[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: "permanent loan" vs "gift"



>This is not a good idea. It is a poor excuse on the part of the donor to get
>free storage for their items they don't have the courage to give free and
>clear. I would recommend that if you want to take on the problems is that
>you charge a "rental fee" for the space the material takes up after six
>months.
---------------------------
A permanent loan is not "free storage." If the agreement is properly drawn,
the only way the donor can retrieve the material is if the institution fails
or goes "belly up."
        I have donated items to well established institutions. But, if a tax
deduction is inconsequential or not needed, I tend to offer fledgling
libraries and museums a permanent loan. They get rare artifacts and the
public gets to have access to them "permanently." It is the newest musuems
and libraries that need material the most. But a number of them fail. If
that happens the donor can then retrieve the items and give them to another
instituiton of his or her choice, rather than see it being removed from
public access to a private collector who buys it at a liquidation auction
for pennies on the dollar.
        If the permanent loan agreement is drawn properly, and the
institution is managed properly, the mateial stays wih them as long as they
exist.
        It also gives the donor the confidence that his material is REALLY
wanted and appreciated by the institution and will not be deaccessioned and
auctioned off in two years. So if it is something that is just going to take
up storage space, don't consider a permanent loan.
Cheers,   Joe Gertler

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>