Collection Policy

COLLECTION POLICY
As well as adopting a Restoration Policy, the Trustees have recently adopted a Collection Policy. Here it is:
The Trust is always pleased to be offered items for addition to its collection. NEMT would love to be able to accept every offer but, unfortunately, the resources available are severely limited and every potential gift has to be assessed.The Trust is concerned that it must acquire and maintain its collection in a responsible manner.
To ensure this the Trust has to:

1. Be sure that it can keep the items safe from theft, weather, fire.
2. Be able to protect the item for a long term of very many years.
3. Know that title (ownership) is with the Trust, or some other body or person – provided that if they retain title they guarantee and prove the item to be free from threat of destruction or damage or disposal to an insecure home.
4. Know that the item has relevance to the Trust’s core objectives which broadly relate to north east maritime heritage.
5. Know that through acquiring a particular item no future acquisitions will be threatened through space (and other resources) having been consumed by this item.
6. Be certain that the cost of acquiring and protecting an item is equitable to its importance.

In furtherance of the above the Trust will consider whether the protection given to any item offered to it, is sustainable; if not, the Trust will look at alternative options elsewhere and if none is available it may be necessary to reluctantly decline the acquisition of the item in question.

Once an item has been accepted into The Collection it must be recorded in an Acquisitions Register. Such register must record the following:

1. Name and address of donor or lender.
2. Any terms, covenants etc. applied by or through the donor or lender
3. Description.
4. Where stored.
5. Any protection and maintenance requirements.

In addition to the above, it is desireable to add an assessment of the item’s history/relevance/rarity/vulnerability/importance. It is also desireable to record any conservation/restoration undertaken.