the deaccessioning methods used.

Methodology and guidelines for deaccessioning fossil materials are presented in DeMouthe et al. (this volume). However, they provide limited information about the preliminary work and policies required to properly identify material that can be disposed of safely. The following is a brief summary of some of the important considerations required to reliably determine the soundness and suitability of specimen disposal plans.