• Purpose Statement
• Definitions
• Acquisition Criteria
• Means of Acquisition
• Acquisition Stipulations
• Conflict of Interest
• Accessibility
• Deaccession Policy

Purpose Statement

A fundamental purpose of the Starr-Gennett Foundation, Inc. is to acquire and preserve materials and items for posterity that relate to the Starr Piano Company and Gennett Records of Richmond,
Indiana in order to promote and continue the legacy of the aforementioned companies.

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Definitions

Acquisition

is the discovery, preliminary evaluation, negotiation for, receiving permission to copy (in the case of documentary materials) or receiving ownership of, and taking custody of item(s) for addition to the collection of the Starr-Gennett Foundation, Inc. (hereinafter, “Foundation”).

Accessioning

is the formal process used to accept and record item(s) into the permanent collection of the Foundation.
Deaccessioning is the formal process used to dispose of item(s) from the collection of the Foundation.

Donor

is the individual, group, organization, or corporate body from which material is acquired by the Foundation by outright donation, purchase, or exchange.

The Collection

incorporates all the Foundation’s holdings including objects, reference materials, and reproductions.

Lender

is the individual, group, organization, or corporate body from which material is loaned to the Foundation.

Objects

include phonographs, phonograph records, phonograph equipment, phonograph record masters, pianos, piano rolls, factory equipment, photographs, personal and business correspondence, business and legal documents, marketing materials, and other select memorabilia as determined on a case-by-case basis by the Foundation.

Reference materials

include books, sound recordings, periodicals, articles, websites, and bibliographies relating to or investigating the above objects.

Reproductions

include facsimile or digital copies of the above objects.

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Acquisition Criteria

1. The object must fit within the above purpose statement.
2. The object must have the capacity for use in research and scholarly purposes and/ or for use in exhibitions.
3. The object must be in reasonable condition and must not require significant expense for treatment in order to make it useful unless such funds are pledged in writing by a donor.
4. The donor must have clear title.
5. Any related intellectual property rights must be turned over to the Foundation.
6. Any questions relating to the authenticity of the item or material must be resolved before acquisition.
7. The proposed acquisition should not unnecessarily duplicate any other item or material in the collection.
8. The Foundation must have resources to properly care for the proposed acquisition. This entails accommodation giving a suitable environment for the physical security and preservation of the collection.
9. The acquisition must fall into the above categories of object, reference, or reproduction. If a potential acquisition does not fall into one of the categories, the Foundation may sanction the acquisition on a case-by-case basis.
10. Acquisition should occur without donor restrictions. Potential acquisitions that are subject to special conditions may have to be rejected if the conditions proposed are judged by Foundation employees to be contrary to the long-term interests of the Foundation's fulfillment of its mission. Restrictions, if approved, should not extend beyond a stated time period; five years is suggested. Potentially sensitive material may require additional time.
11. No employee, agent, or member of the Foundation may obligate the acceptance of any materials not consistent with the intent or spirit of this "Statement of Acquisition Policy."

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Means of Acquisition

Gifts

1. The donating of worthwhile material to the Foundation is to be encouraged.
2. Those personnel in control of collection management are to evaluate the appropriateness of donations using this "Statement of Acquisition Policy" as a guide and are responsible for accepting or rejecting potential donations.
3. Gifts to the Foundation are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
4. The donor is responsible for initiating IRS Form 8283 and/or other necessary documents should he/she wish a charitable deduction for the gift.
5. The Foundation is only responsible for certifying receipt of the gift and cannot be responsible for appraisal.
6. For all gifts, a Deed of Gift agreement must be signed by the donor or the donor’s authorized representative and a Foundation employee. Objects will not be accepted, preserved, cataloged, or made available for use until a Deed of Gift has been executed.
7. The Foundation does not accept gifts in which legal title is not transferred. If a donor wishes to retain title to a possible acquisition, the item(s) or material(s) will be considered on a loan basis as detailed in the below section.
8. Accepting gifts upon which restrictions have been placed is to be discouraged. Foundation employees responsible for collections management should determine the appropriateness of accepting gifts with restrictions on a case-by-case basis.
9. Bequests will be processed as gifts.

Exchanges

1. Exchanges are treated as two separate collections management actions.
2. Incoming objects will be considered for acquisition in the same manner as other acquisitions and must be approved by personnel responsible for collections management before the exchange takes place.
3. If the transaction includes monetary exchange, the incoming object will be processed as a purchase, or the outgoing object will be deaccessioned, dependent upon the direction of monetary exchange.
4. Outgoing objects must be deaccessioned in accordance with the Foundation's stated "Deaccession Policy" included in this "Statement of Acquisition Policy."
5. Exchange is to be considered the most desirable method for disposal of items.

Purchase

1. Funds for a purchase must be in hand or secured in writing prior to buying item(s) or materials.
2. The Collections Fund shall be used towards the purchase of objects for the collection and the direct care of those objects, which is defined as the conservation of collection objects or the improvement of collections storage facilities.
3. A Bill Of Sale is to be completed and notarized, if possible, for all purchases.
4. Purchases under $500.00 may be authorized by Foundation employees responsible for collections management, but any purchase above $500.00 must be authorized by the Chair of the Archives Committee prior to acquisition.

Loans

1. Accepting objects on a loan basis is to be discouraged, especially in the case of long-term loans.
2. Loans may be accepted in the case of items that are of unusual importance to the collection.
3. The archives committee is to be responsible for authorizing any acquisition on a loan basis.
4. A Temporary Custody Receipt is to be completed and put on record for all loan items.
5. The lender is to specify the duration of the loan period on the Temporary Custody Receipt.
6. The lender is responsible for securing appropriate insurance for any item(s) on loan to the Foundation for the duration of the loan period as stated on the Temporary Custody Receipt.
7. The lender is to be notified well in advance of the termination of the loan period and to be given two months in which to retrieve the loan. If, after proper notice, a loan remains unclaimed, it is to become automatically the property of the Foundation, as stated on the Temporary Custody Receipt signed by the lender.
8. Unclaimed loans are to be processed as donations to the Foundation in accordance with the above section.
9. Foundation employees responsible for collections management are to handle requests for outgoing loans on a case-by-case basis. If authorization is granted for an outgoing loan, Foundation employees must ensure the safety and appropriate insurance coverage of all loaned objects for the duration of the loan period.

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Acquisition Stipulations

1. All acquisitions to the Foundation must be approved by the appropriate personnel, as detailed in the above sections.
2. Once an item is acquired, the Foundation is to obtain a legally signed muniment document.
3. Muniment documents include Bills of Sale, Deeds of Gift, Temporary Custody Receipts, and invoices.
4. After a clear transfer of title from the donor to the Foundation has been established, including both permanent and temporary transfers, the acquisition is to be accessioned and added to the object catalog after which the acquisition is considered an official part of the Foundation’s collection.
5. Proper conservation of the object is to be accomplished, including cleaning, treatment, if necessary, and storage. All necessary and possible measures are to be used to ensure the longevity of the object.
6. Efforts to accurately research all acquisitions should be made.
7. All documentation involved in the acquisition or disposal of material shall be retained in the Foundation’s records.
8. Materials will be retained permanently if they continue to be relevant and useful to the mission and purpose of the Foundation, and if they can be properly stored, preserved, and used.
9. Permanent disposal of materials may be considered when one or more of these criteria no longer prevail.

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Conflict of Interest

1. No person involved in the policy or management of the Foundation may compete with the Foundation for objects or take advantage of privileged information received because of his or her position.
2. Should a conflict of interest develop between the needs of the individual and the Foundation, those of the Foundation should take precedence.
3. Special care is also required in considering any offer of an item from members of the Board of Directors, employees, or the families or close associates of these.
4. No member of the Foundation staff (paid or volunteer) or Board of Directors may purchase objects that have been deaccessioned from the Foundation’s collection, unless the objects are publicly offered for sale.
5. Similarly, no member of the Foundation staff (paid or volunteer) or Board of Directors may appropriate in any way items from the Foundation’s collection, even temporarily, to any personal collection or for any kind of personal use.

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Accessibility

1. The Foundation’s collection is to be made available to the public using equal terms of access. Discrimination against or giving preference to any person seeking to access the Foundation’s collection is to be forbidden.
2. The Foundation is responsible for publicizing the collection to promote its accessibility. This may be accomplished digitally, through catalogs, through published guides, and with the assistance of staff members.
3. To protect and insure the continued accessibility of the Foundation’s collection, all objects must be used in accordance with the guidelines in this “Statement of Acquisition Policy.”
4. Accessibility is to be dependent upon the Foundation’s facilities and conservation efforts. If an object needs conservation attention or is being stored temporarily, the Foundation may limit access until such issues are resolved.
5. Access to fragile, unusually valuable, or unprocessed items may be limited on a case-by-case basis. Those personnel responsible for collection management should use their discretion in granting access to such items.
6. Any restrictions on accessible items are to be publicized.
7. Reproductions of objects are to be made available when the original object necessitates accessibility limitation.
8. The Foundation may refuse access to an individual who has demonstrated such carelessness or deliberate destructiveness as to endanger the safety of the collection, or to an individual who has violated the policies and regulations of the Foundation.
9. Access to the collections is to be free of charge.
10. Individuals are to be responsible for satisfying any copyright regulations when using or accessing materials.

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Deaccession Policy

1. Given the Foundation’s mission to acquire objects and keep them for posterity, deaccession of any item in the Foundation’s collection should be discouraged.
2. However, the following circumstances may necessitate the removal of objects from the Foundation’s collection:
   1. An item has been destroyed.
   2. An item is not relevant to the collection.
   3. The title of the item is in question.
   4. An item is dangerous to human health.
   5. An item is an inferior duplicate.
   6. The Foundation is unable to properly care for the item, which includes the inability to appropriately conserve the item.
3. All United States and Indiana laws relating to the disposal of collections must be upheld during the deaccession process.
4. The Foundation is to strive to ensure that any deaccessioned items remain in the public domain whenever appropriate and practicable.
5. The Foundation is to offer deaccessioned material first, by exchange, gift or private treaty sale, to other public repositories such as museums, archives, and libraries before sale by public auction or other means are considered.
6. If no public repository desires the object, the Foundation may sell the object, ensuring the sale is open to the public at large.
7. If an item is sold, all proceeds must extend only to the Collections Fund.
8. The Board of Directors is to authorize removal of any object or group of objects from the Foundation’s collection.
9. A Deaccession Form must be completed and kept in the Foundation’s records for all removed objects.

The Board of Directors is to review this “Statement of Acquisition Policy” every four years.

This “Statement of Acquisition Policy” is a public document.

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