Loans to exhibitions
Prior to request
Before making a request to borrow items from the BnF’s collections, exhibition curators should check whether or not alternative solutions are feasible making use of other collections that are less in demand.
Exchanges with the various collection departments concerned by the request determine how fully it is examined. Curators are required to arrange meetings with the managers of the relevant collections in order to refine and finalise their selection of items and discuss display conditions (see Contacts).
Finally, a loan request’s precision and definitive nature are the best guarantees of its admissibility during its examination by the BnF’s decision-making bodies.
© Guillaume Murat / BnF
Making a request
The official loan request letter must be sent, by post at least 8 months before the exhibition opening date, to the President of the Bibliothèque nationale de France:
Mr Gilles Pécout
President of the Bibliothèque nationale de France
Loans Office
58 rue de Richelieu
75084 PARIS Cedex 02
A digital copy must be sent to: prets.expos@bnf.fr
Administrative and material deadlines for processing requests are mandatory and cannot be shortened, particularly for institutions located outside the European Union, which require specific administrative and customs formalities.
Request content
The name of the institution requesting the loan and of the exhibition project leader (exhibition manager and/or curator(s)).
- Exhibition title.
- Dates, venues and details if the event is a travelling exhibition (if not finalised, the total duration must be indicated for preventive conservation reasons).
- The list of works with their shelf numbers and conservation departments. The list must enable each work to be precisely identified. Please use our List of Works template or an equivalent format including all required fields.
- For iconographic documents (prints, photographs, drawings, etc.), items must be identified with high-quality visuals or precise bibliographic references (such as catalogue raisonné, microfilm or photographic print number). For further details on identification of iconographic documents at the BnF, please contact the curators of the the relevant collection departments.
- For bound documents, curators must also specify the page at which volume should be opened.
- The exhibition concept.
- The exhibition factsheet and the BnF external loans specifications, completed and signed. English versions are available for information, but only the French versions will be accepted: fiche de renseignements and cahier des charges
- Exhibition conditions at the borrowing institution and, where applicable, the desired display method (framing or display cases).
- Telephone numbers and email addresses of all relevant contacts (curator, exhibition officer, registrar, etc.).
If the event is a travelling exhibition, a grouped request including the various dates, venues and exhibition managers for each venue is required.
In this case, a factsheet (Fiche de renseignements) must be completed and the external loans specifications (Cahier des charges) signed for each exhibition venue.
Examining the request
Upon receipt of the official letter, an acknowledgement of receipt will be sent by email by the Loans Office.
Each quarter, the BnF’s Loans Committee rules on all official loan requests communicated to the President in regular fashion.
The Loans Committee’s decision will be communicated to the exhibition organisers by email (notification of the Committee’s opinion) and subsequently by post, together with the following documents:
- in case of approval (full or partial):
- the loan approval letter;
- the list of works to be lent, including their insurance value, and refused items;
- the loan agreement.
- in case of refusal:
- a letter qtating the reasons for refusal.
Borrower’s expenses and obligations
Costs invoiced by the BnF
Download the price list (in french)
- Administrative costs per loan agreement and preparation costs per work borrowed (except for french public institutions).
- Costs of framing and other similar display services (encapsulation, showcase assembly, etc.).
- Costs of security photography of the loanes items.
- Costs of reproduction for exhibition catalogue illustrations.
Other costs borne by the borrower
- Insurance of the works.
- Packaging, transport and installation by a specialised fine art transport company.
- Restoration costs where required.
- Accommodation, transport and per diem expenses for the courier designated by the BnF.
Transport
The choice of transport must be formally approved by the Loans Office, which will provide specific packing and transport instructions to the selected service provider.
Provision and return of works
For conservation reasons, and with the exception of special cases, works may not be exhibited for more than 120 days.
Items are made available to the borrower no earlier than 15 working days prior to the exhibition opening. They must be returned to the BnF no later than 15 days after the exhibition closes.
Modification of loan requests
In compliance with BnF external loan specifications, “addition of new items may only be considered in exceptional circumstances”.
Any modification requires a new letter sent to the President of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, with an email copy to the Loans Office, at least 2 months before the date of the exhibition opening. Any change requires the drafting of an amendment to the contract.
Cancellation of the loan or early return
Any cancellation of a loan from the BnF must be communicated to the Loans Office in writing as soon as possible. Costs of processing operations already underway (restoration, framing, protective photographic cover, etc.) remain payable by the borrower.
In addition, a cancellation fee of €90 per item will be charged for any cancellation made after notification of the Committee’s decision. These fees reflect the substantial work required to process each request and apply to all borrowers, including French public institutions.
Copies of exhibition catalogues
The borrower must send the Loans Office as many copies of the exhibition catalogue as there are lending departments, plus one additional copy for the Loans Office.
© Emmanuel Nguyen Ngoc / BnF
Reproduction
For publication
Requests for reproductions of works conserved at the BnF must be sent by priority post and as early as possible, to the Reproduction Department: servicepro@bnf.fr
Requests must be as specific as possible, in particular as regards desired technical processes, sending method (normal or priority) and the page(s) to reproduce in bound documents.
For copyrighted works, it is essential to provide the Reproduction Department with the author’s or other copyright holders’ authorisation.
For films, advertisements, etc.
For photographs and other camerawork (including advertising and television), prior authorisation must be requested from the Bibliothèque nationale de France’s competent departments.
- Photographs: Reproduction Department, reproduction@bnf.fr
- Television: Communication Delegation, communication@bnf.fr
Contacts
Loans Office
The Loans Office is the borrower’s main interlocutor. Its artwork management team is responsible for administrative follow-up of requests and logistic and material organisation of loans.
Bibliothèque nationale de France
DCM / MEM / Exhibition Department
Loans Office
58, rue de Richelieu
75084 PARIS CEDEX 02
Administrative coordination: 00 33 (0)1 53 79 83 97
Manager: 00 33 (0)1 53 79 80 70
Artwork Management Department:
- 00 33 (0)1 53 79 81 97
- 00 33 (0)1 53 79 81 28
- 00 33 (0)1 53 79 81 00
- 00 33 (0)1 53 79 81 01
