Borrowing institutions undertake to:

•             comply with the loan conditions established by the Exhibitions Loan Office. These conditions are drawn up in accordance with the international security and conservation standards applicable to archival, graphic, and photographic documents;

•             complete an information form.

Preparing the request

Before submitting a loan request, borrowers are invited to refine and finalise their selection of documents.

Documents should be identified through the Virtual Reading Room. Research assistance is also available via the personal account area.

Where appropriate, curators may arrange an appointment with the managers of the requested collections. Contact details will be provided by the Exhibitions Loan Office.

Any incomplete request may delay its processing by the Exhibitions Loan Office.

Loan request procedure

The official loan request letter must be addressed to the Director of the French National Archives by postal mail only, at least nine months before the opening date of the exhibition:

Archives nationales
Madame Marie-Françoise Limon-Bonnet
Directrice des Archives nationales
59, rue Guynemer,
Pierrefitte-sur-Seine,
93383 Saint-Denis CEDEX

Content of the request

The request must include:

•             the name of the borrowing institution;

•             the title of the exhibition;

•             the exhibition dates (or at least the duration if the schedule has not yet been finalised);

•             the exhibition venue;

•             the name of the project manager or curator;

•             the exhibition synopsis;

•             the final list of documents with their reference numbers.

For bound volumes or bundles, the folios to be displayed must be specified;

•             the relevance of the documents to the exhibition;

•             telephone numbers and email addresses of the relevant contacts.

Examination of the request

The official request is then forwarded to the Exhibitions Loan Office for review.

The loan proposal is first submitted to the managers of the relevant collections and then to a Loans Committee, which meets every two months. A letter of approval is sent to the borrower by post together with the list of documents and their insurance values.
The approval letter, together with the loan conditions signed by the borrower, constitutes the loan agreement. If the request is not approved, a reasoned refusal letter is sent to the borrower.

Costs borne by the borrower

•             Framing and mounting*.

•             Conservation treatment, where necessary.

•             Insurance for the loaned items.

•             Packing, transport by a specialised company, and installation.

•             Accommodation, transport, and daily allowances for the courier.

Note

* Mounting and conservation treatments are carried out by the workshops of the French National Archives after acceptance of a quotation.

Reproductions

Reproductions of documents systematically produced in the context of a loan may be supplied by the Exhibitions Loan Office.
Requests for reproductions of documents that are not the subject of a physical loan must be submitted through the online form available in the Virtual Reading Room.