Society Documents

Eagle County Historical Society

Museum Collections and Exhibit Policy

April 2023

ECHS Mission Statement: The Eagle County Historical Society is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to educate Eagle County residents and visitors about Eagle County’s rich history. To that end, the society will maintain archives that are available to the public, operate a historical museum, and offer educational programs and special events related to the county’s history.

Collection Policy

Purpose: The ECHS collection preserves and documents the history of Eagle County, providing interpretation for historic sites, programs, and users. Artifacts and two-dimensional collections are acquired, preserved, researched, and exhibited to foster an understanding of local history and to increase knowledge for ECHS and the public.

Collection Scope

All museum collection donations and acquisitions must be relevant to the ECHS and its mission.

• Geographic scope: The ECHS collects artifacts (2 and 3 – dimensional) from within Eagle County. Artifacts from neighboring counties (Garfield, Pitkin, Summit, Routt, Grand and Lake) may also be collected when relevant to telling Eagle County history.
• Chronological scope: Collections include artifacts from prehistoric people (before the Ute presence) through present day.
• Physical scope:
  • Photographs: Slides, photographic prints, born digital and digital-only images, lantern slides, film negatives, glass plate negatives.
  • Objects: Three-dimensional items including textiles, artwork, framed photographs, and geological objects (rocks, crystals, etc.).
  • Library: Books, theses, government publications, yearbooks, city directories, telephone directories and other types of reference material.
  • Archives: Written material including manuscripts, newspapers, oral history tapes, tape transcripts, scrapbooks, videotapes, films, DVDs, maps, magazines, periodicals, and artwork.
  • EVLD: Per agreement with the Eagle Valley Library District [see attached], the two-dimensional collections of the ECHS are housed at and preserved by the Eagle Public Library’s Local History Department. The ECHS determines which two-dimensional collections are maintained and made accessible to the public by the EVLD. Generally speaking, paper artifacts go EVLD, which has better capacity for preserving and cataloging these items for public availability.
• Responsibilities: The ECHS, to the best of its ability, safeguards all collections and maintains established procedures for acquisitions, accession, documentation, handling, storage access, conservation, exhibit, research, loan, insurance, and deaccession.

Museum Curator

The ECHS does not currently have a curator but recognizes the importance of this position. The ECHS Board of Directors is urged to pursue such an employee as circumstances allow.

Curator responsibilities:

• Primary responsibility for accepting and reviewing donations.
• Approving purchases.
• Managing collections and collection storage.
• Ensuring the appropriate use of the collections in exhibits and by the public.
• When a curator is not on staff, the ECHS Board of Officers, staff and appropriate volunteers perform the listed duties.

ECHS Archivist

The ECHS recognizes the importance of this position. Currently, a highly qualified volunteer is handling professional archivist functions. The ECHS Board of Directors is urged to pursue such an employee as circumstances allow.

Archivist duties:

• Ensure donated artifacts are correctly catalogued.
• Maintain artifact records in the Past-Perfect data base.

Acquisition Policy

General criteria for evaluation of an item to be acceptable for the collection. The item considered should:

• Directly document the social, cultural, political, or economic history or prehistory of Eagle County [as defined in Geographic Scope] and, on a more selective basis, the State of Colorado, and the American West [including ethnographic and archaeological material].
• Be in good physical condition unless (a) it has such outstanding historical value to otherwise make it desirable to add to the collection or (b) its condition can, under Society guidance, be brought to an acceptable level.
• Be capable of storage, protection, and preservation by the ECHS under conditions that ensure availability for research and exhibit.
• Be subject to documentation of its provenance.
• Be subject to review for transfer of intellectual property rights.
• Be compatible with the scope of collection.
• If a donation must be turned away, museum staff may make suggestions about where the donor might find a suitable repository.

Exhibit Policy

Museum Exhibit Goal: Our goal in creating exhibits is to move beyond the simple of display of objects to a philosophy emphasizing use of artifacts, photos, and text  to tell stories and educate the public. Exhibits also reflect market demand, relevancy, and budget. Exhibits should entertain as well as educate. Priority is to tell Eagle County-specific stories. Consistency in signage is essential to a professional presentation.

We acknowledge that improvement of exhibits is a multi-year, gradual, collaborative process requiring input from the ECHS Board, museum employees, ECHS members, and the general public .

Exhibit Guidelines:

• Exhibits must be relevant, accurate, concise, and effectively communicated.
• Establish clearly defined objectives for each exhibit and evaluate the artifacts, photos, and text accordingly.
• Use appropriate expertise which may include museum staff, board members, volunteers, community members, consultants, or professionals.
• Thoroughly research exhibit.
• Written material must be reviewed and approved by an informal committee before becoming part of the exhibit. The committee collectively should have a mix of local history knowledge, a sense of what interests the public, and editing skills. Proposed text can be reviewed via email in order to keep the process moving.
• All written material will be checked for accuracy and edited for clarity and length prior to posting.
• The ECHS will seek both in-house and outside training for planning, designing, researching, and developing exhibits.
• The museum will offer a variety of interpretive methods including guided tours, educational programs, dramatic portrayals, scavenger hunts, etc.
• Some specific hands-on exhibits are encouraged, particularly for younger visitors.
• Permanent exhibits may be enhanced and re-invigorated by periodically swapping out artifacts with materials in storage.
  • Museum exhibits need to be changed periodically to encourage local interest.
  • No donation will be placed on permanent exhibit.
  • No artifact is guaranteed display during any given year.
  • Museum staff and the EHS Board will periodically review the exhibits and set priorities for upgrades or revisions.
• Donor’s names are not a required part of the artifact display.
• A portion of the museum’s annual operating budget will be allocated for exhibit maintenance and development.
• Temporary exhibits may be displayed both in the museum and off of the premises.
  • Museum staff and ECHS Board of Directors will select temporary exhibits.
  • Off-site exhibits will serve as a form of out-reach. Locked cases, environmental controls, and light exposure will be considered when authorizing off-site exhibits.
  • All artifacts used off-site will have temporary locations adjusted in catalog records.

Because the focus is Eagle County- specific, the museum may offer visitors suggestions and/or website links for  other museums should they want to further explore another historic site.

These museums may also by an appropriate repository for non-Eagle County artifacts rejected by ECHS. This information should be easily sharable by the museum docents.

• Colorado Ski & Snowboard Museum, Vail
• History Museum, Red Cliff
• Mining Museum, Leadville
• Ute Museum, Montrose
• Colorado Railroad Museum, Golden
• 4 Rivers Historical Alliance
  • Regional historic sites
  • Informational “historical tourism” maps to hand out
  • Walking Mountains Science Center, Avon
  • Dinosaur Journey Museum, Fruita
  • Museum of the West, Grand Junction
  • The Museum at Dinosaur Junction, Edwards
  • White River Museum, Meeker.
  • Aspen Historical Society Sites
    • Wheeler/Stallard Museum
    • Holden/Marolt Mining & Ranching Museum
    • Ashcroft and Independence Ghost Towns