Loan Policies and Procedures

Policies

The Rockefeller Archive Center (“RAC”) will consider loans only to nonprofit museums, libraries, archives and other educational institutions for significant temporary exhibitions.
The RAC will only loan properly accessioned and catalogued material for which the RAC has ownership – no third party loans are permitted.
All loans must be reviewed and approved by the President of the RAC, which will include a preservation review of the requested item, and a discussion of exhibition conditions.
The RAC may deny a request for loans, or require the use of a facsimile in lieu of the original object.
Any addition or adjustment to the original loan agreement, i.e. date extension for a traveling exhibition, requires a new or annotated contract to reflect the changes.

All requests must be submitted in writing on institutional letterhead and addressed to the RAC President.
The loan request should include a description of the intended use, the dates of the proposed loan, information about the borrowing institution and its exhibition history, a current American Alliance of Museums (AAM) facilities report, and other pertinent details.
The RAC may request subsequent information (environmental monitoring reports, insurance provisions, etc.) which shall be submitted before the loan agreement is signed.

All loans require a minimum of one year’s notice between receipt of the request and the opening of the exhibit or proposed usage.
No loan will exceed duration of one year, except in special circumstances which will be reviewed individually.
The borrower is required to give one month’s notice before the end of the loan, so that the RAC can prepare for the return of the loan material.

A processing fee of $100 per item loaned is charged to cover RAC administrative costs.
Additional fees for any necessary conservation or preparation by RAC staff will be billed to the borrowing institution at an hourly rate of $50.
The borrower will be responsible for the costs of all exhibition preparation, packing, shipping arrangements, and conservation work; all such tasks must be coordinated with the RAC. Estimated costs of such related work will be included in the initial loan approval, so the borrower has a sense of their obligations before the loan agreement is signed.
Additional vendor fees, such as per diems for couriers, will be borne by the borrowing institution.
In the event that a loan is canceled before it has been fully executed, the borrower will be responsible for all services provided to date, as well as the full processing fee.

Insurance coverage, provided by the borrower, must be under an all-risk fine arts “wall to wall” policy from the point of pickup from the original location of the loan materials, during transit and exhibition, until the loan materials are returned to RAC storage and a final condition review has been completed.
Coverage will include all risks of physical damage or loss including, but not limited to loss or damage from terrorism, earthquakes, floods, strikes, riots, civil commotion, faulty equipment or infrastructure, vandalism, or theft.
The loan materials will be insured at the values assigned by the RAC. The borrowing institution agrees to cover any deductible under its policy.

Except for publicity and condition documentation, the borrower and its viewing public may not photograph or otherwise reproduce the loan material without written permission from RAC.
Unless otherwise instructed, the borrower will give credit to the RAC in any publications, exhibit labels, and other citations as specified in the loan agreement.
Loans for exhibition require that one copy of any catalogue, checklist, or publicity materials will be sent to RAC administration.
All photographs of RAC items to be used in exhibition catalogues, brochures, publicity releases, etc. must be approved by the RAC.
Copyright to any photographs of RAC objects, regardless of the photographer or the intended use, is retained by the RAC. Use of any photographs of RAC objects (including online publication) requires the permission of RAC administration.

RAC must approve of all plans, vendors, and materials involved in any physical handling of the loaned material, whether packing the items for transport or supporting the materials on display. The borrower must exercise the same care to the loan material as it does in the safekeeping of comparable property of its own.
Loan material must remain in the same condition in which it was received; a condition report is included with the loan agreement to confirm the state of the object.
No restoration, repair, cleaning, or fumigation of loan material may be performed by the borrower. Framed items may not be opened or altered without permission of the RAC.
All loan material must be exhibited behind a physical barrier (glazing, bonnet, case, etc.) unless otherwise stipulated by RAC.
The borrower agrees to protect all loan material from direct sunlight, harsh environments, or unfiltered light. Temperature and relative humidity will be maintained at a museum standard at all times, as demonstrated in the borrower’s submitted AAM facilities report.
The borrowing institution agrees to follow all special handling, installation, and packing instructions provided in the loan agreement.

The RAC reserves the right to withdraw any item whose condition has deteriorated or may deteriorate due to travel and/or exhibition. Any risks to security or other urgent reason may also necessitate withdrawal of RAC materials before the end of the exhibition or usage.
In the event that RAC loan material is damaged, destroyed, lost, or stolen, the borrower will give RAC administration immediate notice, followed by written confirmation, including details of the extent and circumstances of the mishap.
No repairs, rehousing, or other actions may be taken towards the RAC material without instructions from RAC administration.
The borrower is responsible for any damage or loss to loan materials and must reimburse the RAC for the cost of conservation, replacement, or reduction in value.