The Brockville Museum’s collection grows thanks to the generous support of individuals and businesses who offer for donation objects and stories relating to Brockville’s history. Please review our Collection Policy (click here) for details on the types of objects we collect, including current collecting priorities. Only objects with a strong Brockville story will be considered for the collection.
Do not send or drop off your objects or archival material to the Museum until requested to do so by Museum staff.
Process for offering an object to the museum:
- Fill out and submit the Offer of Donation Form online or contact the museum Collection Coordinator by email or phone (613-342-4397 ext 6226) to discuss alignment with the museum’s collecting mandate
- The Collection Coordinator will take the information to the Collection Committee for review against the museum’s collecting mandate and priorities; the Committee will make a decision (please note: the Committee meets twice per year)
- After the Collection Committee meeting (please allow up to a month), the Collection Coordinator will get back to all potential donors with the committee’s decision
- If your object offer was accepted, you will be able to make an appointment with the Collection Coordinator to drop off the object(s) along with a deed of gift form
Note: this process can take over six months from start to finish; we thank you in advance for your patience.
To be considered at our next Collection Committee meeting, please submit your offer of donation form no later than Sunday, November 29, 2026. Offers received after that date may have to wait until late spring 2027.
Why is the process this way?:
Every object we accept is acquired with the intention of permanence. This means that by accepting an object into our collection, we are committing to caring for that object forever. Although there are mechanisms available to remove an object from the collection under specific circumstances, the intention is always permanence, and not just that we will hold on to it forever, but that we will keep it in the condition in which it came into our care (prevent deterioration) forever. This requires more than just a shelf or box, it requires specialized training and tools. For every decision to acquire an object we must consider these responsibilities as stewards of an ever-growing collection. Our procedures reflect the weight of this commitment.
Expand the following FAQs to learn more:
Why a Collection Committee and why only two meetings a year?
A volunteer Collection Committee works with museum staff to make considered decisions about new acquisitions. The museum defers decisions to the Collection Committee rather than a single staff member to ensure multiple perspectives, community representation, reduced bias, and balanced decision-making. The committee generally meets twice per year (May and December), giving staff time to research and process each of the hundreds of annual offers and to respect the time of our volunteers.
For accepted objects, the Collection Coordinator completes donor paperwork, catalogues and photographs each item, and arranges suitable storage. Acquisitions are only one part of the Collection Coordinator’s responsibilities. Consolidating this work into two periods each year is currently the most practical way to prevent backlogs, provide proper care for accepted objects, and balance other responsibilities. The museum is working towards reducing the wait time as resources allow.
Why do objects stay with their owners until they are accepted?
Potential donors are asked to keep their objects until a decision is reached by the Collection Committee. Once an object enters the museum’s custody, we are responsible for its care, even if it is not ultimately added to the collection. Asking the donor to hold onto the object until a decision is reached allows us to focus our staff resources and available space on caring for the existing collection.
Why so much paperwork?
The donation of an object to a museum is a legal transfer of title; our procedures reflect this. The initial offer of donation form provides the museum with information on the object so that the Collection Committee can make an informed decision about how the object meets the museum’s collecting mandate and priorities. Once an object is accepted, the donor will be asked to sign a deed of gift form finalizing the legal transfer of ownership.
How many objects are offered to the museum annually?
The number of offers, acquisitions, and declines vary annually. There are no targets or quotas. (Note that “objects” include photographs and documents).
- 2025: acquired about 243 objects from 36 donors; 49 objects were declined.
- 2024: acquired about 175 objects from 38 donors; 47 objects were declined.
- 2023: acquired about 416 objects from 35 donors; 82 objects were declined.
- 2022: acquired about 179 objects from 52 donors; 54 objects were declined.
We appreciate that this process can feel burdensome, but the museum receives hundreds of offers annually and we aim to treat every offer with the same care and thoughtfulness. These procedures are in place so we can treat every potential donor fairly while balancing the museum’s capacity and responsibilities.
We appreciate your offer, and we appreciate that our community values the museum’s role in preserving Brockville’s history. To continue that work for the long term, the museum must collect selectively and ensure that every accepted object can be properly documented, stored, and cared for. Our policies and procedures reflect professional museum standards and best practices and help keep collection growth fair, responsible, and sustainable.
We are grateful for every offer and for the patience of potential donors. Although the process may sometimes be inconvenient, it allows the museum to protect the collection, serve the community responsibly, and remain open to future donations.
How we make decisions about what we accept into the collection:
The museum’s volunteer Collection Committee makes decisions with regards to accepting objects into the collection based on the museum’s Collection Policy. The committee considers:
- how well the object meets the museum’s mandate and collecting priorities
- the history (provenance) of the object
- the object’s condition
- whether the object (or similar) is already represented within the museum’s collection
- whether the object represents a local story underrepresented in the museum’s existing collection
The committee relies on the information provided by the donor in order to make an informed decision.
Why would the museum decline an object?
- the object is outside of the museum’s scope (for example: not connected to Brockville)
- the donor did not provide sufficient information about the object
- it is a duplicate of something already in the museum’s collection
- the story the object tells is already sufficiently represented in the collection
- it is in poor condition
- the object’s size – the museum’s physical capacity to care for and store the object will be taken into consideration
- the object would be a better fit for a different museum or organization
- it is offered as a “conditional gift” or “permanent loan” – the museum does not accept donations with conditions
- newsprint – the Brockville Museum does not accept newspapers for the collection; photocopies may be taken for the research files
If you are considering donating an object to the museum, please fill out and submit our online Offer of Donation Form or email the museum with a photo of the object and as much information as possible.
Once the Collection Committee has met you will be notified of their decision. Should the object not be accepted there are a number of other options available to you.
Other Options: the Brockville Museum may decline an object for the permanent collection, but may ask that it be accepted for use in the education or research collections. This option can be discussed at anytime with the Collection Coordinator.