13 Tex. Admin. Code § 10.4 - Reappraisal and Deaccessioning of Items

(a) The commission recognizes the need for periodic reevaluations and thoughtful selection necessary for the growth and proper care of collections. To maintain the integrity of the State Archives holdings, items may be reappraised by staff to determine if they still meet professional appraisal criteria and comply with the agency's acquisition policy. Items that do not meet professional appraisal criteria and are not in compliance will be considered for deaccession.

(b) Deaccession may be appropriate for items:

(1) That were never appraised or are not subject to archival review according to the creating agency's approved records retention schedule;

(2) Whose retention period has changed from permanent to nonpermanent according to the creating agency's approved records retention schedule;

(3) That are duplicates of other items in the State Archives if such duplicates are found in records of a separate state agency or in a separate non-state agency collection;

(4) That are reproductions of archival materials owned by other individuals or repositories;

(5) Whose condition has deteriorated to a point that they are unstable or endanger staff or other items;

(6) The agency cannot properly access or store;

(7) That are permanently closed, in whole or in part, by the creating agency;

(8) That do not meet the requirements of the agency's current acquisition policy; or

(9) Approved on a case-by-case basis for deaccession for other reasons not listed above.

(c) Items may only be deaccessioned if a majority of the Deaccession Workgroup votes to recommend deaccession and the state archivist approves. The state archivist will notify the director and librarian prior to final approval of deaccessioning of items.

(d) The agency will determine the appropriate method by which to dispose of a deaccessioned item, which may include, but is not limited to the following:

(1) Items may be transferred to a repository with an appropriate collecting scope;

(2) Items that are state records will be destroyed by the agency;

(3) For any other non-government records, the agency will make a reasonable effort to locate the original donor to return the deaccessioned item, unless the donor claimed a charitable donation tax deduction. To return a donated item to the original donor:

(A) Donor(s) must sign a written acknowledgment attesting to the fact that a tax deduction was not claimed;

(B) If the donor is deceased, any claimant requesting return in lieu of the donor must present a notarized statement that he/she is either the sole party at interest or authorized to represent all parties at interest, along with providing supporting proof; and

(C) If the original donor cannot be located, these items may be offered to another repository or destroyed;

(4) Any item whose condition could endanger individuals or other items will be destroyed; and

(5) The sale of any deaccessioned materials will be approved by the Commission and the funds will be used to preserve state archival records and other historical resources and to make the records and resources available for research.

(e) If an item or collection of items approved for deaccession has been logged in the accession log as "on loan" to the agency or has unknown provenance, staff will follow the procedures in Property Code, Chapter 80 (relating to Ownership, Conservation, and Disposition of Property Loaned to Museum) regarding ultimate disposition of the item or items.

(f) Upon deaccession, the agency relinquishes title to the object or collection, except in the case of theft or loss. If deaccessioning is due to theft or loss, the agency will retain title to the item for the state in case it is ever recovered.

Notes

13 Tex. Admin. Code § 10.4

Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 48, Number 09, March 3, 2023, TexReg 1293, eff. 3/6/2023; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 49, Number 09, March 1, 2024, TexReg 1261, eff. 3/6/2024