Most museums, no matter how good their collections, will need materials from other institutions to complete an exhibit. The handling of loans both to and from the museum is an integral part of good registration. As the lending institution, you will be in the driver's seat. It is the prerogative of the lender to set the conditions of the loan and control how the borrower uses the items.
When you are the lending institution, your forms and conditions apply. The loan form should state exactly what is being borrowed and give a detailed description of the physical condition of the item. Because you have been careful to fully catalog and document each item in your collection, your catalog records should be enough to identify the item in court, should a dispute arise. It is important to state the exact purpose of the loan and to be specific about any restrictions that may apply to the items.
You should do a detailed condition report for each item in the loan. See Chapter 6 - The Objects Catalog for detailed instructions on condition reporting. You must carefully assess each object's ability to travel and withstand the conditions under which the materials will be stored or exhibited during the period of the loan.
It is usually the responsibility of the borrower to provide crating and shipping for the loan. However, as the curator or collections manager responsible for the materials, it is important to review the proposed packing and transportation to make sure they meet your standards.
Make it a policy to periodically review your active outgoing loans. Loan expiration dates should be monitored so that loans are returned on time. Often times, loans expire and are not returned or processed promptly. A loan agreement may be extended. However, to extend a loan agreement, the contract must be updated and the insurance coverage extended by the borrowing institution.
When a loan is returned, you should unpack it as soon as possible and compare objects against their outgoing condition reports for any significant changes. If there is any damage to the items, notify the borrower immediately. Take pictures of the damage to compare with "before" pictures in your records. It will be up to you, the lending institution, to file an insurance claim. If you feel that the damage occurred during shipping, save all the crating and packing material and take photographs of it. If a damage claim is necessary, you will need to provide documentation of the damage.