Prehistoric Society Statement on
Research Access to Museum Collections
To all concerned
Please find attached a statement on the subject of Research Access to Museum Collections. A
growing number of reports of museums charging for research access prompted the Council of
the Prehistoric Society both to canvas opinion from outside and discuss the issue internally. As
a result Council felt moved to draw up a position statement for circulation to appropriate
bodies. We are deeply conscious of the financial difficulties that many museums have faced in
recent years and we hope that statements such as ours may be helpful in persuading politicians
and fund-dividers that squeezing museums to the point that they have to impose charges on
research is counter-productive. The importance of informing people about their heritage is
now widely recognised by government and funding agencies and any constraints placed on
researching the material remains of the past can only serve to diminish that aspiration.
Yours sincerely
Dr Alex Gibson
President
5 March 2015
The Prehistoric Society, Institute of Archaeology, UCL, 31-34 Gordon Square, London, WC1H 0PY, UK
www.prehistoricsociety.org I prehistoric@ucl.ac.uk
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