Deaccessioning at the Galt

Military jackets hang in the Galt’s collections.

Photo by Galt Museum & Archives.

Lethbridge—Since its earliest years, the Galt Museum & Archives has collected and preserved artifacts. As its collections have grown and evolved, the Galt's mandate for collecting objects has become focused on "preserving the human history of Lethbridge and southwestern Alberta." However, many artifacts donated before the current collecting mandate do not demonstrate those regions and connections. 

In 2010, the Galt's staff began actively reviewing the collections and assessing objects that do not fit the collecting mandate of southwestern Alberta. Staff identified numerous objects in the collection that could be "qualified for deaccession."

“Deaccessioning is the standard practice for museums to carefully consider which objects to remove from their collections and why,” says Collections Technician Kevin MacLean. “When museums have artifacts within their collections that do not fit their collecting mandate or share the stories of the region they serve, those objects may be considered for deaccession. The deaccessioning process often helps museums refine and focus resources on the collections that are directly relevant to the histories of the communities they serve.”

Some objects in the collection are identified for deaccession because they lack sufficient historical context, while other objects better represent the history of other regions and communities.

“There is a careful and deliberative process set up for deaccessioning objects in a sensitive and thoroughly documented manner,” explains Executive Director Darrin Martens. “The Galt’s Collections Committee reviews all the objects that staff identify for deaccession. The committee includes representatives from the community, and their recommendations are reviewed and evaluated by the Galt's Board of Directors. The Galt follows industry best practices set by the Canadian Museums Association for deaccessioning. This means that the formally deaccessioned objects are first offered to other public museums in regions relevant to the history of the object.”

“For example, a Royal Flying Corps jacket was donated to the Galt in 1997,” says Collections Assistant Kirstan Schamuhn. “The donor told the museum staff that it had belonged to their father, Henry Wamsley ‘Pat’ Welch who served in the First World War. After researching Pat Welch extensively, we discovered that Welch moved to Lethbridge between 1936 and 1952 after his military service ended. While the jacket can be a useful object to connect visitors and researchers to Canadian military history, it is not the history of the area covered in the mandate of the Galt.

“However, our research revealed that Pat Welch had direct ties to the town of High River. Welch was born in High River in 1897 and was the grandson of the first physician in that town. We reached out to the Museum of the Highwood in High River to inform them of the deaccession. The Museum of the Highwood wrote back that they would be interested in having the jacket transferred to their collections to tell Pat Welch’s story.”

By conducting collections reviews and subsequent deaccessioning projects, the Galt's staff continue to fulfill the mandate to "inspire our communities to engage in the human history of southwestern Alberta, together, preserving and sharing collections and stories."

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This media release can be found at www.galtmuseum.com/news.

Media Contact:

Graham Ruttan (he/him)
Marketing and Communications Officer
Galt Museum & Archives | Fort Whoop-Up
graham.ruttan@galtmuseum.com
403.320.4009