Borrowing for public exhibitions

Find out how to make a loan request, how we arrange and administer loans, and the general conditions we expect borrowers to meet.

We are happy to lend material from the National Library of Scotland's collections for inclusion in temporary public exhibitions elsewhere. However, we must be satisfied first that all the necessary conditions are in place. For details please see our conditions of loan.

To allow time to prepare for the loan, ideally we should receive notification in advance:

• UK loans — at least six months before the exhibition opens
• International loans — at least 12 months before the exhibition opens.

If you are not able to provide us with sufficient notice before making your request it may still be possible to proceed. Please contact our Loans Registrar, Sally Todd, at s.todd@nls.uk for further discussions on the feasibility of your proposed loan.

The Board of the National Library of Scotland has to approve all loans. The Board meets approximately every two months.

Please note that one of the requirements of loans is that we receive UK Registrars Group forms for your facility. Blank forms are available on the UK Registrars Group website. We may also ask to visit the loan venue so that we can carry out a preservation inspection.

Borrowers may be charged for all direct costs arising from loans. We aim to keep costs to a minimum, but expenses may include, where applicable.

• Transport to and from the exhibition venue
• Courier accommodation costs
• Insurance
• Any additional courier travel and subsistence
• Reprographics
• Conservation treatment
• Mounts and stands.

Make a loan request online

After you have submitted your request, we will contact you to acknowledge receipt. We will also:

• Keep you informed on the progress of your request
• Let you know as soon as possible if there are any obvious reasons why it is not possible to lend
• Forward your security supplement on to the Arts Council England, who may contact you with further queries or in order to arrange an inspection
• Advise you of any special conditions for the loan
• Estimate the likely costs of borrowing
• Submit your request to the Board of the National Library of Scotland for approval
• Prepare a Loan Agreement form specifying the insurance values for the material
• Specify the method of transport for the material, make the necessary arrangements for this and, if applicable, arrange accommodation
• Specify the level of supervision required to transport and install the material.

If you need any more information about borrowing from our collections, please contact Sally Todd at s.todd@nls.uk.