If you've been planning to donate a family heirloom or historical item to the Mennonite Heritage Village Museum (MHV) in Steinbach, you might need to hang onto it a little longer.
Temporary Moratorium
The museum has put a temporary moratorium on accepting new artifact donations until October 1st, according to Senior Curator Andrea Klassen. The pause is needed so staff can catch up on processing a large influx of items already in their care.
"We do this periodically when we get a lot of stuff coming in at the same time," Klassen explained. "We’ve got a bit of a backlog, and we want to make sure the artifacts already donated are properly catalogued and cared for."
Klassen says every item donated to the museum goes through a detailed process that includes assigning it a number, recording its background, and entering it into the system.
"On the quick end, each item takes at least two to three hours," she said. “It can easily take a big chunk of your day to process just one thing.”
The MHV isn’t saying “never”, they’re just asking for a bit of breathing room.
“It’s a short period of time,” Klassen said. “We just need to focus on the backlog we have and ensure we’re taking care of what’s already in our collection.”
MHV Archives temporary closure
To further dedicate time to this task, the museum’s archives department will close to the public from June 23 to July 4, reopening on Monday, July 7. During this time, staff won’t be responding to emails or phone calls.
“In many ways, our jobs are like anybody else’s,” Klassen said. “You sit down, and there are emails, calls, and people walking in. We love all of that, but we also need space to focus. During the closure, we’ll be working solely on cataloguing.”
And while they’re not accepting new items until October, Klassen encourages people not to still consider making a donation to the MHV.
“We absolutely want to hear those stories and see those objects,” she said. “We’re just asking folks to hold onto them a little longer.”
Preparing your artifact to be received at the MHV
In the meantime, the museum recommends that potential donors prepare by gathering information about their items.
“On our website, www.mhv.ca, there’s a page for artifacts with a document called Donating to the Collection – Frequently Asked Questions,” said Klassen. “It explains what we’re looking for and how to get started.”
Once the moratorium ends on October 1st, the Mennonite Heritage Village Museum will gladly begin reviewing new donations again.
“We don’t take it lightly to pause donations,” Klassen said. “These objects tell stories, and those stories matter to us. We just need a bit of time to catch up so we can do those stories justice.”