Requests from institutions outside the University to borrow Peabody Museum specimens for research or exhibit should be made in writing to the appropriate curator or curatorial designee. Requests should include the following information: the purpose of the loan; a description of the material requested in as much detail as possible; and where, and under whose responsibility, the specimens will be housed while on loan.
The Museum loans only to institutions, not to individuals. A permanently employed institutional representative who has authority to bind the institution is named responsible for the loan. Investigators who are not located at, or affiliated with, an institution can make arrangements to have specimens sent to a nearby facility as long as a responsible member of that institution is willing to accept responsibility for the specimens, and provided that the specimens remain on the premises of that institution. Specimens requested by students, post- doctoral fellows, or emeritus faculty require endorsement by an appropriate curator or current faculty member with authority to bind the institution, and will be considered the direct responsibility of the institution and the endorser.
Only under exceptional circumstances will loans be made to individual borrowers without institutional affiliation or sponsorship. To be named an “authorized borrower,” an unaffiliated individual must be known to a division of the Peabody Museum, must have demonstrated the capacity to handle and store specimens correctly and securely, and to return specimens in a timely manner, and must be formally approved jointly by the appropriate curator and the Director of the Peabody Museum.
Some specimens in the Museum‘s collections are not available for loan, including specimens judged too fragile or too environmentally sensitive to travel, and specimens needed for teaching or exhibition at the Museum. Some divisions do not loan type specimens, figured specimens, or single representatives of a taxon.
Loan requests will be reviewed by staff of the appropriate division, and when appropriate by the conservator. After review, loans must be approved by the curator or curatorial designee. Environmental guidelines for material requested for exhibit will be specified by the conservator.
All specimens loaned from the Peabody Museum of Natural History are subject to the following stipulations:
Failure to follow the Museum’s policies may jeopardize the borrowing institution’s future loan privileges.
An intramural loan is a temporary physical transfer of material to another organization within Yale University.
Requests from such organizations to borrow Peabody Museum specimens for research or exhibit should normally be made in writing to the appropriate curator or curatorial designee. Requests should include the following information: the purpose of the loan; a description of the material requested in as much detail as possible; and where, and under whose responsibility, the specimens will be housed while on loan.
Specimens requested by students, post-doctoral fellows, or emeritus faculty require endorsement by an appropriate curator or current faculty member, and will be considered the direct responsibility of the endorser.
Some specimens in the Museum’s collections are not available for loan, including specimens judged too fragile or too environmentally sensitive to travel, and specimens needed for teaching or exhibition at the Museum. Some divisions do not loan type specimens, figured specimens, or single representatives of a taxon.
Loan requests will be reviewed by staff of the appropriate division, and when appropriate by the conservator. After review, loans must be approved by the curator or curatorial designee.
All Peabody Museum specimens loaned intramurally are subject to the following stipulations:
Failure to follow the Museum’s policies may jeopardize future borrowing privileges.
The Peabody Museum accepts loans for research and for special exhibits. All transactions whereby specimens and documentary materials are brought into the Museum must be covered by a written agreement. It is the responsibility of the borrower to ensure that necessary documentation, including required permits, is in place for loans involving specimens covered by protective legislation and treaties such as the Endangered Species Act, CITES, NAGPRA, etc. The Peabody Museum will not borrow specimens that are known to have been collected or imported in violation of state, federal or international restrictions, or which may otherwise place the Museum in a compromising legal or ethical position.
Anyone who borrows material in the name of the Peabody Museum must agree to abide by these conditions.
A request to borrow research specimens from another institution or individual should be made in writing. Loans for use by students, post-doctoral fellows, and others are accepted only with the written endorsement of the appropriate Peabody Museum curator. All incoming loans must be signed for by the curator or curatorial designee of the appropriate division, and processed both in and out by that division.
Insurance arrangements for incoming loans should be based on the value placed on the loan by the lender. When specimens are valued at more than $2,500, the Director of Collections and Operations must be consulted.
All conditions set on an incoming loan must be reviewed by the curator. Conditions set on use and storage of specimens must be achievable. Once accepted, conditions are binding, and the Museum will make every effort to adhere to these restrictions. No portion of an incoming loan may be transferred to a location or person that has not previously been approved in writing by the lending institution. Borrowed specimens may not be altered in any way without written permission. It is the responsibility of the borrower to see that a loan is returned in a timely fashion.
Specimens that are damaged or lost while at the Peabody Museum must immediately be documented in writing, and the lending institution must be notified. Questions about insurance or other costs relating to damage or losses must be referred to the Director of Collections and Operations.
A request to borrow specimens for exhibit at the Peabody Museum must be made in writing by either the Director or the appropriate curator or curatorial designee. When an exhibit loan has been approved, originals or copies of the loan agreement, releases, environmental requirements, or other written agreements are given to the Director of Collections and Operations who, in consultation with the concerned division(s), oversees arrangements for insurance, shipping, unpacking and repacking. The conservator completes condition reports in consultation with the division, and oversees compliance with conditions (mounting method, environmental considerations, etc.) set by the loaning institution.
Approved, Board of Curators, 7 February 1994.
© 1994 Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University. All rights reserved.