It’s spring cleaning time at the Princeton Museum.
For the first time in its history, the museum will undergo a process of deaccessioning.
According to manager Terry Malanchuk it’s an enormous undertaking that will end with a yard sale.
“There is lots of stuff in the archives that is not pertinent to Princeton. These are things we are trying to clear out so we can make room for things that are pertinent.”
The museum basement is bursting at the seams with donations and acquisitions, he said, and not all of them have historic or local value.
“I’ve been piling stuff up and it is already too full and I keep finding more,” he said.
For example, volunteers are tripping over pieces that were once used in an Egyptian exhibit.
“We ended up getting stuck with a whole lot of the things. They are all reproductions and they have no real value and they take up a lot of real estate.”
Other donations were sourced from different countries and cultures - some are gifts that were acquired from residents who travelled.
“Finally, when the library moved out they left a lot of books here as well. We don’t want them. We’ve got to get them out and they have no business being in a museum.”
Malanchuk said deciding what should stay or go is straightforward.
“Oh yeah, that’s the easy part.”
However, he added, a three-person committee will have the final say.
“No one person can make these decisions.”
The time consuming job will be following the rules for deaccession - contacting original donors to see if they want their artifacts returned, and even tracking down family members if the donor is deceased.
If a person or family declines to take an item back, it must then be offered to other museums.
“It’s a pain in the neck process but it has to be done…Whatever is left over after a reasonable period of time is made available to the public.”
While other museums rid themselves of donations on a regular basis “this museum has never done this so it’s coming on something fierce.”
Malanchuk said the board is planning a yard sale - likely for the Canada Day weekend - to sell off whatever is remaining that the museum cannot use.
“There are lots of things that are really cool and I hope we can sell them off to Princetonites.”