Object donations to the Museum are currently paused
During the Museum’s relocation period, we are pausing the acquisition of any new objects into the collection. This will give our staff the opportunity to carry out the large task of safely transferring our collection to its new home.
We expect to re-open object donations in mid-2024. If you would like to complete a object donation questionnaire (see below) in anticipation of the process restarting, please send completed questionnaires to [email protected], and we will be in touch in mid-2024.
Thank you for considering us
Thank you for your interest. The majority of our collection has come through generous donations from members of the public allowing our collection to grow as a public resource and showcase the diversity of the Jewish community.
We consider all items that are offered to us, but unfortunately we are not able to take in everything. Our collections development policy is focused on adding new stories and objects of significance, whilst we balance this with collections care and storage considerations. Central to any decision is the question “What does this object add to the story of British Jewry?”
The acquisition process
The first step is for you to complete an donation offer questionnaire. It is important to provide as much information as possible to help us make our decision, ideally accompanied by some photographs of the items. Some things to consider:
- You must be able to prove that you own any items that you are offering to us, or have permission to gift the item to the museum
- What story does your item tell? If similar items already exist in the collection, what makes yours different?
- Sometimes items might be better suited for another institution. We will do our best to suggest alternatives if this is the case
- We have a limited amount of space in our stores which means that we may not be able to accept large items.
- If items are in a poor or unstable condition we may not be able to accept them.
Acquisition decisions are made on a monthly basis*. If we do decide to collect your item, we will then arrange for you to deliver the item to the museum. In addition, transfer of ownership paperwork, including copyright permissions, must be signed before we accept any items.
*This process is currently paused, and will re-start again in mid-2024.
Use of collections
Although we cannot guarantee items will be exhibited, part of our decision making questions the item’s potential for research, educational use, and potential display.
Whenever possible, we aim to digitise new collections and make them available online. Most of our items are also made available for research and can be brought out when requested in advance for study in our Research Centre.
The Museum will always respect the wishes of donors if they do not wish donations to be used for a certain purpose.
Donate
If you are considering donating an item to the Museum, please complete our donation offer questionnaire and email it to [email protected].
