MISSION STATEMENT

The primary mission of the USS SLATER/Destroyer Escort Historical Museum is to utilize the SLATER as an education platform to teach our youth and visitors about the contributions of the destroyer escorts in World War II and the postwar Navy, and to keep alive the history, spirit and technology of these vessels and the men and women who built and manned them.

To accomplish this we collect, maintain, display, and interpret artifacts and documents relating to the role of destroyer escorts in the United States Navy during World War II and the postwar years.  The primary emphasis is the authentic restoration and display of the destroyer escort USS SLATER DE766 in her 1945 configuration with all the equipment and artifacts she would have carried at that time.

Our emphasis is on involving Navy veterans as interpreters to interface with the visiting public and thus pass on their experiences firsthand to future generations. In addition to the educational benefits for our young, we provide opportunity and purpose to our senior citizen community.

CURATORIAL PLAN 

 The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum bases its curatorial plan on four main objectives.  These are:

1.       to restore, preserve, display, and interpret the historic Naval Ship, USS SLATER, as the last destroyer escort afloat in this country, in its June 1945, configuration. 

2.       to care for and add to its collection of artifacts relating to the history of the United States Navy’s destroyer escorts during the Second World War and the postwar era.  

3.       to display and interpret this collection; and 

4.       to be a center for the promotion of the public’s understanding of the United States Navy’s Destroyer Escort Force since 1941. 

In pursuit of these goals, the Museum seeks: 

1.       to preserve the USS SLATER and the equipment and artifacts associated with the ship in June 1945, configuration. 

2.       to acquire the finest and most significant physical artifacts relating to the United States Navy’s Destroyer Escorts. 

3.       to pursue research and scholarship in relation to the collection, as a contribution to knowledge of the history and development of the United States Destroyer Escort force. 

4.       to display and interpret to the public objects from the collection, as illustrative of the nature and history of the United States Destroyer Escort force. 

5.       to contribute knowledge and understanding of the contributions made and the role played by destroyer escorts during the Second World War and in the postwar Navy.                      

COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT POLICY 

ACCESSIONS

A.  Definition and Scope

In accordance with our Mission Statement, the primary consideration for accessioning artifacts will be their relevance to U.S. Navy destroyer escort operations in World War II and the postwar years. To aid in the initial task of accessioning and cataloging the collection, the collection will be prioritized into three (3) categories for accessioning, display, and storage. 

Category 1 will consist of the most environmentally sensitive and delicate artifacts and documents.  These include uniforms, photographs, documents, and books relating to destroyer escort operations.  These will receive priority for accession and a climate-controlled storage area will be provided for them on, or off the ship to best of museum’s ability. 

Category 2 artifacts will consist of metal or ceramic objects that have a known provenance and can be related to a specific destroyer escort but are less subject to deterioration.  Initially these will be cataloged and stored in non-climate-controlled storage aboard ship. 

Category 3 artifacts will consist of generic items of personal and shipboard equipment which would have been carried aboard SLATER, but whose historic affiliation has been lost.  There are presently several thousand such items aboard.  This will be considered shipboard equipment and used in the restoration, interpretation, and display of SLATER.  Initially, no attempt will be made to accession these items until the category 1 and 2 artifacts have been cataloged.  The exception to this will be equipment that is determined to be exceptionally rare or unique.  Category 3 items will often be used for public touch and feel exhibits. 

The acquisition process may be initiated by the Director or Collections Manager.  The determination for acquiring an artifact will be based on one or more of the following criteria:  

1)   The object is relevant to the Museum’s Mission Statement.

2)      The object is unique to the collection.

3)      The object is in danger of being lost, destroyed, or damaged if it is not acquired.

4)   The object is deemed necessary to the display, interpretation, or long-term restoration, repair, and maintenance of the SLATER. 

Upon acquiring an object, the Collections Manager, in discussion with the Director, will make the determination of what category the object belongs to and thus whether it is to be accessioned. The Museum may acquire additions to its collection by gift, bequest, exchange, purchase, trade, or other transaction for which title to the object passes to the Museum.  Acquisitions should support the objectives of the Museum as outlined in its Mission Statement and the Collections Management Policy. 

B.   Ethics 

The Museum subscribes to the principles of the American Alliance of Museum’s “Code of Ethics for Museums,” 1993. 

Museum staff members shall not compete with the Museum in any personal collection activity. 

In compliance with current Federal Income Tax regulations, Museum staff members are prohibited from providing donors with appraisal services.  Museum staff members may, however, recommend qualified independent appraisers. 

Objects are acquired for the collection only when the Museum can provide for their storage, care, security, and preservation under conditions in keeping with professionally accepted Museum standards. 

C.   Mechanics 

Good quality and physical condition are primary considerations in acquisition.  An object of inferior quality or physical condition will be considered if it is the only object relating to a significant vessel, person, place, event, or activity in destroyer escort history, or if there is a clear need for the accession as determined by the Collections Manager or Director.  A commitment to prompt conservation shall be made when acquiring objects in poor physical condition. 

A donor or seller transferring property to the Museum must certify true, rightful, and legal ownership, or be the agent of the legal owner of that property.  The signing of a legal instrument of conveyance must document the transfer of ownership of objects acquired by gift or exchange.   A bill of sale or other similar record must document acquisitions acquired by purchase. 

Any proposed purchase requires the approval of the Director and Collections Manager. 

Proposed acquisitions with physically hazardous attributes, donor-imposed conditions, or restrictions of any kind will not be accepted except under extraordinary circumstances as defined by the Director or Collections Manager.  No acquisition, whether proposed or currently part of the collection, is guaranteed to be on display at any given moment.  

DEACCESSIONS

A.  Definition 

Deaccessioning is the process used to permanently remove an object from a museum’s collection. 

A systematic deaccessioning program is a legitimate part of a museum’s collection management policy designed to refine and improve the quality and appropriateness of the collection.

B.   Ethics 

Members of the Museum staff are bound by the Code of Ethics of the American Alliance of Museums regarding their actions in a deaccession. 

An object from the Museum’s collection may be deaccessioned only for the following reasons: 

a)       The object is no longer relevant to the purposes and activities of the Museum.

b)      The object is redundant.

c)       The object has deteriorated beyond usefulness.

d)      The object has been severely damaged or contaminated.

e)       The object cannot be properly cared for by the Museum.

f)       The object is found to be a forgery or reproduction.

g)      The object has been stolen and has not been recovered.

Deaccessioned objects may be disposed of by: 

a)       Transfer to ship’s equipment/education collection

b)      Gift to another museum or similar institution.

c)       Sale at a public auction.

d)      Respectful destruction.

All proceeds realized from the sale of deaccessioned objects shall be used solely for new acquisitions and/or the direct care of the Museum’s collections.

C.   Mechanics 

The deaccession of an object may be initiated by the Director or Collections Manager. The Collections Manager is responsible for completing the Recommendation for Deaccession Form that is approved by the Director for action. If the deaccession is approved by the Director, the Collections Manager shall receive the original signed and dated Recommendation for Deaccession Form and will proceed to make the necessary arrangements for the final transfer or disposal of the object.  As a courtesy, the Collections Manager may contact the donor regarding the deaccession. 

LOANS 

A.  Authority 

The authority to approve the loan of materials to or from the Museum rests with the Director and Collections Manager. 

The Collections Manager bears primary responsibility for supervising the loan activities of the Museum.  The Collections Manager will maintain all written documentation and will oversee activities regarding expenses incurred for the loan and subsequent billing, research, insurance coverage, facility reports, customs, packing and unpacking, condition reports, handling, exhibition and storage environment, shipping dates and instructions, and monitoring of the loan until its final return to the Museum. 

B.   Incoming Loans 

Due to limited space and display capabilities, the Museum will not accept incoming loans for the purposes of special exhibition, research, or consideration for accession.  The Museum will not accept incoming loans solely for deposit or storage purposes, nor will it accept open-ended loans. 

C.   Outgoing Loans 

Outgoing loans will be made for non-profit educational or scholarly purposes to any institution or organization that will agree to meet specific requirements as stated by the Museum in writing.  Non-museum borrowers (e.g., governmental agencies, private corporations, etc.) may borrow objects only for educational, not decorative, purposes, and will be held to the same specific requirements as other borrowers. 

The Museum must have clear title to an object to consider that object for outgoing loan.  The object under consideration must not be encumbered by restrictions inhibiting such a loan.   

The Collections Manager will start the outgoing loan approval process by completing the Outgoing Loan Worksheet and circulating it to the Director for signature of approval or denial.  The signed Outgoing Loan Worksheet will be returned to the Collections Manager who will notify the potential borrower in writing of the Museum’s decision regarding the loan request.  If the loan is approved, an Outgoing Loan Agreement Form will be sent by the Collections Manager to the borrower for completion and signature.  The Outgoing Loan Agreement Form must be countersigned by the Collections Manager before an object is released to the borrower.

D.  Unclaimed Loans 

An unclaimed loan is an object that has been held in a state of limbo by the Museum.  The owner is either unknown or cannot be located and, lacking clear title, the Museum is compelled to store and care for an object which is neither a documented loan nor an accession.  The Museum will make every effort to return to the owner or authorized agent, or convert by due process of law, any unclaimed loan left in its care.