[BCMA] Looking for advice: private library collection donations

Fri May 8 11:16:39 PDT 2026

Good morning Michael,

We have also dealt with a very large book collection at the Museum & Archives of Vernon, and based on our experience, I would be cautious about accessioning all of the books unless there is a compelling reason to preserve the collection as a whole for contextual or provenance purposes, as Petra mentioned.

We recently completed a major book deaccessioning and weeding project that took over two years, including substantial volunteer time. Many of the books had never been fully catalogued with DDC numbers or added to our library database, and with a large portion stored on back shelves, they were not easily discoverable or actively used. Over time, the library became quite unwieldy and occupied space that could otherwise have been used more effectively.
Our approach was to retain books with strong local relevance, significant provenance, or clear research value connected to our mandate.

In your case, I wonder if keeping a representative selection tied to the donor as a collection may be more practical than retaining the entire library intact, unless there is a particularly strong reason to do so.

We were fortunate to work with a local rare books dealer who accepted materials outside our collecting priorities in exchange for a donation to the institution. Depending on the terms of the original donation, there may be a similar option available locally that could help reduce the burden of storage and processing while still benefiting the Sidney Museum & Archives.

Best,

Gwyneth Evans (she/her)
Archives Manager
BAHons, MLIS
[cid:image001.png at 01DCDEDC.227708B0]
I would like to respectfully acknowledge that I am sending this email today, as well as working, living, and playing, on the Traditional, Ancestral, and Unceded territory of the syilx People. As a visitor on this land, I strive to deepen my understanding of the local Indigenous communities, including the syilx and secwepemc People, and I commit to reframing my responsibilities to land and community.

From: Listserv <listserv-bounces at lists.museum.bc.ca> On Behalf Of Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv
Sent: May 6, 2026 1:49 PM
To: listserv at lists.museum.bc.ca
Subject: Re: [BCMA] Looking for advice: private library collection donations

Hi Michael,

Ouf, I empathize with your situation.

It sounds like your peers think the entire collection tells a story that should be kept together. However, I get the impression that the collection's provenance is questionable.

Some things I am wondering about the collection: Do you know much about the donor? Was it donated by a prominent community member? (Ie. someone with specialist knowledge who utilized these books in their work.) Does removing some titles negatively impact the context? Is the context known or just assumed? Is the donor still alive and can they review it with you to contextualize the seemingly irrelevant titles?

It's a complex issue, but I think you are right to turn to your collections policy. Every item we accept into our collections requires time, space, and materials - precious resources that ultimately cost money. If the material does not fit the criteria laid out in your policy, is it a responsible decision to retain it?

Best of luck,
Petra

On Wed, May 6, 2026 at 11:58 AM Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv <listserv at lists.museum.bc.ca<mailto:listserv at lists.museum.bc.ca>> wrote:
Good morning BCMA colleagues,

Sidney Museum has for a while now been tasked with processing a large collection of books, donated several years ago by a single donor that was evidently their personal library collection.

We now need to decide how we want to approach dealing with this collection,which consists of at least ten bankers' boxes filled with books ranging from Canadian history to old Sears' sales catalogues. We don't have an abundance of available storage space, either in our museum or archives collections rooms. What's more, many of the books have no direct connection with our collecting mandate in and around the Saanich Peninsula. So, as per our Collections Policy, we don't have a concrete justification to accession them even if we did have ample room.

There are some misgivings among our collections personnel on breaking up the collection (i.e. accessioning those that are relevant, and transferring the rest) vs. accessioning it all and then reviewing later.

If anyone has run into a similar challenge and found a workable solution, I would love to hear from you!

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Best,
Michael Goodchild

--
Michael Goodchild, BA, MMST.
Executive Director,
Sidney Museum & Archives
He/His

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We respectfully acknowledge the Sidney Museum & Archives has been shaped by the colonial history of Canada, and is located in Sidney/SETINES on the traditional territory of the W̱SÁNEĆ People, including the BOḰEĆEN (Pauquachin), SȾÁ,UTW̱ (Tsawout), MÁLEXEŁ (Malahat), W̱JOȽEȽP (Tsartlip) and W̱SÍḴEM (Tseycum) First Nations. We understand that territory acknowledgment is just one part of Reconciliation, and the museum continues to work towards other ways that we can participate in Reconciliation alongside Indigenous communities.
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Petra Höller (They/She)
Curator
Summerland Museum and Archives
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The Summerland Museum and Archives respectfully acknowledges
that we are situated on the unceded and ancestral territory of the Syilx Peoples.

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