Acquiring
2018 Constantine S. Niarchos Expedition to Wyoming: Uncovering the Late Jurassic. Denis Finnin/© AMNH
Museums use different methods to build their collections. The one that most people think of when we talk about collecting is excavation, but museums also obtain specimens through exchanges, loans, gifts, and even purchases. If you are a private collector, there are some locations where you are allowed to collect certain kinds of fossils; there are also some legitimate places where you can purchase fossils. However, there are also places where fossils are specially protected or where collecting is not permitted at all.
No matter how you acquire your fossils, it is essential that they are obtained legally. If you are collecting them yourself, then you almost certainly will need to obtain permission from someone first, whether a private landowner or a state or federal agency. If you are getting the fossils from someone else (as a gift or a purchase) then you need to be certain that person or organization had the appropriate permission to collect, and that they have genuinely and legally transferred the specimen to your ownership through sale or donation.
It is especially important to have thought about why you are collecting and what sort of specimens you will collect. This will help you decide whether a specimen would be a good addition (i.e., does it help you build a deeper collection, maybe with a specialty in a certain kind of specimen, or does it add a kind of specimen that you are lacking?). In museums, these principles are usually set out as part of a collection policy. Where rare or scientifically important specimens are concerned, you should consider whether you are really the best person to care for the specimen and to make it accessible for study or whether it should be in an accredited museum or university collection.
In order to become an official part of a museum collection a specimen must be accessioned, which makes the museum the legal owner and responsible for the care and preservation of that fossil. Whether it is held in a public or private collection, having the right paperwork to record the history of discovery and acquisition of the specimen should be as important as the actual fossil itself. This information is known as the specimen’s provenance.
For more information on what happens after a museum collects and accessions a fossil specimen, see the section on Storing.
Types of Acquisitions
Most institutions have a collections policy that, among other things, sets out some of the basic rules for what is acquired, as well as how and why.
The policy may stress that efforts should be concentrated on broadening the variety of fossils in a collection or specializing in a certain type of specimen (e.g., vertebrates or invertebrates). A collection policy can limit collecting to only excavated specimens or specify a ceiling on the price paid for specimens that are purchased. The goal of the policy is to make the best use of available resources to create a collection that best meets the aims of the institution. If you are a private collector, you may not need a written policy but it’s a good idea to think about the principles that will guide your collection decision-making.
Download an example of an acquisition policy from the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University.
Whether you are collecting for an institution or yourself, all acquisitions must be legally obtained. Some issues that institutions should consider when acquiring specimens for their collections include:
- Are the specimens relevant to the scope and purposes of the institution’s collections?
- Can the institution provide for the storage, protection, and preservation of the objects under conditions that ensure their availability for institutional purposes and that are generally in keeping with professionally accepted standards?
- Can the objects remain in the collections as long as they retain their physical integrity, their authenticity, and their relevance for the purposes of the institution, or until it is decided that they should be deaccessioned for other purposes?
Private collectors should also consider whether they are in a position to make scientifically important specimens available to other users, over both the short and long term. This is a responsibility that museums typically accept when they acquire material for their collections. While there may be no legal requirement for private collectors to make their specimens accessible, it is generally a good thing for any paleontologist, whether amateur or professional, to promote responsible use of their collections.
Special Circumstances for Acquisitions
Under certain circumstances, such as when the material has been acquired from federally-owned land, it may not be possible for an institution to formally accession the material, because the government agency concerned cannot grant title to the museum. Provided that permission to collect the material has been formally granted, documentation has been gathered to support the collection and storage of materials, and agreement has been reached with all relevant parties, an institution can act as a repository for this material, treating it as a long-term loan or acting as caretaker.
For more information on acquisitions and Native American Lands consult 36 CFR 79: Curation of Federally-Owned and Administered Archaeological Collections or Managing Archaeological Collections.
Copies of any relevant documents that describe the current ownership of the specimen (e.g., collecting permits) should be kept on file, along with any receipts. If the specimen is being obtained from someone else, adequate documentation of legal collection, acquisition, and ownership will be an important factor in making the decision to incorporate the specimen into your collection.
Fossil specimens can be acquired in several ways: by purchase; as a gift; through exchange; or by carrying out field excavations.
These Collection Management resources were originally developed in 2007 with the support of the National Science Foundation (NSF).
