Borrowing of Special Collections Materials for Exhibition: A Draft

Abstract

Over the past ten years, special collections libraries have received an increased number of requests to lend rare books, manuscripts, and other rarities for exhibitions throughout the country and abroad. At the same time, special collections librarians have become more concerned about the safety of items lent to other institutions and more sophisticated in their knowledge of the environmental conditions required for safe exhibition of books, manuscripts, and works of art on paper. Although individual museums and a few large libraries have long had procedures for dealing with loans, no such standards for special collections libraries have been formulated.

In . . .