Process to Borrow from the Library-Archives

WHS will work with you to help meet your exhibition needs, especially if you contact us well in advance of the opening of your show. If your institution has difficulty meeting the general requirements or fees listed below, please contact us as soon as possible so that we can help find safe ways to lend our materials for your exhibit. We need to hear from you at least 60 days prior to lending out collections.

Initial requests and questions about our exhibits policies should be directed to:

WHS Curitorial Staff
museumcollections@wisconsinhistory.org

Fees

Wisconsin Institutions: no fees

Non-Wisconsin Institutions: $50 per exhibit

In addition to this general fee, borrowing institutions are expected to help cover costs related to preservation treatment, insurance valuation, and copying or artifact preparation beyond the general loan fee.

Conditions

1. Loan requests should be made 60 or more days in advance of the anticipated borrow date.
2. Borrowing institutions should be prepared to submit a current facility report. If you need assistance with a facility report, please contact Rachel Harvieux.
3. All loans require a written agreement specifying duration and specific conditions of loan.                 For example:  
• • “WHS will courier items to the [insert name] museum. [insert name] museum will arrange a return courier.”
  • “Exhibit labels must credit Wisconsin Historical Society Library-Archives Division.”
4. All items will be reviewed by conservation staff for stability prior to an agreement to lend.
5. Online or print publication of reproductions of borrowed items requires separate permission and fees.
6. A certificate of insurance is sometimes required for items on loan. We are happy to discuss particulars at the time of your request.
7. Materials used for exhibition cases, mounts, the mounting methods and the exhibition security should meet general library, archives and museum exhibition standards, such as those which can be found in “Environmental Conditions for Exhibiting Archives and Library Materials” (ANSI/NISO Z39.79)
8. We may require materials to be mounted/matted/framed by our in-house conservation staff prior to shipping.
9. Borrowed materials should generally be subject to less than 150,000 lux hours of light exposure in total over the duration of the exhibit  (or 50,000 for light sensitive materials). To learn more about lux hours, please see the section on exhibition lighting in the NEDCC pamphlet “Protection from Light Damage.” We are happy to answer specific questions at the time of your request.
10. Transport may be arranged by courier, fine art shipper or common carrier (e.g. FedEx) depending on the nature of the items being requested. 
11. We may request that you consider exhibiting a facsimile created by our digital imaging lab instead of an original.
12. We reserve the right to decline exhibit requests at our discretion.

Learn More

See more articles about Professional Conservation and Restoration Services

Have Questions?

Contact:

museumcollections@wisconsinhistory.org