Information Collection FAQs

1. What is an Information Collection Request?

     An Information Collection Request is a formal process that we must follow in order to get approval to gather standardized information from non-Federal entities. It does not introduce new Federal regulations or policy or seek the return of Department of the Interior (DOI) collections. The public notice describes the information that we will collect; gives the reason the information is needed; and estimates the time and cost (burden) for non-Federal entities (i.e., repositories) to respond to the request.
 

2. What is the purpose of this Information Collection Request (ICR)?

     As part of our legally mandated accountability to the American public, the DOI is responsible for knowing where all of its museum collections are located and their state of preservation. We know where many of our collections are located and that they are well taken care of. However, a DOI Office of Inspector General report, Department of the Interior Museum Collections, Accountability and Preservation, found that we lack basic knowledge of where some of our collections are located and their current status. 

     It is estimated that more than 23 million DOI objects, specimens, and documents are stored in non-Federal repositories, including museums and university departments. We need help identifying the location and nature of some of these collections. Our shared mission with all repositories, Federal and non-Federal, is to preserve collections for research and education and to be accountable to the owners of those collections—the American public.

     This information collection request includes a survey that we will send to non-Federal repositories in an attempt to identify museum collections, which originated on lands administered by DOI bureaus at the time the objects were collected and fit within a bureau’s Scope of Collections Statement.

 3. What is considered a DOI museum collection or museum property?

     For the purpose of this ICR, museum property (or a museum collection) is any collection of scientific, historic, or cultural objects and archives that was made on public lands administered by one of the DOI bureaus and is identified for long term preservation in the bureau’s Scope of Collections Statement. Typically, these collections were made under an archaeology or paleontology permit.

4. Who is proposing to collect this information?

     The Interior Museum Program (IMP) developed a programmatic request on behalf of all DOI bureaus and offices responsible for museum collections, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and others. The staff members who may make a request of a non-Federal repository will be bureau or IMP curators or other staff members who are directly responsible for museum collections. We will make every effort to send out a single request that covers all bureaus to reduce the burden upon our repository partners by responding to one, rather than multiple requests.

     In the case of the survey of non-Federal repositories, DOI is partnering with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct the survey.
 

5. Why did DOI ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval to request information from non-Federal repositories?

     The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 requires Federal agencies to obtain approval from OMB before using identical questions or standardized forms to collect information from more than nine non-Federal entities in a year. This Information Collection Request addresses our need to gather standardized information about museum collections housed in non-Federal repositories.
 

6. What type of information is DOI interested in obtaining from non-Federal repositories and why?

     In order to fulfill our stewardship responsibilities to the American public, DOI’s ICR consists of five components that make up a standard museum program of collections management "best practices." The components include catalog records, accession records, a physical inventory of objects, a museum facility checklist, and a survey, activities which should be familiar to museum professionals. The five components are combined in the ICR for efficiency purposes and because they all encompass the communications and museum program functions pertaining to DOI bureau collections housed by our non-Federal partners.
     A particular non-Federal repository will only be asked for information when DOI and its bureaus lack that information and do not have another means to obtain it. Although there are five components of the ICR, it is unlikely that a repository will be asked about more than one of the components in any given year (e.g., an inventory request or a survey). Also, responses by repositories will be on a voluntary basis.

7.  What are the five components of this Information Collection Request?

Catalog Records: DOI and its bureaus need to have access to catalog record information to promote access and use of collections, to understand preservation needs, and to be accountable to the American public. If a repository's records are incomplete, whatever data that does exist will be appreciated. If catalog records are not digital, DOI may assist with resources to digitize the records.

Accession Records: DOI needs to know accession information for accountability and reference purposes. As with catalog records, if a repository's records are incomplete, whatever data that does exist will be appreciated. If accession records are not digital, DOI may assist with resources to digitize the records.

Facility Checklist for Spaces Housing DOI Museum Property (Checklist): The Checklist is used to evaluate exhibit and storage spaces to ensure that collections are housed in locations that are consistent with professional standards. DOI adheres to Museum Property Directive 4, Required Standards for Managing and Preserving Museum Property. These standards are similar to the professional standards provided by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM). The Checklist is conducted every five years. DOI accepts AAM accreditation in lieu of the Checklist.

Inventory of Museum Collections (Inventory): All DOI museum property must be physically inventoried on a periodic schedule in order to comply with Federal statutes and regulations on property accountability. The Inventory is usually a statistical random sample of the collection, which does not exceed 203 objects for over 150,000 objects. See Appendix 1 of DOI Museum Property Directive 21 Inventory of Museum Collections.  Staff at non-Federal repositories that house DOI collections will work with bureau staff to complete this inventory and may be asked to periodically confirm the status of certain objects. Such verification is usually documented by email.

Input on Collections from Lands Administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior that are Located at Non-Federal Facilities (Survey): This survey will be sent to around 200 non-Federal repositories in September 2016 to inquire if they house DOI publicly-owned museum collections. The repositories were submitted by DOI bureaus who (1) had reason to believe that there were DOI collections at those repositories, but were not sure (e.g., clues found in permit); or (2) know a repository has bureau collections, but doesn’t know what the collections contain. This survey is not a regulation or law, an attempt to claim non-DOI property, or a recall of DOI property.  The survey is simply a way to gather information about the DOI bureau museum collections and comply with standard museum and government accounting responsibilities. Staff at the repositories may complete the survey at their convenience up to the deadline provided. Completion of the survey will be voluntary and should only take about 2-5 hours to complete. We do not expect repositories to initiate provenance inquiries or inventories to complete this survey. Any information that non-Federal repositories are able to furnish with existing information will support our ability to work in partnership with them to enhance research opportunities and public education and to assist with future collections care in the public interest.

8. Is DOI doing anything to support the non-Federal repositories that curate DOI collections?

     We are improving our partnerships with non-Federal repositories. In the last three years, Congress appropriated funds to improve the documentation and preservation of DOI cultural and scientific collections. We are using these funds to support high priority bureau museum collection projects, including collections housed in non-Federal repositories and museum internships. In 2016, 14 new projects and 12 internship positions were funded to benefit collections at non-Federal repositories.
     We also hired a new Staff Curator in the Interior Museum Program to work with non-Federal repositories on these and other issues of common interest, such as developing repository or curation agreements. The new Staff Curator is working to forge productive partnerships with non-Federal repositories and with professional societies that support museums and repositories across the U.S., such as the American Alliance of Museums, the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, and others.

9. Why can’t DOI and its bureaus use existing databases to gather information about DOI’s museum collections?

     Many bureau staff have used existing databases to find some of their collections and then establish relationships with the non-Federal repository that houses that particular collection. While useful, we have found that these databases cannot replace the survey because they generally do not:

• include objects, specimens, and archives in critical disciplines for DOI, such as archeology;
• note if the objects and specimens fit within the bureau’s Scope of Collections Statement and thus are DOI museum collections;
• note when the objects were removed from DOI lands (which is necessary to determine if the objects were DOI property when collected);
• provide the most current information about DOI museum collections;
• identify if objects or specimens were consumed in analysis; or
• identify if the collection is still at the non-Federal repository or has been moved to another location.

Finally, many repositories’ collections have not been uploaded to these existing databases, so DOI would still need to contact the potential non-Federal repository for more information about any DOI museum collections that it may house. 

10. What if I have additional questions?