Statement of Purpose: SHS Collections

The purpose of the collections of the Sanbornton Historical Society, incorporated in October 1952 by the Secretary of State of New Hampshire, is to fulfill part of Article II of the Society by-laws, "Purposes for which the Society is formed:"

b)"to collect and preserve historical and educational material including antiques, histories, genealogies, directories, newspapers, manuscripts, pamphlets, dairies, letters, account books, charts, maps, documents, and whatever may relate to the life, conditions, and activities of the past and present of the Town of Sanbornton , including the original land grant."

c) "To organize and preserve such historical and educational material (social, economic, religious, political), and so far as practicable, to make such material available for examination and study by those who may so desire, and particularly the inhabitants of the Town of Sanbornton." The Sanbornton Historical Society collection serves, therefore, as the collective historical memory of the Sanbornton community."

Adopted April 1989, updated 26 June 2006

Policy Statement of the SHS Collections Committee

1. Accessions, or collections, of the Sanbornton Historical Society shall pertain to Sanbornton; its past, present, and to the state of New Hampshire. The SHS collections will primarily focus on the years 1700-1950.

2. The Collections Committee shall be responsible for appropriate acquisition, recordkeeping, storage, and preservation of the collections, with provision by the society of the materials and Space necessary for those purposes. Items will not generally be accessed if the SHS cannot appropriately store/display the items.

3. The Collections Committee shall have jurisdiction over all records pertaining to the collections of the Society; all records shall be kept in designated space at Lane Tavern. The borrowing of items must be recorded.

4. Donors shall present items to any member of the Collections Committee, and shall sign accession forms, supplying the following information whenever possible: history of the item, including previous ownership; quantity; value; physical condition; dates of manufacture; whether item is a donation or a loan; any restrictions.

5. If the donor is unable to sign accession forms, a deed or will shall be legally acceptable instead. Items donated anonymously are legally acceptable.

6. Written acknowledgments of donations shall be made by the Collections Committee chair, or his/her designate.

7. Donated items shall be appraised for monetary value by the donor, not by the Society, as is required by the IRS.

8. The Collections Committee may decline to accept an item of questionable relevance to the Society's statement of purpose.

9. Material, monetary, and service donations shall be accepted for preservation and storage costs of the collections, including the preservation of Lane Tavern and Currier Exhibit Building as the Society's premier artifacts.

10. The Collections Committee shall be aware of state statutes regarding the disposition of town and state documents.

11. The Collections Committee may recommend to the Governing Board the de-accession of items in the Collections when deemed necessary, by sale, gift, or transfer.

12. If or when the Society Governing Board votes to de-access an item, the Society will attempt to inform the donor of this action.

13. The collections and records of same will be open to all interested persons on request; by appointment only with a member of the Collections Committee.

14. The Society may request reimbursement for services rendered in doing historical research, such as photocopying, postage and handling.

15. Researchers may be directed to other sources when requested information is not available in the Society collections, such as the Town Office (municipal records are open to the public,) area churches and libraries, other historical societies, the New Hampshire State Archives, the NH Historical Society, etc.

16. This policy shall be reviewed by the Governing Board of the Society for re-evaluation every year, with recommendations from the Collections Committee.

Adopted 26 June 2006

This document maintained Jack Potter, 603-528-1990, info@shakerwoodsfarm.com.
Shaker Woods Farm at Point Comfort, 8 March 2008