National Occupational Standards in
Archaeological Practice

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AG3 Acquire and dispose of archaeological items and collections

AG3.1 Establish criteria and procedures for acquisition and disposal

Performance Required

This will involve:

1. Reviewing the acquisition and disposal policy of the organisation alongside other relevant sector guidelines
2. Ensuring the criteria clearly outline the circumstances in which items can be acquired or disposed of
3. Establishing procedures for identifying the condition of an item
4. Establishing clear priorities for different methods of disposal
5. Identifying and clearly specifying the resources available
6. Specifying clearly the limits of authority for acquiring and disposing of items
7. Ensuring the acquisition and disposal procedures collect and recording all details required by the organisation
8. Establishing procedures for monitoring and reviewing the acquisition and disposal criteria

Occuptional Context

1. Organisation
   • museums
   • universities
   • local government archaeological units
   • central government archaeological units
   • independent archaeological organisations
   • private collections
   • public collections

Knowledge Requirements

You need to know and understand how to:

• Specify criteria and procedures for acquisition and disposal
• Set spending limits and other resource constraints
• Confirm standards of care for items
• Evaluate the effectiveness of procedures

You need to know about:

• The acquisition and disposal policies of the organisation
• National guidelines on the selection, retention and dispersal of collections
• The factors that need to be included in the criteria and procedures for acquisition and disposal
• The criteria and procedures that are needed for all the main types of acquisition
• Who should be aware of the criteria and procedures
• The information that is required during acquisition and disposal
• Relevant codes of ethics which refer to acquisition and disposal
• Why it is important to develop clear criteria for the acquisition and disposal of items

Required Skills

You should demonstrate:

• How to identify the condition of items
• How to determine priorities for different methods of disposal
• How to establish procedures for monitoring and reviewing acquisition and disposal criteria

Evidence Required

You should provide evidence that you can establish criteria and procedures for acquisition and disposal

The candidate should be questioned, based upon the documentation provided, to explore how they:

• establish criteria and procedures for acquisition and disposal.

Evidence Rules

The candidate should have been involved in negotiating the transfer of rights over items and collections on at least 2 occasions.

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Today's date: 22/11/2008
This page last updated: 27/7/2007 15:16