Julie,

Outgoing loans that were returned:  I'd keep unless there is other solid
documentation of the return to your collection.

Incoming loans: If any of the loans were from individuals who signed upon
receiving the loan back, NEVER throw them away.  Keep them alphabetically by
last name. I had the experience frequently in a 60 yr old museum that when
grandchildren or other relatives were looking for something and someone
recalled that "...grandma loaned it to the X museum" they will come looking
for it! My 'bacon' was saved many times when I was able to pull out the loan
return form with grandma's signature proving she had gotten it back!

Lucy Sperlin
Butte County Historical Society
Oroville, CA

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Julie Blood
Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2010 10:25 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Record Retention

Hello,

I am doing a little spring cleaning of some file cabinets and came across
files of old/closed loans, previous exhibits, research requests, photo
requests, and rejected donations.  Does anyone have a policy on how long
these items should be retained?  If anyone could share their policies or
point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it.

Thanks,

Julie

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message
to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help"
(without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
[log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff
Museum-L" (without the quotes).

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).