Marie Malaro's excellent "A Legal Primer on Managing Museum Collections" (3rd edition, 2012) touches upon this. She writes: 

"Most museums do not lend to  individuals. There are sound reasons for this rule. Of paramount importance is the fact that museum collections are maintained for the benefit of the public; rarely can a museum justify their exclusive use by any individual. And there are additional reasons:

- Adjustments made in the tax laws many years ago require donors to relinquish control over property donated to a museum if full charitable-contribution tax deductions are to be take. If museum policy permits donated property to be returned temporarily to the donor under a loan agreement, the validity the donor's tax deduction could be called into question ..." [NB: there are exceptions, which Malaro covers elsewhere in her book]

- Museum trustees and officers have a duty not to self-deal when managing museum assets, and their acceptance of loans of collection objects for personal benefit could amount to a violation of this responsibility. A museum policy that generally forbids loans to individuals serves as a useful reminder of this particular standard of conduct.

- When museum objects are on loan, they should be afforded the care and protection normally expected in a museum environment. As a rule, such requirements can be met more readily by institutional borrower."

(Malaro, 286 and 290)

Good luck in handling this sticky situation, Jill

Jill Deupi, J.D., Ph.D.
Founding Director and Chief Curator, Bellarmine Museum of Art
Assistant Professor of Art History, Dept. of Visual and Performing Arts
Fairfield University
1073 N. Benson Road
Fairfield, CT 06824-5195
(203) 254-4000 x2215

NOW OPEN:
"Fire & Earth: Native American Pottery from New Mexican Pueblos" (June 27 - October 3, 2013)
Free and open to all!

Regular museum hours: Monday - Friday, 9:30-4:30 p.m. and select Saturdays
(see www.fairfield.edu/museum for details)
________________________________________
From: Museum discussion list [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of lucysperlin [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2013 10:42 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] protocol for patrons wanting to borrow museum artifacts for personal use?

All the replies have been good ones.  I would add one more reason that might help convince people that you can’t loan artifacts --you are holding them in trust for the public so it would be inappropriate and unethical to allow any individual to benefit personally from items that belong to the museum. (and might even jeopardize your NFP status.)  Benefit is not just financial.  If you loan to one person, no matter who they are, you’d be obligated to provide equally for any other person who asked, and I’m sure they can see that if everyone could borrow at will, there wouldn’t be anything left of the items you (and they, if they are Board members,) are obligated to caring for in perpetuity.  The donor issue is a problem, and it’s why the donation documents have to be clear that they are transferring ownership with no strings attached. After that, as others have said, good collection policies are key.

It amazes me, but I’ve heard way too many people assume that a museum is like a lending library (and they often even call the museum “the Library”).  Technically, though unlikely, if any damage were done to an item while on loan, the donor, donor’s heirs, or any member of the general public could sue you for failing to protect the item.

As for researchers, I think most museums allow legitimate researchers to work on site and don’t let them take things home with them. That requires some way to decide who is a ‘legitimate researcher’  -usually via a standard application form that lists credentials, references and a research proposal.  But that is another discussion.

Lucy Sperlin
Butte County Historical Society
Oroville, California
________________________________
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tenuth, Jeff
Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2013 1:01 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] protocol for patrons wanting to borrow museum artifacts for personal use?

Like everything else in the museum world, it depends on what you mean by personal use.  If personal use means to show your friends or something like that, then the normal response is no.  But if personal use means scientific research that benefits both parties, then the answer is yes, if certain requirements are met.  At the Indiana State Museum, the majority of the answers would be no.  We don’t lend for personal use.  But we do have several scientists associated with the Museum who occasionally borrow specimens for research that later result in completed catalogs, publications or public programs that benefit both the individual and the Museum.  It is a little trickier when the requestor is also the original donor, but that’s when a good Collections Management Policy comes into play.  If the donor is informed at the time of donation that policy forbids such practices, then you can stand behind your policy if the matter comes us later.  Without policy to back you, it becomes much more difficult to say no.

Jeff Tenuth
Natural History Collection Manager
Indiana State Museum
650 W. Washington St.
Indianapolis, IN 46204
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>



From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Meghan Molloy
Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2013 3:47 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] protocol for patrons wanting to borrow museum artifacts for personal use?

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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