Collections Policy
Korean War Veterans National Museum and Library
Formally adopted on September 30, 1997 by the Board of Trustees
1. The scope of the collections is to be consistent with the spheres of interest described in the Statement of Purpose of the Korean War Veterans National Museum and Library, found in the Articles of Incorporation and the Constitution. Collecting is to be directed toward the history of the Korean War, the country of Korea as it pertains to the war, and the history of the United Nations involvement in the Korean War. Items collected should include printed material, manuscripts, documents, photographs, three-dimensional objects, and ephemera illustrative of life, conditions, events and activities of the past and the present pertinent to the Korean War.
2. The donating of worthwhile material to the museum by individuals, organizations, governments, and countries is to be encouraged. Arrangements have been made to have gifts deductible from taxable income in accordance with the provisions of the United States Federal Income Tax Act.
3. A donation is to be treated as a gift outright to the museum, and this fact is to be made known on any acknowledgment forms issued. All donations must be accompanied by a deed of gift. At no time will an agent for the Korean War Veterans National Museum and Library act as appraiser for gifts received into the collection. Appraisal is the sole responsibility of the donor.
4. Once a donor signs a release form for gifts, the Board of Trustees is free to dispose of any item on the advice of the museum director at a subsequent date should that object be found to be no longer appropriate to the stated purpose of the Korean War Veterans National Museum and Library. Surplus items, with Board approval, may be exchanged for desired items, or disposed of by sale, the monies realized to be placed in a fund for the purchase of appropriate objects for the collection, or for the direct care and conservation of objects already in the collection. Surplus items may also be transferred from the main collection of the museum into a special educational collection.
5. The Korean War Veterans National Museum and Library does not encourage accepting objects on a loan basis. An exception may be made in the case of items that are of unusual importance to the museum. Short-term loans for special exhibits, such as those in the temporary exhibits gallery, may be accepted if accompanied by a loan release. The care and protection of loan item(s) is the responsibility of the Korean War Veterans National Museum and Library.
6. The Korean War Veterans National Museum and Library will not guarantee to exhibit any object accepted for the permanent collection. In addition, the Korean War Veterans Museum and Library will not guarantee that all items in the gift will be kept together physically both in the files and on display. It is possible that the name of the donor or some designated relative will not be included prominently in displays which include the gift.
7. The Korean War Veterans National Museum and Library may accept a wide scope of materials for the museum library. These items should include books that give the researcher a perspective of the American, Allies, and Korean history which is pertinent to the Korean War. The museum may also accept reference books which provide historical information about the Korean War era. Other materials acceptable for the library include, but are not limited to: movies, photographs, slides, video tapes, audio tape recordings, maps, documents, and ephemera associated with the Korean War and its participants. Material in the museum library should be used in a scholarly manner to help communicate to the public--through exhibits, symposia, lectures, and programs--the significant events and participants of the Korean War.
8. Collecting worthwhile items for the museum may be the active concern of a number of the staff and trustees. However, the actual selection of artifacts for the collections will be the responsibility of the Accessioning Committee, with the Board of Trustees making the final decision on accepting or rejecting an item for the collection.
9. The Korean War Veterans National Museum and Library shall create and maintain an educational collection separate from the main collection of artifacts. Objects in this collection will be used to educate the general public about the Korean War. Such items may be used in traveling exhibits and in other ways to promote a better understanding of the Korean War through the use of three-dimensional artifacts.
10. The gauge for determining acceptance and retention of any item is to be the importance and relevance of that item to the stated purpose and mission of the museum. An object's physical condition, as well as other factors determined by the Accessioning Committee will also serve as guidelines for the acceptance or non-acceptance of objects into the museum's collection.
11. The approved museum registration system is to be followed in promptly recording all artifacts added to the collections.