DISCOVER / DONATE TO THE COLLECTION

What should be preserved for future generations? We welcome your suggestions! Thank you for considering the Museum’s Permanent Collection as a repository for your historical and culturally-relevant possessions.

Due to liability, the Museum cannot accept items without prior notice. Please do not bring or mail items to the museum unless specifically directed by collections staff.

If you would like to contribute an object, document, or photograph to the Museum’s permanent collection, please review the following collection guidelines.

THE MUSEUM COLLECTS:

• Boulder-related items (from any time period). Highest priority is given to items with a clear and specific association (provenance) to some significant aspect of the Boulder area.
• Non-Boulder items that support the Museum’s mission to showcase inclusive community stories, preserve them for the future, and inspire all of us to effect positive change.

Suggestions for acceptance (accession) into the permanent collection are reviewed by the Museum’s Curators, Staff, and Collection Committee members (or a combination thereof) who consider these criteria:

1. Historical Significance: Does this object tell the story of an important moment in Boulder or Boulder County history?
2. Uniqueness in Our Collections: Do we have other similar or identical objects in our collections? Do we need a grouping of this object type to tell its story?
3. Uniqueness in Similar Institutions: Do two or more similar institutions have similar or identical objects in their collections? How does this object’s condition compare to those pieces? How easy would it be to borrow from one of those institutions?
4. Relevance to the Mission: Does this object showcase inclusive community stories, help preserve a particular story for the future, inspire all of us to effect positive change, reflect our community, and/or act as a resource for better understanding history and current times?
5. Representation of Diverse Stories: Was this object made, owned, or used by a person from a Boulder community currently underrepresented by our collection?
6. Condition: How would you define the condition of this object (Poor, Fair, Good, Very Good or Excellent)? How costly will this object be to store, to repair, to prepare for display or loan? Could it go on display, or be loaned as is? Does it need conservation work?
7. Value for Future Scholarship, Exhibition or Loan: Do we have historical context for this object?

The Museum cannot provide appraisals. Valuation is the donor’s responsibility.

If you would like to contribute an object, document, or photograph to the Museum’s permanent collection, please email us at collections@museumofboulder.org.