Donation offers that are mailed to or dropped off at the Ohio History Center or one of our sites without previously contacting the staff may not be accepted for the Ohio History Connection collections. To ensure that all donated materials are properly documented and preserved, it is important for you to call or email the curators.
Please give a specific description of the items you want to donate so your offer can be forwarded to the person best able to respond. It would also be helpful if you can send digital pictures of the items.
We receive a high number of calls and e-mails and will do our best to respond in 10-15 business days.
The Ohio History Connection accepts archaeological collections that have educational and/or research potential and that fulfill the organization's collecting guidelines.
Preference is given to objects with known provenience, that are exceptional type examples, and that have educational and/or research potential.
Only materials collected ethically and legally are considered.
When you communicate with a curator(s) about a donation, they will give instructions for dropping off or shipping the material. Please do not mail or drop off any materials for donation at the Ohio History Connection or one of our sites without making prior arrangements with the curatorial staff. The Ohio History Connection is not obligated to preserve any materials that are dropped off or mailed without making prior arrangements.
The Ohio History Connection will also curate collections resulting from cultural resource management (CRM) projects required by Federal and/or state laws, a service for which the Ohio History Connection will normally assess a fee.
View the procedures outlining the steps in the acquisition/donation process. Pages 1-8 of the appendix are also available in an Excel document.
Visit the Archaeology Collections web pages for more information about collections, staff and research.