Collections Loan Policy

Under Saskatchewan’s RSM Act and as part of Saskatchewan’s contribution to our understanding and appreciation of natural and human history, the RSM supports and promotes the responsible use of its collections by other organizations.

General Loan Policies

• Any collection item that leaves the RSM and is not in the company of a RSM staff member is considered an Outgoing Loan;
• The RSM does not provide “permanent loans”, collections outside of the RSM are either on loan, or they are formally disowned;
• Non-accessioned items (e.g. items sent out for identification or processing) should follow the standard protocol outlined within this policy.
  • Collections are expected to be returned to the RSM based on a pre-arranged agreement;
  • All type materials are to be returned to the RSM.

Eligible Borrowers

• Loans are only provided to institutions (e.g. museums, universities) or to individuals designated as Professional Affiliates;
  • Loans to Professional Affiliates must be approved by the responsible Curator and Head of Research and Collections.
• Borrowers must have mandates and objectives not contrary to those of the RSM.
• Loans may only be provided to permanent or full/time representatives of borrowing institutions (e.g. curator, professor);
  • Loans to students, post-docs, interns and the like must be conducted through their supervisor or a designated representative of the borrowing institution.

Eligible Loan Items

• Loaned materials must have an RSM-assigned number (e.g. accession, division, catalogue);
  • Unprepared materials may be loaned (e.g. for sorting, cataloguing, identification) but must follow all standard loan procedures.
• The following conditions may preclude loaning of collections:
  • Fragile items;
  • Items that require exceptional storage/exhibit/transportation/handling conditions;
  • Items that have not been sufficiently prepared or catalogued (unless items are being loaned for the purpose of preparation or cataloguing;
  • Excessively large number of items;
  • Items of exceptional scientific or artistic value;
  • Specimens that are rare in the RSM’s collections;
  • Original documents or images pertaining to collections (copies may be provided);
  • Items currently in active use by the RSM;
  • Items designated as sacred or culturally sensitive materials;
  • Borrower not in good-standing based on previous loan experiences;
  • Borrower’s mandate or objectives are contrary to those of the RSM.

Loan Conditions

• No item shall be marked, altered, cleaned, molded or cast without prior written permission from the RSM;
• Borrowers will be informed of and must follow appropriate care and handling techniques specific to the items in their care;
• Items shall not be placed in direct sunlight, near sources of heat, water, pollutants or any other source of potential damage while on loan;
• Borrowers will be informed of and must abide by any culturally sensitive or legal issues associated with the items in their care;
• An exhibit-catalogue or formal memo must be provided to the RSM when loaned materials are exhibited;
  • Acknowledgement of copyright holder (if applicable) and the RSM must be given in any publication or exhibit.
• RSM collections used in research:
  • As a courtesy, the RSM should be supplied with copies of raw data that are pertinent to the interpretation of the collections;
  • Loans provided for the purposes of the borrower cataloguing, sorting or identifying collections may be accompanied with a database template (e.g. spreadsheet) for the borrower to record (and return) data;
  • As a courtesy, a copy of any publications emanating from the use of loan material should be provided to the RSM;
  • Due to the sensitive nature of divulging detailed geographic locations of collection finds, any dissemination of locations must be done in consultation with the RSM and use of imprecise data or RSM locality names may be required;
  • The RSM encourages the dissemination of its collection records but due to the sensitive nature of some data, publishing databases must be done in consultation with the RSM;
  • Acknowledgement of copyright holder (if applicable) and the RSM must be given in any publication;
  • RSM accession/catalogue numbers should be noted in scientific publications.
• Costs associated with loans:
  • Materials and non-RSM service costs incurred during the course of the loan will normally be borne by the borrower (including packing, transportation and insurance, if applicable);
  • The RSM may request financial reimbursement from borrower to cover loss in value and/or the cost of repair/restoration of damaged loan items;
  • The RSM may request financial or other compensation for use of its collections.
• The RSM will be notified immediately of any damage, loss or deterioration of the borrowed materials.
• Materials shall be packed for return to the RSM in a similar manner to which they were received.
• Loans and loan agreements are not transferable to other borrowers; or to other locations.
• The RSM reserves the right to withdraw any loan from the borrower at any time.
• All loans must have an expiry date noted;
  • All loans will have an expiry date of 31-January;
  • Loans will not exceed 18 months in duration but may be renewed;
  • In the spirit of fast-tracking yearly renewals, the original loan agreement should state the anticipated duration of the entire loan (including the anticipated renewals);
  • Renewals must involve a written request/document by the borrower and a written response by the responsible Curator;
  • Renewal requests must include a brief report by the borrower that includes comment on condition of the items and/or an update on the use of the items;

Loan Requests

• Loan requests must be received in writing;
• Standard protocol is to receive loan requests at least four weeks prior to the desired loan;
  • Rushed requests will be accommodated if possible;
• Requests must include a description of the intended use of the loaned materials and include detailed borrower information (e.g. name, position, contact information, users of loaned materials (e.g. grad student), primary contact person);
• Requests must include any intention to replicate, prepare or otherwise modify the item(s);
• Movement of items outside of Saskatchewan must abide by provincial and federal regulations and loans will not be processed until all pertinent documentation is provided.  Examples include:
  • Heritage property (as defined by Saskatchewan’s Heritage Property Act) destined for other Canadian provinces or territories require approval (i.e. permit) from the Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport;
  • Heritage property destined for locations outside of Canada require approval (i.e. permit) from the Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport as well as a federal Cultural Property Export Permit (as per federal legislation);
  • Movement of modern vertebrates requires a Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment Export permit.