Loans for exhibitions
Loans are granted to museum and cultural institutions who wish to exhibit original documents, guaranteeing that conditions of display and security conform with standards and requirements of preservation.
Notice
Only requests for loans received by the defence historical service at least six months before the date of the exhibition will be considered.
Insurance and transport
Documents may be loaned out for exhibitions for a period not exceeding 3 months.
For the entire duration of the loan period, including transport and the exhibition, the documents must be insured for the value indicated by the SHD. The insurance must cover risks of wear and tear, loss, theft or depreciation.
The insurance company must be approved by the defence historical service. A copy of the comprehensive insurance certificate must be sent to the defence historical service one week before the items to be borrowed are collected.
The loaned documents should preferably be packaged and transported there and back by a packaging and transport company whose details have been submitted for approval to the defence historical service.
Packaging procedures must conform to the appropriate recommendations in standard NF Z40-010 of June 2002.
Costs of transport and insurance are the responsibility of the borrower, as are all expenses associated with the transport arrangements (travel, accommodation).
The defence historical service reserves the right to refuse the movement of borrowed works.
Exhibiting conditions
Documents must be exhibited under the correct display conditions (temperature, humidity and lighting controls) in accordance with the standard AFNOR prNF ISO 11799 of January 2004.
The borrower must also ensure that the documents exhibited are kept under the best possible security and preservation conditions:
- documents displayed behind locked glass doors or in frames appropriate to the level of support required, according to the nature of the document. The borrower is responsible for the framing of works and graphics. For works that are particularly rare or precious, display windows with alarms may be required;
- day and night security guards in the absence of an alarm system;
- conformity to regulations regarding lighting: the absence of direct natural light or any source of artificial lighting that could raise the temperature by more than 2°C, external lighting for the display cabinets, fluorescent lighting with no near-ultraviolet radiation, set at 50 lux;
- ambient temperature varying between 16 and 20°C and relative humidity between 50 and 60%;
- conformity to regulations regarding fire control: no smoking, fireproof drapes, carbon dioxide (CO2) fire extinguisher excluding foamite and powder extinguishers.
The display cabinets and their positioning must be determined by the time the exhibit items arrive so that the collections may be placed directly into the place where they will remain for the duration of the exhibition. The display cabinets may not be opened again until the end of the exhibition.
Documents from the defence historical service collections may under no circumstances be used for demonstration purposes. Display of the exhibits must be static.
No restoration work may be undertaken on the collections. In the event of a borrowed document being damaged, the borrowing organisation must not attempt any remedial work and must inform the SHD immediately.
Prior restoration and backup copy
Some documents may require an amount of restoration work before they are loaned out. The defence historical service will organise any such work and invoice the borrower accordingly.
A back up copy of the whole of any document borrowed may be required, in which case the technical costs will be the responsibility of the borrower in accordance with the provisions of the order of 28th June 2006 relating to the payment of certain copying services provided by the national defence archives service and the Ministry of defence record centres.
Catalogues and photographs
The inscription, "Collections from the defence historical service", must be marked on all notices, catalogues, descriptions and display information.
In the event of loans from the defence historical service exceeding 30% of the total items on display, the name and logo of the defence historical service must appear on all related documents, including invitation cards.
Copies of notices, brochures and catalogues published for the exhibition must be sent to the defence historical service. The number will be established when the contract is made out.
The borrower must formally commit not to copy, or allow a third party to copy, using any method whatsoever, documents which have been loaned solely to the borrower for exhibition purposes.
Copies may only be made by the defence historical service. Technical costs will be charged to the borrower in accordance with the provisions of the order of 28th June 2006 published in the Journal Officiel on 22nd August 2006. The SHD will receive payment, established by the order of 28th June 2006, depending on the use intended by the borrower.
Cancellation of loan
The defence historical service reserves the right to cancel the loan or withdraw borrowed collections, at the cost of the borrower, if any of the conditions described above are not met.
Loans forms
Downloading the form - about the exhibition
Downloading the form - list of the documents
Downloading the form - about the documents (please fill one form per document)
Find out more
Downloading copying price list
Downloading copyright price list
Standard NF Z40-010, June 2002
Guilelines on exhibiting archival materials, ICA, 2007