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assistance. The staff discovered that in some areas of the country material culture documenting the African American experience is not being collected locally. In fact, local historical societies are frequently volunteer organizations that are barely keeping track of mainstream history and culture. A special emergency situation exists in these communities; if a national repository does not take a leadership role, this material will be lost.

A need is also emerging for enhanced public education. Collectors need to be taught to handle objects with care and to be scrupulous about when, where, and from whom objects are purchased. Issues of provenance appear to be problematic. Objects which are at risk need to be acquired as soon as possible by other Smithsonian museums or by regional cultural institutions.

There is the additional problem of stewardship in existing African American museums. Many seasoned collectors have experienced disappointing relationships with small, understaffed regional African American museums and they have often been ignored or insulted by more established museums. Encouraged by the Smithsonian's efforts, these donors look forward to working with a professional organization that will properly maintain and exhibit their collections.

There are many individuals who specifically want to support an African American institution. Though they have affiliations with other major museums, including those within the Smithsonian, they believe in this project and want to be a part of it. They often have collections which could also be housed in the National Museum of African Art, the National Museum of American History, or the National Museum of American Art. Accordingly, the proposed African American Museum can serve as a resource for referrals, and it can also acquire collections which can be shared. The staff on this project has initiated discussions with curators at the American History Museum to ensure that full advantage of new opportunities is taken to achieve a collective goal. Similar relationships are being forged with other museums.

Recommendations

As the African American Institutional Study embarks upon program planning in the coming fiscal year, issues pertaining to collections will be further explored by a task force consisting of curators, registrars, and collections managers from both within and outside the Smithsonian. This task force and others will provide information which is critical to the planning of facilities, which in turn will indicate the cost and scope of work necessary to move forward in the development of a National African American Museum on the Mall.

The Collections Identification Project should continue through the summer of 1992, with special emphasis given to the development of collaborative relationships with museums whose collections will be impacted by this endeavor. Once a collections management policy is approved, funds should be allocated for collections acquisition (by mid-1992). In order to allow adequate time for research and scholarship of newly acquired collections, the African American museum's first exhibition should focus on master works from Smithsonian collections; this will encourage cooperation and alert the public to the Institution's further commitment to collecting culturally diverse