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Loans

LOAN POLICY

Specimens are loaned to other herbaria upon receipt of a letter from the individual in charge of the requesting institution. They are normally made for a period of one year, with renewals possible upon request to the Director.

If a loan request is for specimens of species from the Intermountain Region, at least one specimen of each species requested is retained for use by local researchers and consultants. These will be loaned, if requested, when the initial loan is returned.

If adequate material is available, destructive sampling of representative specimens will be permitted with prior approval by the Director. The letter requesting such permission should explain what material will be used, for what purpose, and how the results will be recorded.

Specimens sent out on loan should be annotated before being returned. Ideally the researcher should verify or correct the identification of each specimen in the loan. If this is not feasible, the annotation should state "Used in study of ....".

In addition to loaning accessioned specimens, the Intermountain Herbarium loans photographic slides and demonstration materials, primarily to local groups. These loans are usually made for a short period of time. Records of these loans are kept on on a sign out sheet and tabulated for the annual report.

The library is basically a non-circulating library, but materials are sometimes loaned to individuals at the University, either professionals or students, for short periods of time. We use a check out system and a sign out sheet and also record this information for the annual report.