ABSTRACT
For a paper comparing attitudes to disposals from museum collections, the startingpoint would normally be an assessment of attitudes towards museum collecting itself.1 Examination of professional opinion and legal statements in governing legislation and elsewhere, however, reveals a surprising diversity of opinion. Further, there is at times a mismatch between the legislative perception of museums and their collections and actual practice: this can occur inconsistently within countries and there are certainly major variations between countries. From this it can be anticipated that a similar diversity of attitude exists towards disposal both between and within countries.
