122 Clinton Ave.

Cortland, NY  13045

ACCESSIONING POLICY

The following shall be the policy of this museum, through its appointed representatives, to collect historical objects pertinent to and influenced by the Order of Patrons of Husbandry in New York State. Objects presented to the museum for inclusion in and for its collection shall be examined by the collections committee or qualified representative of the Board of Trustees. A majority of the committee shall agree upon the selection of an object before it is formally accepted into the museum's care and keeping. The following policy shall govern when accepting an object:

1. All pieces presented to the museum for inclusion in the museum's collection shall be freely given over to the museum. All claims to ownership of an object shall pass to the museum upon the objects acceptance by the museum's collections committee. Any deviation from this policy shall be the responsibility of the museum's Board of Trustees, present and voting.

2. All items to be considered for addition to the museum's collection must be accompanied by a suitable and satisfactory provenance. Items presented without such documentation will not be considered acceptable for the museum's collection until such documentation is presented.

3. No proposed acquisition shall be encumbered by intellectual property rights, which shall include copyright, patent, trademark or trade secret; or by its nature be construed as obscene, defamatory, potentially an invasion of privacy, or physically hazardous.

When questions regarding any aspects of the collections policy arise, it shall be the responsibility of the collections committee to present a formal statement of the particulars to the museum's Board of Trustees. The presentation of particulars shall be made within 30 calendar days of the discovery of the impediment.

Furthermore, the following criteria should be considered when an item is considered to acceptance into the museum's collection:

1. Will its presence result in any major future expense for the museum, such as, conservation, preservation or special maintenance, or open a new realm of special collecting.

2. Is the item so unusual that it presents exceptional opportunities to the museum warranting special consideration.

3. Can proper care be given to the object, whether in display or storage without undo expense to the museum; and would it require special insurance to cover its loss by fire, theft, or natural disaster.

4. Can the object be utilized in the near future or is it being collected primarily to save it from the clear and present danger of loss due to neglect or undo prospect of physical damage.

5. Can the objects acceptance insure that the piece will be assigned to a particular collection, period group, or interpretive period setting. If this requirement can not be met, the object's viability to the museum's mission statement should be questioned, the collections committee should recommend that the object not be accepted.

6. If appraisal of an object before acceptance is justified, the museum shall contract with an outside, and disinterested, registered professional appraiser. At no time shall the museum or any of its trustees or members at large become the appraiser of an object for collection. Donors of objects of interest should be advised of this policy at the time of contact concerning the intended donation.

From time to time, there will be special cases concerning donations of objects, items and pieces, at such time it shall be the collections committee's responsibility to review the collections policy and recommend specific changes to the board of trustees. Until a new collections policy has been adopted or that collection policy changes have been established governing the collection of artifacts for the museum, this collections policy shall be the museum's guide in all its collection transactions.

DEED OF GIFT

Accession #____________________

Date Received__________________

Name_____________________________________

Street_____________________________________

City State ZIP______________________________

Telephone_________________________________

The items described below have been received by the New York State Grange Museum as a gift by the owner (or owner's agent with full authority) desiring to absolutely transfer full title by signing below, hereby gives, assigns and conveys, finally and completely, and without limitation or reservation, the property described below to the New York State Grange Museum and its successors and assigns permanently and forever, together with (when applicable) any copyrights therein and the right to copyright the same. The trustees of the New York State Grange Museum shall have the right to exhibit, loan or dispose of, or otherwise deal with the item(s) described below in what is deemed to be in the best interest of the Museum.

ITEM(S) & DESCRIPTION(S)