n.the process by which an archives, museum, or library permanently removes accessioned materials from its holdingsHaas 1984, 52In order to inaugurate the deaccession process, the committee’s plans for disposition were discussed with each office of origin or donor.Greene 2002, 47As candidates for deaccession were identified, they were put in a holding file until there were about two dozen of them collected.v.to remove archival resources from intellectual and physical custodyGreene 2002, 37This is not the place for an extended discussion of mission statements and collecting policies—suffice it to say that it is difficult to make intelligent decisions about what to deaccession if it is unclear what should be acquired in the first place.Jackson and Thompson 2010, 672To decide which collections to keep and which to deaccession, the AHC needed to establish a more formal collecting policy.Lasewicz 2015, 67It is true that archivists exert some subjectivity in what they decide to accession and deaccession, but, for the most part, this aspires to be an objective process.SAA 2017b, 14At this point, the reappraisal process ends and the deaccessioning process begins. If a repository chooses to deaccession, there are typically four options for disposition: transfer, return to donor, sale, and destruction.
Notes
Materials may be deaccessioned because the repository has changed its collections policy and the material is no longer within its scope. Materials may be deaccessioned because they have been reappraised and found to be no longer suitable for continued inclusion in the holdings. Materials that are badly damaged and beyond repair may be deaccessioned.
