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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