Best Practices for Managing Federal Museum Collections

Section C. - Manage for the Long-Term

C-5 Know the values associated with objects in your Federal museum collections [historic, aesthetic, scientific, and monetary values]

Federal accounting standards define Federal museum collections as heritage assets - Federal property valued for attributes other than monetary value

Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB)
http://www.fasab.gov/standards.html
FASAB Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards #29
http://www.fasab.gov/pdffiles/sffas_29.pdf

Researchers, educators, resource managers, historians, and art lovers appreciate federal museum collections for a wide variety of values other than monetary.

United States National Park Service (NPS)
Managing Archeological Collections from a Museum Perspective
http://www.cr.nps.gov/aad/pubs/techbr/tch13b.htm

Managing Archeological Collections: Access and Use
http://www.cr.nps.gov/aad/collections/coll_01.htm

National Science Collections Alliance
Bylaws (IIc)
http://www.nscalliance.org/about/bylaws.asp

Federal collections include many objects that would have a high market value if sold. Professional appraisers are generally required to determine current market value.

Appraisers National Association
http://www.ana-appraisers.org/index.shtml

National Association of Professional Appraisers
http://www.professionalappraisers.org/aboutus.html

American Society of Appraisers
http://www.appraisers.org/disciplines/personal.htm