Exhibition Loans

• All loan requests should be submitted 1 year before the beginning of the loan period to ensure adequate assessment, conservation, preparation and processing time. Requests made with insufficient lead time for necessary loan processing may be refused.

• Shortly after the initial inquiry, a preliminary evaluation of the requested material will be made. The prospective borrower will be notified of any special circumstances surrounding the request, such as anticipated conservation needs, complex mounting problems, unusual packing and shipping requirements, or restrictions on the loan of the requested item(s).

• Initial inquiries should be made to Benn Joseph, Registrar and Head of Collections Services, McCormick Library of Special Collections & University Archives.

A formal request letter should include the most current information regarding the following:

• title of exhibition
• dates of exhibition
• place of exhibition, including tour venues (if applicable)
• title(s) or name(s) of work(s) being requested, including collection identifiers and box/folder numbers; for books, indicate page opening for display
• name(s) of exhibition curator(s)
• description of the premise or purpose of the exhibition
• information about catalog (general contents, name of publisher, etc.)
• date work(s) needed for loan
• assurance that all costs (loan fees, packing, shipping, insurance, etc.) will be paid by borrower
• statement of availability of facilities report upon request

A loan agreement form may be shared with the formal request, or later, after Northwestern has agreed in principle to the loan. However, please note that we must use our own internally approved loan agreement form and that a signed loan agreement must be executed before the beginning of the loan period.

Following receipt of the request letter and application fee, curatorial staff will evaluate the request. The item(s) will be examined by a conservator to determine whether it can travel and be exhibited safely.

• If conservation is necessary, the borrower will be informed of the estimated cost; if the cost of treatment is approved by the borrower, the borrower will be invoiced for the expense.
• Among other possible fees are matting, framing, the construction of a book cradle or other mount, loan fees, and photography for use in the catalog or for other exhibition-related purposes.
• Among the conditions to be specified by Northwestern are the method of packing and shipping and the light, temperature, and humidity levels during exhibition.
• The borrower will be asked to provide a facilities report. This report should follow standard AAM guidelines.
• For a work of high value or requiring complex installation, a courier may be required (including costs for transportation, hotel, per diem).

The standard loan fee is $150.00 per item, along with a non-refundable $150 application fee (which can be applied to borrowing fees for requested items) to cover basic administrative costs. Upon receiving a loan request and application fee, Northwestern staff will review the requested items to determine what items can be loaned and will inform the borrower as to the estimated cost and timeline before proceeding with the loan. Fees for requested items must be received before any work can commence.

The borrower is also responsible for the following fees and expenses:

• All transportation costs, including packing and crating, freight, customs charges, and brokers' fees, as well as courier expenses, if applicable.

• Any incurred costs for conservation treatment, framing, matting, or fabrication of custom mounts that may be necessary for the safe travel and exhibition of the item(s).

• Insurance coverage of the loan material; a copy of the certificate of insurance must be provided prior to the loan.

• Any photography necessary for the loan, including reproduction for publication. All photography will be done by Northwestern before the loan.

• Two copies of associated exhibit publication should be provided to NUL prior to the conclusion of the exhibit

Northwestern expects the borrowing institution to adhere to accepted professional standards at all stages of the exhibition process, including such matters as security, installation methods, and maintenance of proper environmental controls at all times. If the conditions outlined below cannot be maintained throughout the exhibition, the borrower must notify NUL promptly to discuss appropriate next steps.

Northwestern usually packs the items going out on loan and will require that all items be repacked for return in exactly the same manner as when they were sent to the borrowing institution. For some items, packing may need to be done by a fine arts handler engaged by the borrower. Any changes in repacking should be discussed in advance between borrower and Northwestern.

Loans to countries outside the United States will require the assistance of a reputable customs broker who should be contacted well in advance of the loan arrival date. Customs formalities and the provision of export licenses to and from the exhibition site are the responsibility of the borrower. Objects should not be unpacked in transit for customs inspection, but passed through in bond to the exhibition site. It is the international borrower’s responsibility to meet any courier upon arrival, to have a customs broker on hand, and to escort the courier and the loaned items to and from the exhibition site. Overseas loans must be transported by air.

When the material is received, the borrower should inspect it upon unpacking, compare it with the condition report provided by Northwestern, and record its condition. Any damage or discrepancies must be reported immediately in writing to the registrar at Northwestern Libraries. Unless specific advance permission has been obtained from Northwestern, the borrower must not alter, clean, or repair items, frames, or mounts in any way. The inspection and condition reporting process should be repeated upon arrival and departure at each venue for traveling exhibitions.

Northwestern reserves the right to specify the conditions for any individual item, and to verify that the required conditions can be maintained at the loan venue. The loan period for light-sensitive items may be restricted to a short period, or NUL may require that items or pages be rotated at set intervals during the exhibition.

For most paper-based materials, the temperature in exhibition, packing, and storage areas should be maintained at 70 degrees F, with fluctuations of no more than 4 degrees F in any 24-hour period. The relative humidity in the exhibition, packing, and storage areas should be kept at 45% with fluctuations of no more than 5% in any 24-hour period. For some loans, dated records from a hygrothermograph or datalogger may be required before the loan is approved; the lender may be required to send environmental reports periodically throughout the loan period.

Lighting in the exhibition area should adhere to the following general guidelines for paper-based library materials:

• All ultraviolet (UV) radiation must be excluded.

• Maximum 10 footcandles/100 lux for most printed book pages, broadsides, prints, and black and-white silver gelatin photographs.

• Maximum 5 footcandles/50 lux for most manuscripts, textiles (including cloth book covers), colored papers, drawings, watercolors, miniatures, color photographs, 19th-century photographs (e.g., albumen prints, salt prints).

• Maximum 25 footcandles/250 lux for oil paintings.

Northwestern reserves the right to recall an item at any time if the terms of the loan are not met for the duration of the loan period.

The borrowing institution may be required to provide information pertaining to accreditation and governance, policies concerning public access to exhibitions, and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Northwestern must approve reproduction of borrowed materials in any way for publicity or other purposes while under the care of the borrowing institution.

As owner of unique and valuable cultural artifacts, Northwestern requires that surrogates of these objects – in print, media, digital, and other formats – reproduce the qualities of the original items as accurately as possible. Reproductions of items may not be altered by cropping, colorizing, reversing, bleeding, overprinting, digital editing, or any other method without prior permission.

Reproductions must appear as an illustration to text. Any decorative use of the image – as background, endpapers, or other uses – requires the express written consent of Northwestern.

Northwestern will specify the credit line for all reproductions.

To assure safe and accurate reproduction of Northwestern property, Northwestern Libraries requires the use of its own reprographic services.