> I explained all the reasons we don't do long-term loans, and the president said, "You're > just thinking up reasons to make trouble, none of that will happen." Ack! Your board president couldn't have been more wrong. We have quite a number of items in our collection that were lent to us in the 1930s on "long term loan." We've had the responsiblity of caring for these objects during all these years, and not only are they not ours, but we have no idea who the heirs are and when they might decide to show up and reclaim their inheritance. We were sweating it out just last year when a descendant began calling to inquire after a loan made by her mother many years ago. She was interested in moving the items to another museum, and while the objects had been in poor condition when they were lent, we were afraid that the heir might blame us for the condition. Fortunately, she had to cancel her meeting with us and hasn't called back since. To make a long story short (too late), your president was wrong. It very well can happen. -----Original Message----- From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of jmarks Sent: Friday, May 21, 2004 9:20 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Requests to Rescind Donations - thank you Thanks for starting this thread - I'm printing out the responses and starting a file. Last year my board president wanted to take two portraits of local significance on long-term (50 years!) loan = the lender would loan but not donate the paintings. I explained all the reasons we don't do long-term loans, and the president said, "You're just thinking up reasons to make trouble, none of that will happen." And you've all proved that "trouble" happens with gifts, not just loans. (We ended up taking the portraits on a two-year loan.) The New York Legislature has passed an Abandoned Property bill, it's on the governor's desk, check Museum Association of New York (MANY) for an update. John Marks Curator Geneva (NY) Historical Society ========================================================= 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).