Deaccession
Deaccessioning is the formal process by which a museum, library, or archive permanently removes an object or item from its collection. It is the institutional equivalent of deciding to sell, transfer, or destroy a holding — and it is among the most contested decisions in collections management.
What It Is
Accession means to formally add something to a collection. Deaccession is the reverse: the institution decides that a particular item no longer serves its mission, is redundant, is too costly to preserve, or is better held elsewhere — and removes it from the permanent collection through a defined process.
The deaccession process in reputable institutions is not casual. It typically requires review by curatorial staff, approval by a collections committee, sign-off from the board of trustees, and adherence to the institution’s deaccession policy. Professional associations — the American Alliance of Museums, the Association of Art Museum Directors, the Society of American Archivists — have published standards governing when and how deaccessioning is appropriate.
The proceeds question is where professional ethics become acute. Museum ethics codes generally restrict the use of funds from deaccessioned objects. The American Alliance of Museums permits proceeds to be used only for the acquisition of other collection objects, or — as an allowance added during the COVID-19 pandemic period — for direct care of the collection. Using deaccession proceeds for operating expenses, building funds, or general institutional needs is considered an ethical violation by most professional bodies, though it has occurred at financially distressed institutions.
Etymology
Accession entered English from Latin accessio — an approach, an addition — and was applied in library and museum contexts to mean adding an item to a formal collection. Deaccession is a back-formation, adding the prefix “de-” to create the opposite action. The term appears in professional literature from the mid-twentieth century and has no common usage outside collections management contexts.
A Concrete Example
In 2020 and 2021, several prominent American art museums — including the Brooklyn Museum and the Baltimore Museum of Art — deaccessioned works from their permanent collections, including pieces by significant artists. The stated purpose was to fund acquisitions that would diversify their holdings. The decisions drew substantial criticism from AAMD members who argued the sales violated ethical guidelines, particularly because some proceeds were directed toward operational purposes in addition to acquisitions.
Common Misconception
Deaccessioning is often assumed to mean selling. Sale is the most common and most visible form, but institutions may also deaccession by transferring an object to another institution, returning it to a donor or their heirs, or — for objects with no conservation or research value — destruction. A museum might deaccession a deteriorated object that cannot be conserved rather than sell it. The decision to remove from the permanent collection and the decision about disposition are technically separate steps.