Robin Pogrebin unveils the confusing rules, guidelines, and ethical structures meant to discourage museums from selling their collections, as the Philadelphia History Museum auctions artifacts to raise money for million dollar building renovations in the article, “Museum Sells Pieces of Its Past, Reviving a Debate.”

“With budgets shrinking in a bad economy, the pressure to generate revenue is growing along with fears that museums are squandering public trusts meant to preserve the artifacts of the past for future generations.

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‘This rapidly becomes a slippery slope,’ said Derick Dreher, the director of the Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia. ‘What museum director wouldn’t be tempted to say that air-conditioning is absolutely crucial for care of collections? Heating, humidification and dehumidification, similarly. But if we go down this road, we end up paying our gas, electric and water bills — classic operations costs — with deaccessioning proceeds.’

But, some argue, museums sometimes have to pare down their collections to remain viable.

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Some museum professionals say the institution should have been more transparent about its sales, explaining what it was selling and why.

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Others say the scope of the sales is troubling. ‘The motivation appears to be liquidation, rather than preserving the embedded knowledge and experience that these artifacts bring,’ said Kenneth Finkel, lecturer in American studies at Temple University who briefly served as deputy director of the museum. ‘Decisions made by donors and curators and libraries become the legacy. And the decision to deaccession stupidly is also a legacy.'”