Borrowing from the National Army Museum

Introduction

This guide explains how to make a loan request and outlines how the Museum will arrange and administer the loan. The Loans Out Conditions, which state the specific responsibilities and obligations of the borrower, should be read in conjunction with this page, along with our published Loans Out Policy.

Preliminary enquiries

The Museum has temporarily paused its loan out activity to focus on the delivery of two new galleries. For institutions considering the loan of items from NAM, contact information for preliminary enquiries will be made available here as soon as this activity resumes.

How to make a formal loan request

Once you have finalised your list, please write on your institution's headed notepaper to the Assistant Director (Collections) at NAM formally requesting the loan. Please ensure that you tell us:

1. The title of the exhibition and outline of its scope;
2. Its dates of opening and closing to the public;
3. The dates upon which you would like the item(s) from NAM to arrive and depart;
4. Full details of the items you wish to borrow, including their NAM accession numbers;
5. The name, position, telephone and fax numbers, and email address of the contact person at your institution who will deal with all aspects of the loan;
6. You must also enclose a completed UK Registrars Group Facilities Report, Facilities Report: Security Supplement and, where applicable, a Facilities Report: Display Case Supplement (available as Word documents on request from NAM or downloadable from www.ukregistrarsgroup.org/).

Borrowers in the USA may submit a completed Standard Facility Report adopted by the Registrars Committee of the American Association of Museums.

To allow enough time to administer the loan, the Museum requires the final list of items needed to be received a minimum of six months in advance of the start date of the exhibition.

After receiving your request

NAM will inform you in writing within 20 working days whether your request has been successful.

Please note that the requesting institution must be prepared to meet the costs of any inspection or other investigation by NAM of the proposed exhibition venue as part of its consideration of the loan request.

The Collections Standards and Care Manager, acting on behalf of the Director, formally approves all requests or extensions to loan periods.

If your request is successful

Once approved, NAM will send you an estimate of the total costs involved in fulfilling your loan within 20 working days. These include but are not limited to framing, mounting, the preparation of condition reports, transport, packing and insurance. However, the Museum will work with the borrower to keep these costs to a minimum, such as not sending a courier unless a clear need is identified; undertaking only essential conservation; and sharing transport with other lenders if possible. NAM does not charge a loan administration fee, but reserves the right to do so for overseas borrowers. Where appropriate, we will discuss any customised or specific aspects of the NAM Loans Out Conditions.

Once the costs are finalised, a NAM Loan Out Agreement will be sent. This form must be signed, showing acceptance of our conditions together with the estimate and returned. Then work can begin on preparing the items requested for your exhibition.

If your request is unsuccessful

NAM will always clearly state the reasons for refusing a loan, but may suggest alternative objects or other institutions that the borrower can approach.