ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 750 / C &RL News Guidelines for borrowing special collections m aterials for exhibition: A draft Prepared by the RBMS Committee for Developing Guidelines for Borrowing Special Collections Materials for Exhibition Ellen S. Dunlap, Chair A hearing will he held at Midwinter on these draft guidelines, Saturday, January 7, 9:00-11:00 a.m. o ver the past ten years, special collections li­ braries have received an increased number of re­ quests to lend rare books, manuscripts, and other rarities for exhibitions throughout the country and abroad. At the same time, special collections li­ brarians have become more concerned about the safety of items lent to other institutions and more sophisticated in their knowledge of the environ­ mental conditions required for safe exhibition of books, manuscripts, and works of art on paper. Although individual museums and a few large li­ braries have long had procedures for dealing with loans, no such standards for special collections li­ braries in general have been formulated. While these proposed guidelines are addressed chiefly to prospective borrowers, it is hoped that the infor­ mation they contain will be of help to lending insti­ tutions as well, especially those that are establish­ ing or reviewing loan policies and procedures. I . Requesting the loan A. L ead time required fo r loan requests. A pro­ spective borrower should be certain to allow suffic­ ient time for the lender to consider his application; a minimum of six months is recommended. Addi­ tional time should be allowed if formal approval of a board or committee is required, or if the item re­ quested must be conserved or restored. B. Request letter. Request for the loan should be made in writing. The request letter should be signed by the Director, Department Head, or Cu­ rator of the borrowing institution, as appropriate, and addressed to the ranking staff member of the lending institution. In the request letter, the pro­ spective borrower should provide the following de­ tails: 1. a full description of the item (s) to be borrowed (including catalogue or inventory num ber, if known) and source of information identifying the lending institution as owner of the item(s). 2. the title of the exhibition, the name and cre­ dentials of its curator, and a brief description of its purpose and scope. This description should include specific comments on the permanent, intellectual contributions to be realized by the exhibition as a whole, and in particular, on the relative impor­ tance of the requested object(s) in the exhibition. 3. indication if a catalogue will accompany the December 1988 / 751 exhibition or not (some lenders will not lend unless there is to be a published catalogue). 4. the inclusive dates of the exhibition and the in­ clusive dates of the proposed loan (allowing time necessary for proper installation and return of bor­ rowed items). 5. an indication of borrower’s willingness to con­ form to the conditions of loan set by the lender and a request that the lender state his requirements for the safe transportation of the item(s). C. Facilities Report. To accompany his request letter, the prospective borrower should prepare a concise document describing his institution’s exhi­ bition program and facilities. For travelling exhibi­ tions, a separate report should be submitted for each institution. The report should be written in a straightforward narrative style (1-2 pages) and can be organized under the following headings: 1. The borrower. State full name of institution, address, and telephone number. Briefly describe the nature of institution. Indicate size of the staff and name of staff members in charge of the exhibi­ tion. 2. The building. Indicate date and type of build­ ing construction; indicate size of the exhibition space and its location within the building; describe in detail the fire alarm system (type of detectors, monitoring, e tc .). Describe fire extinguishing/sup­ pressing system (some institutions will not lend rare materials if the exhibition area is protected by sprinkler, Halon or dry powder systems being pre­ ferred) . 3. Security. Describe how items on exhibition will be properly safeguarded against theft or dam­ age. Describe the exhibition cases and locks and the method by which framed items are mounted on the wall. Describe the intrusion alarm system in the exhibition area (types of detectors, how they are activated, who is alerted by the alarm, and what the response time is). Give the number of security staff employed (if any) and the number on duty at any time. Indicate the days and hours that the exhi­ bition will be regularly open. Indicate whether or not activities other than exhibitions are to be held in the exhibition area. 4. Environment. Indicate the range of tempera­ ture in the exhibition areas and the areas for pack­ ing and storage. (Most lenders require that temper­ ature be maintained at 7 0 °F . with fluctuations of no more than 4 °F . in any 24-hour period). Indicate the range of relative humidity in the exhibition ar­ eas in the area for packing and storage. (Lenders may insist that relative humidity be kept at 50% with fluctuations of no more that 5% in any 24- hour period). Explain how the readings for tem­ perature and relative humidity were measured, giving evidence of specific and w ell-calibrated measurements. (Some borrowers may require dated hygrothermograph records to be sent to them periodically throughout the loan period). Describe the lighting in the exhibition area, giving the exact light levels in footcandles and indicating how these readings were taken. Explain how exhibited items will be protected from ultraviolet radiation from natural or artificial sources in the exhibition and work areas. (Many lenders use the following guide­ lines for exposure of objects to light: no ultraviolet light permitted; no more than 25 footcandles of il­ lumination for oil paintings; no more than 10 foot­ candles for most books, m anuscripts, p rints, broadsides, and photographs; and no more than 5 footcandles for most textiles, drawings, water- colors, and miniatures.) 5. Handling the loaned objects. Indicate who will unpack, install, and pack the borrowed items and, in brief, what his qualifications are. Describe facilities and procedures for the safe storage of bor­ rowed objects, before and after the exhibition. While lenders will want assurance that borrowed items will not be repaired or altered in any way without their permission, it will also be helpful for the borrower to mention in the Facilities Report the presence of professional conservation staff and in-house facilities for matting and framing and for constructing proper cradles and mounts. 6. Insurance. Describe the institution’s fine arts insurance coverage and give the name of the in­ surer. Offer to provide a copy of the policy if re­ quested. In most cases, the borrower will be ex­ pected to insure the object at the value specified by the lender on an all-risk, wall-to-wall basis. The borrower’s insurance policy must specify that the insured sum represents the true replacement value and that in case of damage, depreciation, or loss there will be no recourse to packers and carriers. The insurer will also be required to issue a certifi­ cate of insurance naming the lender as an addi­ tional insured before the objects will be released to the borrower. 7. References. Give a list of other institutions who have lent items to the prospective borrower for recent exhibitions. D. Loan Agreement Form . It is also the responsi­ bility of the prospective borrower to provide along with the request letter a proper Loan Agreement Form for each item requested. When executed, the Loan Agreement Form will represent a contract between the borrower and the lender. A sample Loan Agreement Form is provided here as a recom­ mended model (see Appendix). Before adopting this or any other loan agreement form, however, an institution should have it reviewed by its legal counsel and its insurance company. W hile it is pre­ ferred that the borrower supply the Loan Agree­ ment Form, which the lender can amend as neces­ sary, some lenders may insist that a borrower also sign the lender’s own Loan Agreement Form(s). In such a case, both parties should make certain that there are no conflicting provisions in the forms. I I . H an d lin g the loan A. Transportation. The lender will specify how the object(s) are to be transported and may ask the borrower to make appropriate transportation ar­ 752 / C &RL News rangements. Full details of transportation should he discussed as early in the procedure as possible. The borrower should take special care to preserve original packing materials and to repack borrowed items exactly as the lender had packed them. D e­ pending on the value of the item(s), the lender may allow them to be sent by the U.S. Postal Service, United Parcel Service, or another courier service such as Emery. For larger or more valuable items, a special mover may be required. The lender may also insist that items be accompanied by a courier (most likely a member of the lender’s staff) at all times during transport, unpacking, installation, and repacking. Foreign loans will require the assistance of a rep­ utable customs broker, who should be contacted well in advance of the loan arrival date. Customs formalities and the provision of export licenses are the responsibility of the borrower; object should not be unpacked in transit for customs inspection, but passed through in bond to the exhibition site. If borrowing from a foreign country, it is the borrow­ er’s further responsibility to meet the courier upon arrival, to have a customs broker on hand, and to escort the courier to the exhibition site. B. Condition. When the item is received, the borrower should inspect it without delay and rec­ ord its condition. Any damage must be reported immediately by telephone and subsequently in writing to the lender. Unless specific advance per­ mission has been obtained from the lender, the bor­ rower must not alter, clean, or repair the item in any way. Some lenders may prefer that the bor­ rower be responsible for matting, framing, etc., but without such express permission, the borrower should not add or remove glass, plexiglas, frame, or back-board. C. A cknow ledgem ents and permissions. The borrower should give full credit to the lender in all publicity concerning the exhibition, including la­ bels, catalogues, press releases, and announce­ ments. The borrower should be certain to obtain written permission from the lender before the ob­ je c t s ) are photographed or reproduced in any way. If photography by the borrower is permitted, the lender may also set specific conditions for the handling of materials and may charge a reproduc­ tion fee. At least one copy of the exhibition cata­ logue should be provided to the lender without charge; some lenders require several copies. D. Expenses. The borrower should be prepared to assume all costs of the loan. These may include: 1) transportation costs— packing and crating; freight, customs charges and brokers’ fees; and couriering expenses (a lender may require that the courier travel via first-class accommodation when carrying the work of art and full business-class fare when empty-handed, and that he be paid a stan­ dard per diem allowance for expenses). 2) insurance— if a lender will not accept the bor­ rower’s insurance coverage (as described above) and requires that the loan be insured under the lender’s own policy, the borrower may be charged for a pro-rated share of the premium. 3) photography— the lender may require that a photographic reproduction (microfilm, slide, or negative) be made at the borrower’s expense before material is removed from the lender’s institution. 4) conservation— the borrower may be expected to pay for any conservation work deemed necessary by the lender to make the material ready for exhibi­ tion and for travel (including matting and fram ­ ing, the manufacture of special boxes, packing, mounts and display cradles). 5) ad m in istrative costs— a lender m ay also charge a loan fee (payable if the loan is approved, even if the borrower decides not to borrow the item) or a per-item exhibition fee (in lieu of packing and hand ling expenses). C e rta in lenders may charge for staff time involved in the selection of material, for insurance appraisals by outside ex­ perts, and other administrative costs. I I I . Suggestions for lending institutions A. Conditions o f loan. The Committee recom­ mends that all lending institutions establish formal policies governing loans for exhibition purposes. A brief written summary of the lender’s loan policy (perhaps entitled “Conditions of Loan”) will prove helpful in correspondence with prospective bor­ rowers. B. Other loan fo r ms. It is not necessary, how­ ever, for lenders to devise or print their own Loan Agreement forms or a facilities report question­ naire, as it should be the responsibility of borrow­ ers to provide proper forms and information as part of their request. Should the forms provided by a borrow er not conform to the lender’s requ ire­ ments, however, the lender should see that they are amended as necessarv. C. Insurance. Our study of current practice among libraries and museums indicates that in most instances it is the borrower who is expected to arrange for insurance of borrowed items. In fact, most institutions which borrow regularly maintain fine arts policies specifically for this purpose. When individual lenders insist on covering items under their own insurance policy (and passing the addi­ tional cost on to the borrower), duplication of cov­ erage and expense may occur. If the borrower can­ not show evidence of proper fine arts insurance protection, the lender should— without question — insist that his items be protected under his own policy. If the borrower does have such coverage, however, and can produce satisfactory documen­ tation, it is the ad hoc Committee’s recommenda­ tion that the lender accept that coverage in lieu of his own. A ppendix M odel fo r L o a n A g ree m e n t F o r m This form should be on letterhead (or give bor­ rower’s name, address, phone in a heading) and December 1988 / 753 provide ample space in which to type information requested. E X H IB ITIO N : [specify title, location(s), inclusive dates of loan]. LEN D ER : Name; Address; Contact person (with telephone at work and home); Exact form of lender’s name for catalogue, la­ bels, and publicity; ITEM TO BE LEN T: Author/artist (with dates, if known); Title or description, including publication infor­ mation (if appropriate); Lender’s call number or accession number; Date of item; For art work, location of date (if any); For art work, form and location of signature (if any); Medium/materials and support; Dimensions of item alone (height, width, depth, weight); Dimensions of item with mat, frame, or base, if any (height, width, depth, weight); Condition (please note any existing breaks, tears, scratches, abrasions, paint losses, other inse­ curities or defects in the work; use separate sheet if necessary). SPECIA L INSTRUCTIONS: For art work, may borrower reframe or remat? (yes/no); Substitute plexiglas for glass? (yes/no); Date by which loans are to reach the Borrower (Borrower will be in contact with Lender regard­ ing shipping arrangements); Other instructions for packing, transport, and installation. INSURANCE (see Legal Conditions stated below): Does lender preferred to maintain insurance? (yes/no); I f yes, sta te th e estim ated prem ium to be charged to Borrower; If no, state the insurance value (fair market value) in U.S. currency. PHOTOGRAPHS AND REPROD UCTION S (Unless permission is declined here, it is under­ stood that this item may be photographed, video­ taped, telecast, and reproduced for publicity pur­ poses connected w ith this exhibition and for illustrations in the catalogue and other publica­ tions, and that slides of it may be made and distrib­ uted for educational use): May borrower reproduce item in the catalogue? (yes/no); for publicity? (yes/no); for educational purposes? (yes/no); Which of the following are available from the lender: black and white photographs? (yes/no); color transparencies? (yes/no); slides, postcards, or other reproductions for public sale? (yes/no); Does lender hold exclusive copyright? (yes/no); if no, whom might borrower contact to acquire re­ production rights? L E G A L C O N D IT IO N S O F T H E LOAN A G REEM EN T 1. [Insert name of borrowing institution] (“the Borrower”) will exercise the same care with respect to the object referred to on the reverse (the “work”) as it does in the safekeeping of comparable prop­ erty of its own. 2. The work shall remain in the possession of the Borrower and/or the other institutions participat­ ing in the exhibition for which it has been bor­ rowed (the “participating institutions”) for the time specified on the reverse, but may be with­ drawn from such exhibition at any time by the D i­ rector of Trustees of the Borrower and/or of any of the participating institutions. The work will be re­ turned only to the Lender at the address stated on the reverse unless the Borrower is notified by the Lender in writing to the contrary. If the legal own­ ership of the work shall change during the duration of the loan, whether by reason of death, sale, insol­ vency, gift or otherwise, the new owner or agent may, prior to its return, be required to establish his legal right to receive the object by proof satisfac­ tory to the Borrower. 3. Unless the Lender chooses to maintain his own insurance, the Borrower will insure the work on a wall-to-wall basis under a fine arts policy for the amount specified above by the Lender against all risks of physical loss or damage from any external cause while in transit and on location during the period of this loan. The Borrower’s fine arts policy contains the usual exclusions for loss and damage to the work due to wear and tear, gradual deteriora­ tion, insects, vermin, inherent vice, damage result­ ing from any repairing, restoration, or retouching process, nuclear reaction, radiation or radioactive contamination, and risks of war and warlike action when not in overseas transit. The Lender agrees that, in the event of loss or damage, recovery shall be limited to such amount, if any, as may be paid by the insurer, hereby releasing the Borrower, each of the participating institutions, and the Trustees, officers, agents and employees of the Borrower and of each of the participating institutions from liabil­ ity for any and all claims arising out of such loss or damage. 4. If the Lender chooses to maintain his own in­ surance coverage, then, prior to the shipment of the work, the Borrower must be supplied with a certificate of insurance naming the Borrower and each of the participating institutions as an addi­ tional insured or waiving subrogation against the Borrower and each of the participating institu­ tions. If the Lender shall fail to supply the Bor­ rower with such a certificate, this loan agreement shall constitute a release of the Borrower and of each of the participating institutions from any lia- 754 / C&RL News bility in connection with the work. The Borrower cannot accept responsibility for any error or defi­ ciency of information furnished to the Lender’s in­ surer or for any lapses in coverage. 5. It is understood that the Borrower will not un­ frame, clean, restore, or otherwise alter the work without the express consent of the Lender. Evi­ dence of damage to works in transit or while in the Borrower’s custody will be reported immediately to th e L e n d e r . 6. The Borrower’s right to return the work shall accrue absolutely at the termination of the loan. If the Borrower, after making all reasonable efforts and through no fault of its own, shall be unable to return the work within sixty days after such termi­ nation, then the Borrower shall have the absolute right to place the work in storage, to charge regular storage fees and the cost of the insurance therefor, and to have and enforce a lien for such fees and cost. If, after five years, the work shall not have been reclaimed, then, and in consideration for its storage, insurance, and safeguarding during such period, the work shall be deemed an unrestricted gift to the Borrower. 7. The Borrower accepts this agreement on the understanding that the Lender has full authority to enter into such an agreement as the legal owner of the work or authorized agent of the owner. T H E C O N D IT IO N S O F T H IS LOAN AS S T A T E D A B O V E A RE A C C E P T E D : [to be signed and dated by representatives for the Lender and the Borrower]. ACRL candidates, 1 9 8 9 elections Who’s who on the Spring ballot. T h e listing for each of the following candidates includes their title, institution, and institutional address. Vice-President/President-Elect B arbara J. Ford, Associate D irector, Trinity University Library, 715 Stadium D r., San Anto­ nio, TX 78284; Patricia A. W and, Assistant Uni­ versity Librarian for Public Services, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1299. Board of Directors Director-at-Large: Eileen Dubin, Director of Library Services, Stockton State College, Pomona, NJ 08240; Shirley A. Lowman, Director, Library Technical Services, Maricopa Community Col­ lege, 2325 E. McDowell Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85006. Director-at-Large: Evan Ira Färber, College L i­ brarian, Earlham College, Richmond, IN 47374; David B. W alch, Dean of Library Services, C ali­ fornia Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407. Anthropology and Sociology Section (ANSS) V ice-C h air/C h air-Elect: Cheryl C. Kugler, Head of Monograph Services, Jean and Alexander Heard Library, Vanderbilt University, 419 21st Ave. S ., Nashville, TN 3 7 2 40 -0 00 7 ; Robert B. Marks Ridinger, Sociology Subject Librarian, 303 Founders Library, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115-2868. Secretary: Gregory A. Finnegan, Humanities and Social Sciences R eference/B ibliographer, Baker Library, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755; Ann L. Wood, Reference Librarian, Uni­ versity of Massachusetts Library, Amherst, MA 01003. Member-at-Large: Anita Garey, Social Science Bibliographer, University of California Library, Santa Cruz, CA 95060; Mary M. Koenig, Refer­ ence L ibrarian , Humanities/Social Science L i­ braries, 180 Wilson Library, University of Minne­ sota, Minneapolis, MN 55455.