Current through September 24, 2024
A.
Code of Ethics:
The Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Department of
Archives and History approved a Code of Ethics on January 28, 2005. All Museum
Division staff members, which includes the curator, will adhere to this Code of
Ethics. Board members and staff members must refrain from any private or public
activity which might be in conflict with, or appear to be in conflict with, the
mission and interests of the Governor's' Mansion.
B.
Personal Collecting:
1. Staff shall not use his/her position to
obtain for personal use and benefit items falling within the collecting realm
of the Museum Division.
2. No
individual shall be involved in buying and selling historical articles for
profit as a dealer, or on behalf of a dealer, or retain an interest in a
dealership.
3. Staff shall not
compete with the Museum Division in any personal collecting activity. If items
purchased by a staff member fall within the collecting areas of the museum,
they must be offered to the museum within sixty (6) days at the actual cost of
the artifact.
4. Staff shall notify
the Museum Division director in writing of all personal collecting and if
asked, shall supply an inventory of items in their collection. If a staff
member elects to sell an item from his/her personal collection, he/she will be
expected first to offer the item to the Museum Division at a fair market
price.
5. Staff involved in
accepting artifacts and/or the daily activities of the Governor's Mansion
(department director, Museum Division director, director of curatorial
services, and the Mansion curator shall not acquire personal collections of the
same nature as the Governor's Mansion collection. This policy excludes readily
available books and materials relating to Mississippi history.
Collections acquired by staff through gifts, through
inheritance, or prior to employment, as well as those not within the mission of
the Museum Division, shall be exempt from this policy.
C.
Appraisals:
1. Due to a possible conflict of interest
with the Internal Revenue Service, staff members shall not, in their official
or unofficial capacities, provide monetary appraisals of objects for donors,
potential donors, staff, members of the MDAH Board of Trustees, or the general
public. The Governor's Mansion may provide names of appraisers but shall not
provide an endorsement. The Governor's Mansion may provide identification and
authentication assistance for professional and/or educational purposes
only.
2. Appraisals of objects
owned by the Governor's Mansion can be made for internal use such as insurance
coverage. The Governor's Mansion shall contract with objective and qualified
appraisers as needed.
Miss. Code
§§
39-5-6,
39-5-21
(1972, as amended).
