BlogBack: More on Smithsonian Collection Sharing

Alex Barker, director of the Museum of Art & Archaeology at the University of Missouri, Columbia, supplements my report on collection sharing by the Smithsonian in yesterday’s post, Another Smithsonian Resignation and Musings on a “Future” That’s Already Here:
Quick reminder: In addition to SITES [Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service], the Smithsonian also has the Smithsonian Affiliations Program, which provides portions of the SI collections to partner museums around the country on long-term loan. The framework for distributing collections for view without losing long-term control is already in place.
That program, as described here, “allows emerging and established museums to obtain Smithsonian collections for a prolonged period.”