|MANAGING ARCHEOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS||9. ACCESS AND USE|
Examining artifacts under a microscope. Photo courtesy of
Alexandria Archaeology, City of Alexandria, Virginia. Access to
and use of collections is an essential aspect of doing both
archeology and collections management, as well as conducting
interpretation and heritage-oriented activities. Repository
staff must have easy access to collections to implement basic
management activities discussed in previous sections, as well as
to use them for research, interpretation, and developing
exhibits and public programs. Archeologists and other scholars,
interpreters, educators, culturally affiliated groups, and
members of the public need access to collections for: Although
36 CFR 79 mandates access to federal collections for their use
and many state, tribal, and local curation policies have similar
mandates, there are few policies or standardized procedures on
how much and what kinds of access are appropriate for
archeological collections. There are different iss