Loan Policy
- Spermophilus tridecemlineatus (Thirteen-lined ground squirrel), Michigan. M. D. Carleton. © Smithsonian Institution.
Availability of the Collection
Specimens are loaned to qualified users only for research and for scientific illustration relating to the publication of research results.
Research specimens may not be loaned for use in - teaching, extramural exhibit, nonscientific illustration, decoration, or personal use - except under extenuating circumstances. In such instances, specimens may be made available from the school, discard, or exchange collections. Loans are not granted to commercial establishments (stores, theaters, fairs, etc.) or for commercial use.
Holotypes and other type specimens are never loaned.
Categories of specimens generally not available for loan:
- Primates and endangered species.
- Specimens waiting to be accessioned, cataloged, or installed.
- Material under active study by resident staff.
Such specimens may be considered for loan under exceptional circumstances and on a case-by-case basis (for example, lab or zoo animals, extensive series, special investigational technique required, material collected pre-Cites, or identifications needed).
Conditions of Loans
Loans of research specimens are made only to academic or scientific institutions in the name of a recognized member of that organization. Loans to students must be cosigned by an institutional representative who agrees to assume full responsibility for the loan and proper care of the specimens.
The loan period is six months, after which the borrower must return the loan or write for an extension. In some cases, loans may be arranged for longer (ongoing revision) or shorter (rare or unique specimens) periods.
Not more than one-half of a taxon or locality series is normally loaned at one time. Requests for specimens of rare species or for the entire holdings of any taxon will be evaluated on an individual basis by the curatorial staff.
Loans involving numerous specimens will be shipped as two or more smaller installments, each being forwarded upon the safe return of the previous one. Loan requests desiring inordinately large numbers of individuals or involving large, fragile specimens may be refused, and the researcher encouraged to visit the collection.
Recipient institutions cannot transfer or loan USNM specimens to another without a written request and receipt of approval to do so. Such second-party transactions are only authorized when our staff judges that specimen security would be uncompromised.
Hand-carried loans are discouraged. When such loans are authorized, adequate time (at least one full working day in advance) must be allowed for proper invoicing and packing.
Responsibility for Loan Approval
Extramural loans (and exchanges, gifts, etc.) should be requested by letter and formally approved by an appropriate Mammal Division curator, who will initial and date the initiating request. The official invoice, accompanied by the loan correspondence, must be reviewed and signed by the Curator-in-Charge.
Loan requests that involve any destructive alteration of specimens (e.g., dissection of alcoholics, removal of skin for molecular study, or sectioning of bones and teeth) must be clearly specified beforehand, in writing. The nature of the request may require a formal justification and evaluation by more than one of the staff curators (see guidelines on destructive sampling).
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