In message  <[log in to unmask]>
Susan Harless  [log in to unmask] writes:
 
> Can anyone help a friend  in a small historical society out with a dilemma?
>  She is getting a large uncurated collection from a failing private museum,
> without ownership.  Should she go for a long-term loan, a permanent loan or
> "stewardship" in her agreement to care for the items?
 
Be careful what you mean by the words of any agreement. It is best to stick
to the two categories of "loan" and "ownership". A loan may have conditions
attached, and should have a fixed term. Ownership should be free of all
conditions, if possible. It is very difficult to know how much investment it
is worth putting into a collection which is on loan. Is it worth
cataloguing, conserving, augmenting, etc.? The agreement will have to spell
out what the owner will allow you to do, and the museum will have to be
careful not to get stuck with burdensome obligations.
 
"Permanent loan" seems a contradiction, if the owner can never ask for the
items back. If a loan doesn't have an end date you live in a state of
uncertainty as to whether the owner will come along wanting the items back,
either to sell or because of unhappiness with the way you are dealing with
them (e.g. not keeping them on display).
 
To quote _Spectrum: the UK museum documentation standard_:
 
"2.4 A loan must be for a finite period and should not be 'permanent',
although there may be an option for renewal at the end of a loan period."
 
Leonard
 
--
Dr Leonard D Will                           Tel: +44 181 366 7386
Information Management Consultant           Fax: +44 181 366 0916
27 Calshot Way, ENFIELD, Middlesex          Email: [log in to unmask]
EN2 7BQ, United Kingdom