ARCHIVES NATIONALES. Conditions of loan

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Deirdre Russell
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1 ARCHIVES NATIONALES MISSION POUR LA DIFFUSION SCIENTIFIQUE PRËTS AUX EXPOSITIONS Conditions of loan The documents kept in the National Archives are, by their nature, unique, irreplaceable and often fragile. Their loan can be made only in the respect of rules relative to their safety and their preservation outlined below: 1 Processing the loan application 2 Duration, extension and tour of the loan 3 Safety, preservation and presentation of documents 4 Conservation 5 Security photography 6 Publication and advertising 7 Insurance 8 Packing, transport and couriers 9 Cancellation of the loan Contact: Archives nationales Mission pour la diffusion scientifique Prêts aux expositions 59, rue Guynemer F Pierrefitte-sur-Seine cedex : + 33 (0) (or or 61 14) + 33 ( 0) This document must be retained by the borrower

2 1 PROCESSING THE LOAN REQUEST The processing of loan requests requires a period of six months, requests sumitted later than this period risk refusal. Choice of documents: Loan requests should be sent to the Director of the National Archives, specifying the classification number and precise description of the documents requested. The list of documents requested should be final. Additional requests will only be considered in exceptional circumstances. The National Archives will not select documents on behalf of the borrowers; it is the responsability of the borrower to select documents required for loan including any necessary preliminary research, in the reading rooms of the National Archives in Paris, Pierrefitte-sur- Seine and/or Fontainebleau. Authorization and dispensation: The borrower shall comply with the arrangements required to gain access to certain documents, as necessary (authorizations for private archives, "dispensations" for public archives). The National Archives Loans for Exhibitions Service can provide guidance on these arrangements. Procedure: The loan request, once processed by the Loans for Exhibitions Service, is subject to the approval of the Director of the National Archives, such approval shall be taken after consultation with staff responsible for the archive groups. According to their recommendation, the loan shall be agreed or refused. If agreed, the agreement letter shall confirm the list of documents to lent with their approved insurances values and the stages required in the preparation of the loan, including any necessary conservation. It shall confirm too the conditions for transportation of the documents and their security and display requirements. This agreement letter is equivalent to a loan agreement. 2 DURATION, EXTENSION AND TOUR OF THE LOAN Unless otherwise agreed, the documents on loan will be exhibited in one place, only for a maximum period of three months. In exceptional circumstances, the borrower may ask for a revision of the loan term in the case of an extension of the exhibition or a movement to another site. Any request must be made by personnel responsible for the concerned site and should be sent to the National Archives at least one month before the closure of the first presentation. The National Archives can refuse such a request. If the borrower plans a touring exhibition, the National Archives recommend the use of reproductions of the initially lent documents or the possibility of selecting different works for each additional venue. In these situations a new agreement will be prepared with the National Archives and the conditions of loan will be re-examined. 3 SAFETY, PRESERVATION AND PRESENTATION OF DOCUMENTS The borrower shall commitment to implementing the best possible conditions of safety and preservation of the exhibited documents: Presentation in locked showcases or within frames, Supervision of premises, 24 hours,

3 Conforms with rules relating to the light: absence of direct natural light or any artificial light source likely to cause a rise of more than 2 C, lighting outside the showcases, fluorescent light free of close ultraviolet ray, adjustment to 50 lux, Variation of the ambient temperature between 16 and 20 C and of the relative humidity between 50 and 60 %, In line with fire safety regulations: no smoking, fireproofing of hangings, carbonic anhydride CO2 fire extinguisher, excluding carbon foam and powder. In the case of the loan of particularly precious documents, the National Archives shall be entitled to require their presentation into climate controlled showcases protected by a reliable alarm system. An inspection of the conditions of presentation with specific measuring instruments, and a test of security measures may be required by a representative of the National Archives. The National Archives shall mount and pack the documents in suitable acid free cartons, frames or boxes. The cost of this preparation shall be charged to the borrower after acceptance of an estimate. The workshop of the National Archives may use mounting materials supplied by the borrower in order to harmonize with the presentation of documents within the exhibition. Registers or volumes must be presented into showcases. They may be exhibited closed or opened, on a page which the borrower shall choose before the exhibition with the agreement of the National Archives. All the documents must be returned in the same materials in the condition they were lent. Condition report forms shall be complied before departure and checked on return of the documents. If a document sustains damages during transport or when in exhibition, such damage must be noted on the condition report form at return..in the case of damage, the workshop in charge of conservation shall be chosen by the National Archives. The conservation costs shall be charged to the borrower. 4 CONSERVATION OF DOCUMENTS If any document requires conservation, this work shall be charged to the borrower following acceptance of the estimate. Conservation shall be made by the Conservation workshop of the National Archives, or by a private conservation workshop, chosen by the National Archives. 5 SECURITY PHOTOGRAPHY For security reasons, should a document to be lent not have a copy in the picture library of the National Archives, it shall be first reproduced by the National Archives Service of Photography and Digitalization. The cost of this photography shall be charged to the borrower. The photograph shall be produced digitally or occasionally produced onto microfilm. The whole document (one register or the piece in its entirety) must be reproduced. The borrower shall agree not to photograph or photocopy the documents lent for exhibition. Reproduction of the document in any form is prohibited, and shall be reserved for the National Archives only.

4 6 PUBLICATION AND PUBLICITY In the exhibition as in the catalogue, the borrower shall present documents from the National Archives with their exact classification mark and with the following description: National Archives, classification mark and, possibly, number of piece. Reproductions of documents required for inclusion in the catalogue may be ordered through the Archive s Loans for Exhibitions Service. The reproduction of a document in a catalogue or in other materials shall be subject to the approval of the National Archives and may require the payment of a reproduction fee. The request for approval to distribute reproductions of documents owned by the National Archives must be sent to the Service of Reprography in the Public Department, which will confirm Archive s current reproduction rates, further information and an invoice for reproduction. The borrower shall send to the National Archives invitations to the official opening of the exhibition, as specified in the list of the addresses contained in the loan agreement letter. In addition, after the opening of the exhibition, the borrower shall send to the Loans Exhibitions Service the number of catalogues and posters stipulated in the loan agreement letter, for distribution across the various departments of the National Archives. If the number of documents resulting from National Archives exceeds 25 % of the total content of the exhibition, the organizer shall mention in a suitable place and in very readable characters, in the catalogue (title page) and on leaflets, posters or other advertising media, the exhibition is organised with the cooperation of the National Archives. 7 INSURANCE Any document lent has to be insured "nail to nail" by a competent company. The insurance value, fixed by the National Archives, must be strictly respected by the borrower. The National Archives shall provide to the borrower with their preferred list of the insurers who are used of these practices. A certificate of insurance will be required before the delivery of the documents. The National Archives reserve the right to refuse an insurance company or a guarantee of a state proposed by a foreign country. If a state guarentee is used for the loan of documents, a State being his own insurer, a separate agreement between the National Archives and the concerned authorities shall be prepared, including a written commitment by the borrowers to pay off any possible damage from their own budgetary funds. 8 PACKING, TRANSPORT AND COURIERS All expenses relating to the packing, the transport and the supervision of documents are charged to the borrower. The conditions set out below apply to outward and return. Packing: The packing for transport will be done by the carrier. The carrier should bring appropriate packaging: cardboard, foam, tissue paper, acid free paper, and, for framed pieces, blankets, foam plate, straps. The departure of items may be refused if packing seems insufficient.

5 Transport : By professional company Generally, the transport of documents shall be entrusted to a professional carrier. This condition is required for foreign countries and for France, 100 km away from Paris and for the particularly precious and fragile documents. The Loans for Exhibitions Service reserves the right to refuse the carrier proposed by the borrower. The carrier will take care of the packing, the transport and the customs formalities, if necessary. Road transport between the National Archives and the site of the exhibition must be made within one day, without an overnight stay. However, if this is not possible, a storage facility must be used that it closed, under surveillance and alarm system. The Archives, which must be informed of the road plan several days before the departure, reserve the right to refuse the place chosen for the stay. Should the vehicle have to stop in place with no security, it is essential a person shall stay aboard the vehicle, even if the vehicle has an alarm. While waiting for to be installed in the exhibition, documents must be kept in a secure place, with standards of safety, hygrometry and temperature compliant with the safety and the preservation of archives, as outlined in article 3. Transport by the borrower In exceptional circumstances, and after express authorization of the National Archives, transportation may be organised directly by the borrower without a professional transport company. The journey there and back must be supervised by at least two representatives agreed by The Archives, using an administrative vehicle, excluding manual transport, passenger car, post, etc., and should be equipped with a harmless fire extinguisher for documents. Leaving and return of documents: The lent items should be arranged by the carrier or the borrower no more than a fortnight before the inauguration of the exhibition and must be returned within a fortnight following its closure. Dates of departure and return of documents will be agreed with the Loans for Exhibitions Service at the latest one week in advance. Couriers The National Archives can request that particularly fragile or precious pieces are accompanied by one or more of their agents, to whom will be entrusted the installation of the pieces. The expenses for the agents journies and their stay are chargeable to the borrower. In this case, the departure of documents will take place in the days before the inauguration. On arrival, the courier reserves the right to take back the documents if the conditions for safety and preservation are considered insufficient and not in accordance with the article 3 of the Conditions of Loan. In the case of loans from several sites of the National Archives, an agent of one of the sites will accompany documents on the outward journey, and another agent from the other site will be in charge of their return. Any document borrowed from the National Archives but not presented in the exhibition shoud be, if possible, returned to the National Archives before the inauguration of the exhibition. If this is not possible, it must be kept by the borrower in a storage room fulfilling the conditions required for the safety and the preservation of documents. 9 CANCELLATION OF THE LOAN Should the loan be cancelled, the borrower is required to inform the Loans for Exhibitions Service by telephone at least two months in advance and to confirm in writing.

6 The work undertaken by the National Archives, including restoration, photography or framing, the estimate of which shall have been accepted or orders already given, will be charged to the borrower. All paid works shall not be reimbursed.

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY WEST ROAD CAMBRIDGE UNITED KINGDOM CB3 9DR Telephone +44 (0) 1223333000 Fax +44 (0) 1223333160 www.lib.cam.ac.uk The loan of items to external exhibitions: policy and guidelines