MDA Loans Pack Now Available on Collections Link
8th Jan, 2008
MDA has announced the publication of a Loans Pack, available to download free from the Collections Link website at www.collectionslink.org.uk/manage_information/loanspack.
The pack has been compiled in response to the many enquiries MDA receives from its Members and users about how best to go about negotiating, managing and documenting the loan of objects between heritage organisations. Properly documenting loans enables a museum to account for all the items currently in its care whether or not they are part of its permanent collection, and to ensure that all borrowed items are cared for to agreed standards. Loaning objects to SPECTRUM standards is also a requirement of the Museum Accreditation Scheme.
The pack is made up of a number of resources, including a new Loans In agreement template, which can be used as the basis for developing an organisation's own loans documentation. Alongside this, the pack also includes:
- The MDA Loans In fact sheet
- The MDA Loans Out fact sheet
- Example loans documentation from the Imperial War Museum
- An example loans agreement form from the DH Lawrence Heritage Museum
Margaret Harrison, MDA Collections Management Adviser commented, 'Managing loans and their associated documentation can be a complex process, and this pack will help museums to develop their own, SPECTRUM-compliant systems and procedures. We are very grateful to the D.H. Lawrence Heritage Museum and the Department of Collections Management at the Imperial War Museum for allowing us share their loans documentation with other organisations facing similar issues.'
Further MDA resources on loans, and a range of other documentation issues, are available at www.collectionslink.org.uk/manage_information.
Notes for Editors
MDA is the UK's focus for best practice in collections management, with 30 years experience in developing professional standards and providing authoritative and cost-effective training and advice to help people meet them.
The example loan agreements available in this pack are offered as examples only. MDA is not responsible for the content of these loan agreements and museums should check any legal agreements with their own sources of legal advice.
To arrange an interview with Nick Poole, or to find out more about the work of MDA, email Eleanor Lovegrove, MDA Marketing Officer, at eleanor@mda.org.uk or call on 01223 310377 (direct line).
MDA is funded in England by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), in Scotland by the Scottish Museums Council and in Wales by CyMAL through the Federation of Museums and Art Galleries of Wales.
