Generally speaking, natural history museums do not charge (exceptions might be if shipping costs are onerous).  This,
however, may be in part the nature of such museums--researchers often have to borrow specimens, so there's a lot of
reciprocity expected and given.  For the most part, this is considered as part of the museum's obligation to increase and
diffuse knowledge.  Too, this is part of the scientific ethic of free interchange of materials and data not actively involved
in a current research program.  (Unfortunately, with the intrusion of economics into a number of fields such as molecular
biology, this free interchange is becoming less free by the moment).

Art Harris

12/20/02 4:00:27 PM, Timothy McShane <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>This is news to me.
>
>I'm familiar with having to pay borrowers' fees to book an entire
>traveling exhibit, but having borrowed pieces from private individuals
>and institutions, many museums (small, medium, large, non-government,
>Federal, Provincial, Municipal, military--whatever!) and corporations,
>I've never been asked to pay to borrow individual items (except for
>conservation, crating, shipping, insurance, etc.).  Similarly, I've
>never worked for a museum that charged borrowers of artifacts a
>fee--I've always considered the increased exposure my museum gets from a
>credit line in someone else's exhibit to be well worth the loan (as well
>as it being part of our mandate to use our collections in public
>exhibitions).
>
>Do museums that charge these borrowers' fees also charge researchers
>for access to their (the museums') collections?
>
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>Tim McShane, Assistant--Cultural History
>Medicine Hat Museum and Art Gallery
>1302 Bomford Crescent S.W.
>Medicine Hat, AB   T1A 5E6
>(403) 502-8587
>
>>>> [log in to unmask] 12/20/02 11:19AM >>>
>The basic rate for most museums is $100 per object. Plus any additional
>fees
>for conservation, packing, and crating.
>
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