Policies
Loans
Overview
The Bowdoin College Library may lend materials from its collections to recognized institutions, such as libraries and museums, with trained staff who are proficient in exhibiting the materials requested, subject to the stipulations enumerated below. In addition, approval for each loan will depend on the condition, the physical nature, the scarcity, and the research value of the requested material, as well as on the duration of the loan and other factors involving scholarship and preservation. Loan fees may apply.
Loans are limited in duration to six months or less. Items are rarely lent for traveling exhibitions.
Loan requests must be made with at least three months advance notice.
Loan Agreement
The borrower will sign a Loan Agreement prior to delivery of the requested material to the borrower. If applicable, the borrower will pay all loan fees prior to delivery of the requested material to the borrower.
Environmental Conditions and Handling
The borrower will receive, store, and display the items in a secure, environmentally sound area. A signed and completed facilities report must be submitted to and approved by the lender prior to any loan agreement. The exhibit area must have air conditioning and humidity controls that maintain temperature between 60-70 degrees (± 5 degrees in 24 hours) and between 40-50% relative humidity (± 5% in 24 hours). Lighting must be filtered so that the material is subject to UV exposure lower than 75 microwatts/lumen. Appropriate 24-hour security of the exhibition spaces and storage/preparation areas must be provided, including intrusion alarm systems and locked cases or tamper-resistant mountings. Functioning automatic fire detection and suppression systems must be in place.
The borrower will apply accepted archival best practices in the handling and installation of borrowed materials. Installation must follow reversible techniques. The borrower will not clean, restore, or otherwise alter the object(s) without the written consent of the lender.
Borrowed items must be returned in the same condition in which they were received and packaged in the same or similar manner. The borrower agrees to pay all costs associated with restoration of items returned in damaged condition.
Transportation, Fees, and Insurance
The borrower will assume all expenses for transporting the materials to and from the exhibition site. These expenses may include airfare, lodging, and meals for a Bowdoin College courier, or other shipping arrangements depending on the extent and nature of the material being lent. A late fee of $50/day will accrue for materials returned beyond the contractual date of return.
The borrower will insure the lent items for their collective value as established by Bowdoin College. Coverage will begin upon removal of the material from Bowdoin College Library and end upon its return there. Proof of insurance must be provided prior to delivery of the requested material to the borrower.
Image Use and Credit
The borrower will neither duplicate nor permit others to duplicate borrowed material without the explicit permission of Bowdoin College Library and of copyright holders. This stipulation applies to photographing exhibited materials on display or to preparing or broadcasting images for promotion or publicity. Such permission must be sought in writing.
The borrower will give full credit to the George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine, in all publicity concerning the exhibition, including labels, catalogs, press releases, and promotional broadcasts, and will provide the lender with a complimentary copy of any catalogs or publicity materials created for the exhibition.