1 Heritage Room Lending Policy to City Buildings
& Heritage Park
Section 1. Purpose
The Heritage Room at the Corona Public Library houses and preserves the community history of the City of Corona. The purpose of the Heritage Room Lending Policy is to outline a process and provide parameters for lending items from the Corona Public Library Heritage Room within City buildings and at Heritage Park in a way that allows items to be showcased and displayed, while also providing reasonable safeguards to protect the collection.
Section 2. Policy
Many of the archival items located in the Heritage Room are available for loan. All loans are subject to the approval by the Community Services Director and the Library Manager. Items of exceptional historical or monetary value require approval of the Library Board of Trustees.
All items must be inventoried, documented, or catalogued before they can be loaned.
If an item being requested for loan has not been catalogued at the time of the request, Library staff will prioritize or expedite the documentation process of the item so that it can be loaned without hesitation.
Some items from the Heritage Room are not suitable to be loaned for display in an unprotected state. These items include light-sensitive paintings or photographs, small items that could be easily lost or stolen, items of great monetary value, or items of such historical value that their loss would have significant consequences to the history of Corona.
Library staff will review loan requests and determine how best to protect the item throughout the display period. Sample guidelines for these conditions appear in the FAQs below. If a reasonable accommodation can be made to protect these items, the items will be made available to loan.
The Heritage Room does not charge fees for loans; however, the borrower is responsible for any costs required to accommodate or repair fragile, sensitive, or high value items.
Staff may require that the borrower obtain insurance or otherwise be liable for lost or damaged items.
Section 3. Procedure
1. Loan requests must be submitted in writing to the Library Manager and include the following:
b) Brief description for the purpose of the loan;
2 c) Dates requested;
d) Borrower status – profit / non-profit; and organization requesting loan (if applicable);
e) Contact information of borrower, including mailing address, email address, phone; number, mobile number. Contact number of person in charge of security of item(s);
f) List of items requested;
g) Plans for displaying items, i.e., display cases, frames, etc. 2) The Library Manager will review the request and consult with staff on the nature of the item, proposed display conditions, and duration of display. a) If the loan request is reasonable and meets general curatorial and conservational guidelines, borrowers will receive a letter of approval with the conditions of display. b) If additional accommodations or protections are required for the item, the Library Manager will inform the applicant of these conditions in writing, with the intent to modify the loan request to allow the loan while ensuring the item is suitably protected. Any resulting modifications to the loan request will be documented in writing prior to issuing a letter determining whether the item will be loaned. 3) If the borrower approves of the conditions of display, the borrower will sign the loan agreement.
4) Library staff will work with the borrower to ensure that it is displayed appropriately in the location described in the loan agreement.
5) Library staff reserves the right periodically evaluate the item at its display location to ensure that it is suitably protected. If staff determined the display needs to be modified, they will inform the borrower in writing and take corrective action to prevent the item from deterioration or loss.
6) The Library Manager and borrower will coordinate the return the item at the end of the loan period. Once the item is returned to the Heritage Room, Library staff will inform the borrower in writing the Library is in possession of the item and the borrower is released from their responsibility for the item.
3 Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who may request a loan from the Heritage Room?
Any citizen of Corona who wants to share the cultural history of the City of Corona within City buildings and Heritage Park with a dedicated space for exhibiting archival items in a proper manner.
2. What is the maximum loan period?
The maximum loan period for original documents, photographs, artifacts, and other historical ephemera is one (1) year with the potential for an extension. Extensions are granted once the Heritage Room staff inspects the loan item(s) to determine if any damage has been sustained. Some items may need to be removed prior to one year depending on their light sensitivity.
3. What loan requests are not approved?
The Heritage Room will not lend items meant to be used in a fundraising or partisan manner, or to be used in the marketing of other items.
4. What types of items are not available for loan?
Items that are in poor condition and need repair are not allowed out of the Heritage Room for loan. Once repaired, they may be able to be loaned out to interested parties. Other items include manuscripts, personal, and legal documents in which the holding institution does not have a Deed of Gift or written permission that allows public display.
5. What costs are associated with receiving a loan from the Heritage Room? Displaying of the materials that are sensitive to environmental degradation must be of archival standards in terms of environment, acid-free, and types of light. Proper display materials must be obtained before items are loaned. If the loaned items are damaged, borrower will be liable for the costs of repair. Borrowers may need to obtain insurance to protect against damage or loss of the items.
6. What guidelines are used to determine the appropriate environmental conditions for each type of item?
Suitable environmental conditions for displays are site specific and may be subjective.
However, the chart below provides guidelines for environmental conditions that minimize deterioration or discoloration for example items.
ITEM EXAMPLES TEMPERATURE /
RELATIVE HUMIDITY
(RH) REQUIREMENT
LIGHT REQUIREMENT MAXIMUM DISPLAY
PERIOD
pastels, watercolors,
gouaches, tempera,
colored printing inks, most
60.8-68 Degrees
Fahrenheit; 45-55%
RH
3 footcandles
(about 32 lux)
Very light sensitive,
duration is 3-5
months maximum
4 tinted papers, color
photographs, Polaroid
pictures, most historic
natural dyes on textiles,
felt tip pen drawings,
bistres, sepias, complex
black inks, unknown
yellows and reds in
Japanese prints, unknown
yellows and reds in
European manuscripts,
feathers
with 3 years of dark
storage display
between cycles.
wood pulp and other lowgrade paper or card
supports, silver dye bleach
processed prints, color
slides known to be
Kodachrome,
Ektachrome, Fujichrome
etc., Cibachromes, new
color photographs
60.8-68 Degrees
Fahrenheit; 45-55%
RH
5-7 footcandles (53-
75 lux)
Moderately light
sensitive; max 6-9
months with
minimum 2 years
dark storage
between cycles
good quality rag paper,
carbon based inks,
graphite, natural chalks,
sanguine, brown, black
white (Conté crayons),
black-and-white silvergelatin photographs, gold
toned, selenium toned
and other permanently
processed photographs,
plastics, polyethylene,
synthetic resins
60.8-68 Degrees
Fahrenheit; 45-55%
RH
5-7 footcandles (53-
75 lux)
Moderately light
sensitive; max 6-9
months with
minimum 2 years
dark storage
between cycles
fossils, rocks 59-77 Degrees
Fahrenheit; 45-55%
RH
7 footcandles (75
lux)
Not light sensitive;
max display 1 year,
with potential of
renewals
textiles 59-62 Degrees
Fahrenheit; 45-55%
RH
3 footcandles
(about 32 lux)
Very light sensitive,
duration is 3-5
months maximum
with 3 years of dark
storage display
between cycles
Tools are available for checkout at the Heritage room that can help borrowers determine relative humidity and temperature of a proposed display location.
Heritage Room staff may also be available to test the conditions of the display environment prior to the loan.
7. How can I limit relative humidity in an environment? Silica gel can be very helpful. It absorbs moisture when storing specimens that are sensitive to humidity. Portable dehumidifiers are good also. 5 8. What are the guidelines regarding airborne pollutants? Regarding all items, airborne pollutants should be kept at a minimum. Examples include acetic acid (from paints, varnishes, adhesives, wood products, cleaning products), hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, fine particles (e.g., dust), water vapor. Monitoring the air quality can mostly be done by HVAC systems, however, additional methods such as portable filtration units, vacuum cleaning with proper filter bags, and keeping the items away from windows or doors (also best practice to limit the amount of UV exposure).
9. What options are there for framing and display cases? There are three types of frames displaying archival material – airtight (~1 air exchange per day), leaky enclosures (~10 air exchanges per day), and open enclosures (~100 air exchanges per day). Air exchanges refers to the intentional ventilation of the enclosure.
It is recommended that frames and display cases are used with these safe materials:
glass and other vitreous systems, alcoxy silicones, unbleached, undyed cotton and linen, acid a lignin free paper / card, metals, silica gel, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyester – polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polymethylmethacrylate, polycarbonate, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) Display cases should not have internal lighting and should be protected from UV light (i.e.sunlight). Fire resistance or non-flammable materials should be used in the construction of showcases. Cases that are in the direct contact with items should not be treated with fire resistant chemicals.
10. What type of mounting of materials are recommended? When mounting the item in either a frame or board in a display case, mounting board should be of archival quality, such as conservation board. Conservation board is made from purified wood pulp and contains an alkaline buffer. Museum board is the best quality and made of cotton liner. The mount should be smaller than the dimensions of the frame in order to allow the board to expand under the effects of humidity. If tape is needed, it should be reversable, Ph neutral, and PAT tested.
11. What kind of security is required?
At least one person should be designated in making sure the displayed items are secure and checked for signs of damage. Loaned items also must be secured during and after normal working hours.
12. What kind of attribution or citation should be used? Items on display should have proper citation next to or near the display.
Citation example:
Artist’s Last Name, Artist’s First Name. Title of Painting. Year painting was created.
Description of materials. Dimensions if available. Museum, City. URL. 6 If assistance is needed in how to cite, please ask the Heritage Room staff. 7 References
2.5 Protecting Paper and Book Collections During Exhibition. (n.d.). Northeast Document Conservation Center. https://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/preservationleaflets/2.-the-environment/2.5-protecting-paper-and-book-collections-duringexhibition Borrowing NARA Holdings for Exhibition. (2014, May 22). National Archives. https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/borrowing
Daniels, Maygene. “Archives and Records Management Resources.” National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration.
Accessed March 6, 2023.
https://www.archives.gov/research/alic/reference/archivesresources/terminology.html.
Guidelines for Requesting Loans. (2023). Metmuseum.org. https://www3.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/policies-anddocuments/guidelines-for-requesting-loans Exhibition Loan Services. (2013). Library.si.edu.
https://library.si.edu/departments/preservation/exhibition-loans Steemers, T., Tiidor, R., Varlamoff, M.-T., Monod, S., Hanus, J., Durovic, M., Lavédrine, B., Klymenko, T., Delmas, M.-C., Vodopivec, J., Albrecht-Kunszeri, G., Palm, J., Budde, J., Sagstetter, M., & Thompson, B. (2002). Compiled by the ICA Committee on Preservation of Archives in Temperate Climates. https://www.ica.org/sites/default/files/CPTE_2006_guideline_exhibition_EN.pdf