The whole issue should be in your collections management policy. There are
legal and insurance issues as well as ethical ones if the object is lost,
stolen, or damaged while on "loan" outside of your instituion's walls and
control. Plus, the loan of accessioned objects should be in line with the
mission of the institution and not for person use of patrons, former
owners, or the board.

Cheers!
Dave

David Harvey
Senior Conservator and Museum Consultant
Los Angeles CA
www.cityofangelsconservation.weebly.com
On Jul 11, 2013 2:51 PM, "Meghan Molloy" <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> ** ** **
>
> Hi Mary,****
>
> ** **
>
> You’ve quickly gotten to the root of my issue!  My specific problem is
> that board members and wealthy museum members have been asking to loan out
> accessioned items.  This is something that I am very against allowing and I
> am looking to cite a standard or official policy that discourages this
> practice.  Specifically I am writing a policy for our museum on loans and
> research requests and would like to nip this kind of ‘influence’ in the bud
> if I can, as it has proven to be a problem in the past.  I am in ****New
> York** **State**** if that helps.****
>
> ** **
>
> Thanks!****
>
> Meghan****
>
> ** **
>  ------------------------------
>
> *From:* Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] *On
> Behalf Of *Kate McCarthy
> *Sent:* Thursday, July 11, 2013 4:03 PM
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* Re: [MUSEUM-L] protocol for patrons wanting to borrow museum
> artifacts for personal use?****
>
> ** **
>
> That depends. Are the items accessioned or loaned? Loans, yes, absolutely.
> Accessioned? No. I'm sorry. At my current job we are very clear that once
> an item is donated to the museum's collection it belongs to the museum. I
> believe this is the current standard and best practice. ****
>
> However the political climate of an institution has been known to affect
> this policy. Influential board members, wealthy donors, public relations,
> etc. Can play a role in the decision.****
>
> (I'd like to be clear that I don't support the above idea of affluence
> having influence. It is just an observation)****
>
> Mary McCarthy
>
> Sent from my iPhone****
>
>
> On Jul 11, 2013, at 2:47 PM, Meghan Molloy <
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:****
>
>  Hello All,********
>
> ** ******
>
>    My museum has recently received several requests from patrons who have
> donated items to borrow the items back from the museum for personal use.
> Are there existing guidelines or common best practices for handling this
> kind of request?********
>
> ** ******
>
> Thanks in advance for your input,********
>
> Meghan********
>
> ** **
>  ------------------------------
>
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