We use the Standard facility report developed by the RC-AAM.  I heard that
it has been recently updated, but do not have the new form yet--I'm sure
that it is just as detailed.

I have heard complaints that the standard report is "too much" for a
borrowing institution to fill out.  Some have even expressed the concern
that filling out the standard report might embarrass a potential borrowing
institution that lacks many of the preferred conditions.

I, personally, would rather know as much as I can about where the loan
artifact is going.  It does not mean that we would, necessarily, turn down
a loan to an institution whose environment isn't as well controlled as our
storage area.  It just means that we know the environment that the loan is
entering, and we can try to work out the safest arrangements for the loan.

Still, is it too detailed?  I'll admit that it is very thorough, perhaps
even enough to scare some potential borrowers into rethinking whether they
really want the loan.  I am not convinced, however, that this is a bad
thing.  I prefer that the borrowing institution be understanding enough to
do the bit of work, and honest enough with themselves to realize how their
environment compares with the museum ideal.  If the borrower is not a
museum, I suggest explaining to them that you do not expect them to meet
every standard implied by the form, and telling them why the information
is important (generally).

I have never heard a museum complain about submitting a standard facility
report with a loan request.  On the contrary, most of the ones that I have
dealt with (big and small) have them already prepared and regularly
updated.  They assume that other museums will request this
particular form from them, leading me to consider them fairly common and,
well . . . standard.

Of course, all of what I have said depends on your museum's lending
policy.

Speaking only for myself and not necessarily representing the opinions of
my institution,

William Scott

__________________________________________
William Philip Scott                     |
Collections Manager and Office Assistant |
Mathers Museum of World Cultures         |
Indiana University                       |
601 East Eighth Street                   |
Bloomington, IN 47405                    |
E-mail: [log in to unmask]                |
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