Policies and Forms

Collections Policy
Read over our Collections Policy for a better understanding of how we acquire and maintain our collections.
Donation Worksheet
Each item submitted for consideration into the collection must be accompanied by a donation worksheet. This sheet provides us with complete donor contact information and a thorough history of the donation. *Please bring a completed Donation Worksheet for each item with you to the Museum at the time of donation.
Deed of Gift
A Deed of Gift (or Instrument of Gift) is the final paperwork in which you sign your donation over to the Wood County Historical Society. *An official Deed of Gift will be mailed to you once your donation is accepted into the collection.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why isn't my donation on exhibit?
Sometimes people get upset, assuming that if an item is not displayed, it is not appreciated.This feeling could not be further from the truth. The museum has a responsibility to provide the best possible care for every item accepted as a donation. As the collection grows significantly every year, we are unable to display every item in the collection at one time. Our goal, however, is to change exhibits more frequently, providing the opportunity for different artifacts to rotate in and out of displays.

How does the donation process work?
Every item donated to the museum goes through a process to learn as much as possible about every item and to make sure the museum secures the necessary legal paperwork to obtain ownership.

1. When an item is brought to the curator, he makes a preliminary judgment. If the item is not appropriate for the museum, it is declined.
2. If it is suitable, the donor fills out a Donation Worksheet which is submitted to the Collections Committee, a Historical Society board committee that makes the formal decision on whether to accept or decline items for donation . It is vital that the museum has a proper record of the donor’s name, address, and detailed history (provenance) of the item. Who did this belong to? How old is it? Where did it come from? What should we do with the item if we cannot accept it as a donation? Every scrap of information is valuable. The potential donation and Donation Worksheet are left at the Museum for review at the next Collections Committee meeting.
3. At the next Collections Committee, the curator presents each donation for consideration and the Committee discusses each in turn. As much as we would like to accept every item that is presented for donation, we are simply unable to do so.
4. After the committee has discussed each donation, a formal vote is taken. If accepted, the curator sends out a Deed of Gift (the formal transfer of property) for each item.
5. The donator must sign the Deed of Gift and return the form to the curator. At this point, the museum legally owns the item and can place it in storage for preservation or use it in an exhibit.

How does the Collections Committee select items into the collection?
Acceptance into the Historical Society's collection is based on several factors:

• Does the item fit within the scope of our collection? We are interested in Wood County and Northwest Ohio. If something comes to us that would be more appropriate for another county museum, we will forward the donation to them (with the donor’s permission, of course).
• Does the item add to our understanding of Wood County’s history?
• Does the item fill in a hole in the museum’s collection, or do we already have an example of this item? The museum only has so much storage space, so we can’t accept items that we already have.
• Is the information provided by this item available in another form? A good example of this would be newspapers. Since many newspapers are microfilmed and available at other institutions, it is unlikely the museum would accept them.
• Can the museum provide adequate care for this item or does it require special treatment? If an item is significantly degraded, the museum may not be able to take it. One goal of the museum is preservation, we must concentrate our limited resources on those items that we can reasonably care for. Storage issues must also be taken into account. If an item or collection is extremely large, the museum may not be able to accept it.

What happens to items that are not accepted into the collection?
When a potential donor fills out the Donation Worksheet, he or she will indicate how they would like the Museum to handle an item that is not accepted into the collection:

• to have the item(s) discarded. Discarded items will be sent to other historical organizations or local charities whenever possible.
• to be notified for pick-up of the item(s). A notification will be sent to you to pick up the item(s). If not picked up in two months, the item(sO will be discarded.
• to have the item)s) returned at your expense.

How does the Museum store artifacts?
The type of artifact determines where and how it will be stored:

• Delicate items, such as paper, books, maps, and photographs, are stored in the Museum archives on the second floor where we can control critical elements such as light and temperature. Paper artifacts are extremely sensitive to light exposure and temperature fluctuations, and if exposed for lengthy periods of time, will eventually fade and become brittle.
• Items that are too fragile to store in our archives may be transferred to the Center for Archival Collections (CAC) at Bowling Green State University. Items stored at the CAC receive state-of-the-art care and protection.
• The less sensitive pieces of our collection are stored in the attics, the former dormitory spaces in the days of the County Home. The attics are spacious enough to house large items, secure from unauthorized entry, and with the recent upgrades to our heating system, temperature stable. They also serve as a work area for the curatorial staff and interns to prepare future exhibits and provide the best possible care for our collections.
• Extremely large items such as tractors and fire trucks are secured in the Pole Barn, Hog Barn, and Corn Barn. Plans are underway to renovate the Hog Barn for more secure storage and possibly add a lean-to onto an existing structure to provide cover for large outdoor pieces.
• Collections are stored using professional standards which means the use of acid-free boxes or folders, buffering them with acid-free tissue paper, and wearing gloves when handling artifacts. The museum incurs great expenses in meeting these standards. For example, a standard archival quality box costs about $8.00 and the museum uses hundreds of these boxes. Despite this cost, we believe that preserving Wood County’s history is worth this investment.

It is inherently safer to store artifacts than to leave them on exhibit. While in storage, artifacts are protected from the damaging effects of light exposure, temperature and humidity changes, vandalism, and theft. Our specific goal is to save examples of life in Wood County from all eras over the long term. We are not content to preserve these items for 10 years, or even 50 years; it is our hope that visitors hundreds of years in the future can learn from our collections. To accomplish this goal we must work diligently to preserve our collections. Often, this means storing, not exhibiting, our donations. We take great pride in the care we provide for our collections, which is in excess of 23,000 items. Every artifact has a story to tell, and that story can only be told if the artifact is safely stored and preserved.

How can I find an item in the Historical Society's collection?
After an artifact has been accepted into the collection, it is assigned a unique identification number (accession number) that is entered into a computer database along with relevant information about the artifact. Curatorial interns works diligently to update the database to today's standards. If you would like to locate an item in the collection, please contact the Curator and allow 10 business days.

Is the Historical Society collection available to the public?
We often make our collections available to any interested person for research and study. Our alumni class photos are also popular items at class reunions. Please contact the Curator if you have a research request.

Does the Historical Society ever loan out artifacts?
Yes, at the discretion of the Curator. Our alumni class photos are popular items at class reunions. Please contact the Curator if you have a research request.

Who makes up the Collections Committee?
The Collections Committee is under the Wood County Historical Society Board of Directors. Committee members vary starting each calendar year [ more ]

How do I contact the Curator?

Randy Brown Museum Curator Wood County Historical Center & Museum 13660 County Home Road Bowling Green, OH 43402 419-352-0967 curator@woodcountyhistory.org

Preservation Presentations
Museum Curator Randy Brown is available for consultation of your preservation questions. Contact Randy for a personal meeting or a scheduled presentation, at our facility or yours.