Your Collection, and What Happens To It?

It is likely that if you are a history enthusiast or a genealogist, you have a collection. It might be books, photos, slides, documents, artifacts, maps, (or whatever), but I bet that you have a pile of it somewhere. Perhaps in many rooms? Have you added rooms for your collection? And, I will bet that at some point you, or your loved ones, will want to dispose of said collection. It happens. It is a fact of life. So why talk about it? Well sadly, we seem to be going through a point of time when the baby-boomers are passing on and many of these collections are looking for new homes.

As a amateur historian who serves as a town historian and the president of a couple historical groups, I have a rule of thumb when it comes to personal collections. Your stuff has deep meaning to you. You recall finding and acquiring it, studying it, showing it off and boring your friends and family with it. Your kids might have some memory of going off with you on your explorations, or recall the folks in the photos, or even have picked up your hobby. But, it is not their stuff. They might hold onto it, but it isn’t theirs. And if they happen to hold onto it, by the time your grandkids inherit it, it is simply stuff and clutter. At that point it will go to the nearest auction site, Ebay, or garage sale. Or, in some tragic cases, it all gets chucked in the trash bin as no one wants to deal with it.

Over the past few years I have been involved with packing up and removing a few personal collections after the death of the owner. It is a sad thing to see a lifetime of collecting, preservation and study reduced to a few (or many) boxes. And yet, that is what it becomes. So, the question for you, dear reader, is, “do you care what happens to it?” Or, “Do your loved ones know what you want to do with it?”

And let me be very honest. Sadly, death often brings out the worst in every family as relatives begin circling around estimating the value of this and that, and how much money they will be receiving. If you don’t want that to happen, begin your planning now.

So what is of value? And as this is a canal organization, I will focus on canals, but it applies to all collections. Unless you are a collector of rare books and maps, your library of canal titles may be of little value as most organizations already have them. Books can be of some value if they can be sold on the used market and the money used to aid the organization, but, make certain that your will specifies that things can be sold if not needed.

So what else might be important? Have you conducted research, written articles or books, or taken photos throughout the years? If so, all these original manuscript materials might be of value to an organization. Those old slides can be wonderful treasures. And now that we are 30 years into digital cameras, make sure that your list includes your hard-drives or at least a copy of your electronic canal photos.

So what to do? Well, let me say first to check with your family to see if they want it. And if they do, well then all is good. If they don’t want it and you don’t care, then tell them to have a sale and split the money. However, if you want it to be donated, then say this in your will and tell your family! Then speak with your lawyer to make sure that whatever the decision is, that it is spelled out it your will.

But before saying that you want the so-and-so historical society to be the new owner, be sure to ask the intended recipient if they would enjoy being the benefactor of your good intentions. Some groups don’t have the desire, room, money or manpower to deal with a collection. For instance, at my local historical society we often get donations of “old things,” and unless they fit into our mission, they are either given away or sold. We will try to find homes for items that we feel have value, but there are plenty of old Sad irons out there, and believe me, we have enough!

When you ask about possible donations, the organization will likely want to know what you have, so make an inventory and catalog your collection. It makes it so much easier to use when you are alive, and when you are gone, the inventory can be useful in deciding what goes where. Also remember to include any documentation that might go with a rare or important item, and include the provenance if you know it.

Once the physical stuff is set and safe, turn your thoughts to your computer and digital presence. Do you have a list of user names and passwords? If you are running an organization, can others find the legal forms? In one case I had to write letters and send death certificates to gain access to a website, whereas a simple password would have made things very easy. Plus, if you are active on the internet and run a website, do you care what happens once you stop writing and paying for the website? If you do, look into a service that will host your inactive website. With an upfront payment, you can ensure a number of years of continued web presence.

It is never easy or fun to think about what happens after you are gone. But, it isn’t really fair to leave it up to your loved ones to decide what happens with all your stuff. Make plans now.