Donating an object to Biggar & Upper Clydesdale Museum
Biggar Museum Trust is very grateful to those who donate items to Biggar & Upper Clydesdale Museum. If you have an item that you wish to donate and it meets our collecting policy then please complete an object donation form, this will then be brought to the attention of the curator.
Thereafter the Trust may invite you to bring your object into the museum and if it decides to accept the donation you will be asked to complete relevant paperwork, transferring ownership to Biggar Museum Trust. The Trustees of Biggar Museum Trust are obliged to make sure that every acquisition is in line with its collecting policy, and that we have the resources to conserve and store donated objects appropriately. If the Museum cannot accommodate your gift, we may be able to suggest an alternative recipient.
Please note that Biggar Museum Trust follows national and professional standards for object entry into the Museum, and therefore only allows trained curatorial staff to accept items. In no circumstances can any object be left at the front desk of the Museum without the permission of Biggar Museum Trust’s curatorial team. Please note that if any object is left at the Museum then the Trust retains the right to dispose of the object if not collected within three months.
Object Donation Form
Summary of Collecting Policy
The aim of the collection is to be representative not comprehensive. Consideration must be given to storage and how new acquisitions will be used by the Museum in future. Objects will only be acquired for a specific reason.
The main reasons for collecting items will be:
- they have particular significance to the geographical area of Biggar and Upper Clydesdale (specifically the parishes of Biggar, Carmichael**, Carnwath**, Coulter, Covington, Crawford*, Libberton, Pettinain**, Roberton, Symington, Walston, Wandel and Lamington, and Wiston).
- they have the potential for display or education
*Collecting from this parish will be restricted to archaeology in order to respect the interests of other museums whose collecting areas overlap with our own.
** Collecting from these parishes will be restricted to items that relate to our existing collections and will give due consideration to the collecting policies of other museums within these areas. Any potential acquisition from these parishes will be discussed with other relevant museums.
Secondary reasons for collecting items are:
- they will aid research
- they are significant in relation to their field
- they fill gaps in specific areas of the collection
- they will illuminate other areas of the collection.
The Museum maintains the right to refuse items offered for its collection whether by gift or bequest, although it will endeavour to suggest other museums as appropriate. The Museum will not accept duplicate items unless they are of particular relevance. Many aspects of the collections are considered complete or no longer relevant and, in particular, the following items will no longer be collected, except in exceptional circumstances: large agricultural items, Victorian night dresses, christening robes, mutches, hats, fur coats and stoles, gas masks, cobbler’s lasts, gas lamps, hot water bottles, bibles, weights, china, domestic applicances, typewriters, sewing machines, irons, mangles, tools, and school equipment and schoolbooks.
