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Incoming Loans Policy
It is the policy of the Spurlock Museum to borrow objects from private or institutional collections in order to enhance the Museum’s ability to fulfill its mission and goals. Incoming loans are primarily made for two purposes. The first is as a deferred gift that is retained as a loan until the donor is prepared to transfer the loan to a gift. The second is for purposes of exhibition. Due to limited space, staff, and resources, the Museum will not enter into arrangements to care for or store collections that are to be maintained by other University units, University departments, individuals, or institutions.
All incoming loan objects are stored and exhibited in the same manner as and treated with as much care as objects in the Museum’s Artifact Collection; see Storage Policy and Preservation of Displayed Collections Policy, Part B, #2 and #3. Loans will not be brought into the Teaching, Library, and Props and Furnishings collections or for uses approximating the purposes of these collections.
Responsibilities for Handling Incoming Loans
The Director is ultimately responsible for all incoming loans. It is the responsibility of any Museum staff involved with a potential incoming loan to inform the Registrar or Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions as soon as possible of their intention to initiate a loan. The Registrar is the primary Registration staff responsible for working with lenders in negotiating incoming loans, presenting incoming loan issues to the Acquisition Committee, and for all incoming loan agreement-related decisions. The Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions assists the Registrar in negotiating incoming loans and plays a key role in implementing incoming loans. The Assistant Registrar for Collections may also assist in implementing incoming loans when needed and is the primary Registration staff responsible for the cataloguing and physical processing of incoming loans.
Criteria for Incoming Loans
The Museum will approve or deny requests for incoming loans after carefully reviewing whether the proposed loan meets both the Criteria for Acquisitions; see Acquisitions Policy, Part A, #3, and the following Incoming Loan Criteria:
- A clearly defined understanding as to the purpose of the loan and the degree to which it will enhance the Museum’s ability to achieve its mission and goals;
- If the objects are on loan for exhibit purposes, the value of the objects to enhance or fill a gap within a specified exhibit or program that cannot be accomplished as effectively using the Museum’s own collections;
- The lender can attest that he/she can warrantee title of the objects, that the objects are not subject to ownership claims by any other person, institution or domestic or foreign governments, that the objects are compliant with all local, state, and federal laws and regulations, and that the lender has full authority to proceed with lending the objects;
- If the objects are a loan for future acquisition as a deferred gift, the likelihood that the objects will be approved for accessioning into the Museum collections given the criteria for acquisitions and the perceived intentions of the potential donor;
- Potential issues of cultural sensitivity inherent in the proposed Museum use of the objects;
- Condition and physical nature of the objects and potential risks to the objects in transporting, mounting and implementing the loan;
- Potential of the objects to pose any health risk or other hazard for staff, the Museum building and grounds, or Museum collections that is beyond the ability of staff and facilities to contain;
- Ability, time, and resources available to provide the appropriate care, storage, handling and mounting needs of the objects and to meet any special requirements of the lender regarding care, handling and mounting procedures;
- Written agreement on care, handling, and mounting procedures;
- Written agreement about shipping and transport;
- Written agreement upon provision for insurance;
- Length of loan periods should be specified and based on the purpose of the loan. The length of the loan should not exceed 5 years. Loans are renewable, pending review of whether the loan object still meets the criteria for incoming loans. No permanent or indefinite loans are to be approved;
- Staff, time, and other resources must be available to meet all anticipated costs of the loan;
- Perceived potential for the sales aspect of a living artist’s loaned materials to compromise the Museum’s and the University’s status as a not-for profit institution and the Museum’s Mission and goals;
- Agreement on any and all potential copyright issues inherent in the object to be loaned and its use by the Museum; and
- Completion of a written agreement between the lender and the Museum regarding responsibilities for all associated costs and arrangements regarding the loan as established by an Incoming Loan Agreement Form.
Incoming Loans Procedure
The Registrar and the Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions are the primary Museum contacts for all matters related to implementing incoming loans. Six primary steps should be followed for each incoming loan procedure.
Initiating an Incoming Loan
Persons, institutions, or organizations wishing to loan an object to the Museum should and Museum staff wishing to borrow on object should contact the Registrar or the Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions, who will negotiate arrangements with the lender and collect information regarding the details of the loan.
For all incoming loans the Registrar or the Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions must be notified as far in advance as possible with the following information:
- Name and contact information of lender
- Purpose of incoming loan
- Description of incoming objects
- Starting and ending date of the loan beginning with the shipping or pickup date (or the date of delivery if the lender is hand delivering the objects) through the date the objects are to be physically received by the lender either via shipment or delivery by Museum staff. Insurance coverage begins and ends on these dates. The length of the loan is based on the purpose of the loan and should not exceed the time required to fulfill that purpose. The Museum does not accept any permanent or long-term incoming loans. The length of any loan cannot exceed five years.
- Name of exhibit, if appropriate
- Anticipated exhibition dates, if appropriate
- Anticipated delivery, shipping and transportation dates
- Shipping and transportation arrangements including who will be responsible for each aspect of packing, transporting, shipping and insuring, whether lender, borrower, commercial shipper, etc.
- Agreement regarding amount and responsibility for payment of loan fees, shipping and insurance expenses
- Value of each loaned object
- Preferred credit Line
- Written agreement stated in the Incoming Loan Agreement or other written agreement regarding all relevant copyright issues
- Written statement in the Incoming Loan Agreement or other written agreement regarding any special arrangements or other special circumstances relating to the loan or the object
Museum staff actively involved in pursuing a loan for exhibition purposes may initiate contact with individuals or institutions for loans during the planning stages of a project. While initial planning and selection of objects may or may not include the Registrar or the Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions, the Registrar or the Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions is notified as soon as possible regarding the general intention of the Exhibit Committee, Curator, or Director, to seek an incoming loan. As soon as a final list of objects is identified, the Exhibit Committee, Curator, or Director must contact the Registrar or the Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions. The Registrar or the Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions will work with the Exhibit Committee, Curator, or Director to collect the pertinent information and negotiate arrangements between the lender and Museum staff.
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Internal Approval for an Incoming Loan
Internal approval includes finalizing arrangements and agreements between the Museum and the lender and obtaining approval for the incoming loan from the Exhibit Committee or Acquisition Committee and the Director. The Registrar is responsible for getting this approval in one of two ways.
For loans for exhibition, the Registrar or the Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions under the direction of the Registrar is responsible for working with the Exhibit Committee, Curator, Director, and lender to finalize arrangements and agreements that are satisfactory to all parties. Incoming loans planned by the Exhibit Committee are not presented to the Acquisition Committee. The Exhibit Committee, Registrar, and Director are responsible for ensuring that the incoming loan meets the criteria for incoming loans. The Director gives final approval for all incoming loans for exhibits as is documented by the Director’s signature on the Incoming Loan Agreement Form (see below).
For loans that are anticipated gifts or are for any other purpose, the Registrar or the Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions is responsible for collecting the information needed by the Acquisition Committee for its review of the potential loan. The Registrar is responsible for presenting the potential loan to the Acquisition Committee. The Acquisition Committee is responsible for assessing whether the incoming loan meets the incoming loan criteria and in the case of deferred gifts, the criteria for acquisitions. For potential gifts, if the Acquisition Committee recommends accepting the loan and the Director approves, the loan is maintained as a loan until the lender/donor initiates the change from a loan to a gift. At the time the lender wishes to convert the loan to a gift, the donation will be presented for review to the Acquisition Committee according to the Acquisitions Policy, Part A, #3. If the Acquisition Committee is confident that the Museum is not interested in receiving objects as a gift at a later time, the Committee immediately declines the loan, and the objects are returned to the lender as soon as possible. The Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions is responsible for implementing the Committee’s decisions.
Written Agreement between Lender, Museum, and University for Incoming Loan
After the incoming loan is approved according to the procedures just described, the Registrar, or the Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions under the direction of the Registrar, prepares the Incoming Loan Agreement Form and submits it for signature as required by the Office of the University Counsel and the University of Illinois’ policies on contracts.
Incoming Loan Agreement Forms are usually produced by the Museum. The Museum has two standard Incoming Loan Agreement Forms pre-approved by the Office of the University Counsel. If no insurance is to be provided by the Museum and there are no fees involved in a loan, a SimpleIncoming Loan Agreement Form, signed by the lender and the Director, is used. Two originals are signed; one is kept by the lender and the other by the Museum.
If the Museum is insuring the incoming loan objects and/or if there are any loan fees or other financial responsibilities required of the Museum or the lender, a ComplexIncoming Loan Agreement Form is used. The ComplexIncoming Loan Agreement Form is completed by the Registrar, or the Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions under the direction of the Registrar, and must include all agreements between the two institutions regarding the loan. The Registrar or Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions collects the signature of the lender and the Director on three copies of the ComplexIncoming Loan Agreement Form. The Registrar or the Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions completes a University of Illinois Contract Approval/Routing Form, with his/her own signature and the Director’s signature. The Registrar or the Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions submits all three copies of the Complex Incoming Loan Agreement Form and the University of Illinois Contract Approval/Routing Form to the Office of University Counsel, the Comptroller or Designee, the Secretary of the Board of Trustees or Designee, and the Contracts Processing Office either by walking the documents to each office on the routing slip, or through campus mail.
If a borrowing institution prefers to use its own form, the Registrar, Director and a representative from the Office of the University Counsel must review and approve the agreement prior to signing and the form will follow the same procedure as an agreement produced by the Museum.
The Incoming Loan Agreement Form must be completed before the objects are received. If extenuating circumstances do not allow for the completion of an Incoming Loan Agreement Form prior to receipt of an objects, and if the Director accepts the reason for these circumstances in writing, then:
- A Record of Receipt Form is completed immediately upon receipt of the object; see Receipt of Objects Policy, Part A, #2;
- An Incoming Loan Agreement Form is completed as soon as possible thereafter; and
- The lender is informed of the potential risks and of the lack of insurance coverage.
In some situations the Registrar, or the Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions under the direction of the Registrar, may contact the Campus Office of Risk Management to request special arrangements for insurance coverage. However, insurance cannot be promised to a lender unless the Campus Office of Risk Management Office staff has verified coverage.
Insurance of Incoming Loan
After the Incoming Loan Agreement Form is completed and as soon in advance of the loan as possible, the Registrar or the Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions contacts the Campus Office of Risk Management to initiate insurance coverage. The Campus Office of Risk Management implements insurance based on the information provided by the Registrar, usually in the form of a faxed copy of the signed Incoming Loan Agreement Form. If the lender requests a Certificate of Insurance, the Registrar or the Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions will inform the Campus Office of Risk Management, and a certificate will be provided; see also Insurance of Collections and Loans Policy, Part A, #10.
Implementation of Incoming Loan
The Registrar, or the Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions under the direction of the Registrar, is responsible for ensuring that the agreed conditions are met; monitoring the incoming loan for its duration; facilitating shipping arrangements in conjunction with the Collections Management Section; and tracking the arrival and departure of objects through receipt forms and shipping receipts.
The Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions and Assistant Registrar for Collections are responsible for creating incoming numbers for objects; documenting and cataloguing the objects in the Incoming Objects Database, and tracking location changes within the Museum.
The Collections Management Section is responsible for examining the incoming objects; creating and supplying incoming and outgoing condition reports to the Registrar or the Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions; fulfilling requirements regarding the care, handling and mounting of objects; advising on shipping arrangements if necessary; unpacking and repacking the loan objects; and facilitating the receipt and departure of shipments; see Storage Policy, Preservation of Displayed Collections Policy, and Packing and Shipping Policy, Part B, #2, #4, and #5.
The Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions is responsible for initiating renewals of loaned objects that continue to meet the incoming loan criteria or, if extenuating circumstances have prevented the scheduled return of a loan, objects to be held by the Museum after the loan expiration date. If objects from any incoming loan remain in the custody of the Museum beyond the original loan period, loans are renewed in order to continue insurance coverage. The Registrar must approve all renewals. The Director approves renewals by signing the Incoming Loan Agreement Form.
If any changes in condition or damage to loaned objects are identified, the Registrar or the Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions is notified immediately. The Registrar and Collections Manager are responsible for overseeing the documentation of the changes and/or damage through written condition reports, incident reports, and photography. The Registrar, or the Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions under the direction of the Registrar, is responsible for reporting the incident to the lender and to the Campus Office of Risk Management and works with the lender and the Campus Office of Risk Manager to resolve the matter.
Completion of Incoming Loan
Loans of objects that are declined by the Acquisition Committee or that are no longer required for exhibition purposes are promptly returned to the lender.
If the objects are returned to the lender via physical delivery by Museum staff, a Return Record of Receipt Form is completed upon delivery. If the objects are returned via shipper, the lender is required to notify the Registrar or the Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions as soon as possible upon receipt of the objects, and not more than 30 days after the objects are received.
The Registrar, Assistant Registrar for Acquisitions, and Assistant Registrar for Collections will ensure that the loan agreement, correspondence, condition reports and all other documentation relating to the loan are permanently preserved in the Incoming Loan Files and will update the appropriate database records as needed.
For abandoned loans see Abandoned Property and Unclaimed Loans Policy, Part A, #7.
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