Disposal Survey
Two years on from the Museums Association’s (MA) revision of the Code of Ethics
and publication of the Disposal Toolkit, we are interested in what you think about
disposal now, and whether your views have changed in the last few years. Through
the Effective Collections programme, the MA will continue to provide support to
museums around disposal, so we would also like your input to shaping this work in
coming years. We would be grateful if you could spend a few minutes answering
some questions on the topic to help our research reflect your needs.
Your details: (optional)
Name …………………………………………………
Organisation………………………………………….
Job title………………………………………………..
1. Do you think that it should be an ambition for the UK’s museum collections to
be larger or smaller in 20 years time?
Larger 
Smaller 
Stay roughly the same 
1a. In 20 years time do you think your museum’s collections should be:
Larger 
Smaller 
Stay roughly the same 
2. How comfortable are you to undertake disposal?
(Please circle: 1=not at all, I have serious concerns, 3= fairly comfortable 5= very comfortable
and confident)
1
2
3
4
5
3. Please indicate how comfortable you feel undertaking the following parts of
the disposal process: (Please circle: 1=not at all comfortable, 2=slightly
apprehensive, 3=Fairly comfortable, 4=Confident, 5=very confident)
Establishing a collections policy
1
2
3
4
5
4
5
4
5
4
5
4
5
4
5
Designing a collections review
1
2
3
Selecting candidate disposal items
1
2
3
Ensuring legal considerations are met
1
2
3
Ensuring ethical considerations are met
1
2
3
Selecting an appropriate method of disposal
1
2
3
Approaching potential new locations/ advertising items
1
2
3
4
5
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4. Are there any stages in the disposal process that you find particularly difficult?
Please give details:
5. How much of a priority is disposal for your museum? (Please circle: 1=not at all,
2=low priority, 3=mid-priority, 4=important priority, 5=top priority)
1
2
3
4
5
5a. Following a collections review, how likely would you be to consider disposing
of the following categories of items? (Please circle: 1=not at all, 2=slight possibility,
3= possible, 4=likely 5=highly likely)
a. Hazardous objects
1
2
3
4
5
b. Objects that have difficult collections care requirements
1
2
3
4
5
c. Items of high financial value that fall outside of core collections policy
1
2
3
4
5
d. Objects that are duplicated in the collection of other Accredited
museums
1
2
3
4
5
e. Relatively common items with unknown provenance
1
2
3
4
5
6. To what extent does concern about public reaction stop you from disposing?
(Please circle: 1= not at all, 2=only slightly, 3=to some extent, 4= it is a concern, 5= it is a
great concern)
1
2
3
4
5
7. To what extent do you feel constrained by the possibility of a disposal
decision being regretted in the future? (Please circle: 1=not at all, 2= only slightly,
3=to some extent, 4= constrained 5= greatly constrained)
1
2
3
4
5
8. Would you expect to seek external support for your disposal decisions on
individual objects, e.g. from a subject specialist?
a.
b.
c.
d.




Always
Yes, in difficult situations
Unlikely
Never
9. To what extent would the following options provide you with further
confidence to undertake disposal? (Please circle: 1=no, not at all, 2=to a small
degree, 3=to some extent, 4=yes, would be useful, 5=to a great extent)
a. Subject-specialist support at the initial review stage
1
2
3
4
5
b. External validation to help make a final decision
1
2
3
4
5
2
c. Other (please specify)
10. Having given your views above, do you feel that your approach to disposal
has changed in the last three years?
Yes, more positive and confident

Yes, less confident and concerned

No notable change

If YES, please feel free to make any additional comments explaining this change:
11. Have you used the MA’s disposal toolkit?
Yes 
No 
If YES, how useful did you find it? (Please circle, 1=not at all, 2=parts of it were quite
useful, 3=generally useful, 4=useful, 5=very useful)
1
2
3
4
5
12. In your opinion, what are its main strengths?
13. Can you identify any weaknesses?
14. What else could the MA do now to support you in the process of disposals?
Thank you very much for taking the time to complete this survey. Your comments
and responses will help advise us on future revisions on disposal.
Please email your completed survey to: phoebe@museumsassociation.org
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