National Archives policy on lending for exhibitions

Lending policy and procedure

1. Requests for loans must be made in writing to the Director-General of the National Archives of Australia.
2. Archival items will normally be available only to recognised institutions with:
   
   • established exhibition programs and
   • full-time professional staff proficient in handling the particular material requested.
3. Only the Director-General may make an exception to this condition.
4. Each request for loan will be judged on its merits. In making its assessment, the Archives will consider:
   
   • the type of institution and program to which the loan is proposed
   • the importance and value, both monetary and intrinsic, of the items requested
   • whether the items are likely to be replaceable in the event of loss.
5. Requests for loans should be made 12 months in advance. A minimum of six months' notice is essential. We need this time for scheduling and preparation. We may impose a surcharge of 50% in order to grant a request with insufficient notice. Or we may refuse the request outright.
6. There will be a charge for each item approved for loan. Any non-standard mounting and framing requirements may incur additional charges. The standard rate of charge is 260% of the salary time required to assess the item(s) and prepare the loan.
7. Once a loan is confirmed, a borrower is liable for any expenses incurred in the preparation of items requested, even if the loan request is subsequently cancelled.
8. It is the responsibility of the borrowing institution to purchase insurance cover for the borrowed items. Additional loan conditions concerning the display conditions, security and regular inspection by National Archives staff will be agreed with the borrowing institution. If any of these conditions are not met, the Archives will immediately recall all items lent.

Archival items that fall into any of the following categories will not be available for loan.

1. Items acquired by the Archives under conditions preventing their loan.
2. Unusually fragile items and other material which, in the Archives' judgement, should not be subjected to the risks of removal.
3. Items on display by the Archives itself or other institutions, or reserved under prior commitments.
4. Particularly rare or irreplaceable items.
5. Items that have been displayed for an extended period in recent times.

The following estimates of likely charges are based on the Archives' pay scale as at 21 June 2001.

1. For loan of an item not requiring any conservation treatment, and assuming that the item in question has been correctly identified and is readily retrieved – $420.
2. For loan of an item requiring two days conservation work, assuming that the item in question has been correctly identified and is readily retrieved – $1595.