INTERNAL THEFT IN MUSEUMS AND THE ROLE OF THE REGISTRAR
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Authors
Cline, Lacy Carter
Issue Date
2004
Type
Capstone
Language
en
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
My master's project focuses on the role of the registrar in preventing and responding to internal theft at large U.S. museums, defined as those with annual operating budgets exceeding $5 million. Smaller institutions, given their budget and staffing constraints, face a different set of issues and different potential solutions for the problem of internal theft, but 1 do hope that smaller institutions will benefits from segments of this study. It should be noted that, while this project examines internal theft from all types of museums, my research indicates that art museums are the most common target, and henceforth there is a tendency throughout the project to focus more closely on them. One can infer that this increased victimization is due to the value placed on art objects on the open market as opposed to, for example, biological specimens, or local historical documents. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, and these exceptions do appear in this project, but the pervasive sense that one can ascertain is that art museums fall victim most commonly. This project examines the intersection between registration and security staffs. In doing so, I look for ways in which increased communication between staff members can enhance the safety of the collection by preventing thefts by insiders.