Skip to main content.

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
{search_item}

Department of Anthropology

Mexican Masks in storage

Department of Anthropology
Archaeology, Ethnology and Physical Anthropology Collections


Borrowing Collections
The Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), loans objects from its collections for temporary exhibits to qualifying museums. While the Department's goal is to accommodate qualified borrowers, the volume and timing of submissions often make it impossible to approve all requests. Requests submitted at least 18 to 24 months prior to the proposed shipping date and which are accompanied by clear intellectual justification and evidence of budgetary planning for conservation, bracket-making and packing and shipping will have the best chance of being approved.

Based on the volume of loan requests currently received for 2012 and 2013 and commitments already made to borrowers, the Department of Anthropology will not be considering any additional loan requests that would ship in 2012 or 2013. Please be advised that the earliest shipping date we will consider will be for loans that ship in January of 2014 or later. We will not begin reviewing any new requests until March 2013.

Loan requests are initiated by the submission of a Preliminary Loan Request Form. Please click here to initiate a loan request. This form asks for basic information about the exhibit dates, intent, venue(s), the number of objects being requested, and, if known, their catalog numbers. This initial document is intended to help the borrower compile information needed for a successful loan request. It also provides the Department of Anthropology with a general sense of the nature and scope of incoming loan requests. After review by Department personnel, borrowers whose requests meet Departmental standards will be directed to move forward to Active Loan Review status. Preliminary loan requests will be routed to our Registrar, Susan Crawford.

We strongly encourage borrowers to consult with appropriate Department curator(s) and, if at all possible, visit the collections. Borrowers are also encouraged to use our online database, or, if needed, request a digital report of our collections data base from Departmental personnel. It has been our experience that such preparation facilitates the processing and evaluation of loan requests.

For detailed guidelines on the overall loan request process please refer to the Department of Anthropology Active Loan Status/Loan Process Information document.

  • For information on our collections, search our online database. Be advised that due to frequently incomplete database records, and the amplitude of our collections, not all prospective borrowers will be able to select specific objects based only on the online records. Therefore, we encourage prospective borrowers to visit to the collection.
  • To request a report or object list from our collections database, please fill out a printout request form.
  • To schedule an appointment to visit the collections please fill out an appointment request form. 
  • Feel free to contact Anthropology Department staff members with questions.

For more details on loan requirements and procedures, please refer to the following documents:

If you would like further information regarding our loan program, please contact:
Susan Crawford
Anthropology Department Registrar
crawfords@si.edu

 

 

 

[back to Anthropology Collections Management Page]

[ TOP ]