Loans or donations to museums

[thekingofclout]

Originally Posted by Scott Garner

I was approached in 1997 by Steve Harding, the curator of The Nolan Ryan Center which was to be built in Ryan's hometown of Alvin, TX. He had heard from other Ryan advanced collectors that I had the most complete collection of Nolan Ryan milestone tickets. He felt that this would make for an interesting wall display in the new museum and wanted to know if I would consider loaning my collection to the museum.

The opportunity to share my collections with thousands of visitors to The Ryan Center made it a no-brainer for me, & I immediately agreed as long as the collection was insured and I had documents in hand that guaranteed against loss and that I would loan them for one year. This was agreed to and I physically handed them off in person in 1997 to the curator Steve over dinner while on a business trip to Houston.
Over the course of the next couple of years (The Ryan Center finally opened April of 1999) I was allowed to collaborate on the design of the Ryan Milestone Ticket Wall. This was great fun & it also led to conversations about other items that I might loan out of my personal collection that would add value to the exhibit. In total I loaned or donated approximately 75-80 items to The Ryan Center. The loan actually led to them being on display for a total of three years from 1999-2003. I was also invited to attend a grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony and dinner associated with The Opening of The Ryan Center.

The overall experience was very positive for me. An opportunity to share what was a hobby labor of love over 25 years of collecting (in 1999)- now over 40 and counting.

I have shown these items before, but when The Ryan Center sent my collection back, Nolan and Ruth Ryan sent along two very unexpected gifts.
A facsimile Ryan jersey with Nolan's personal thank you & a limited production bronze statue by artist Toby Mendez (17") of the same statue of Ryan that is on display at The Ballpark at Arlington in TX.

Mr & Mrs. Ryan are obviously very thoughtful, classy people. Please feel free to reach out to me as well if you have any questions.

That is so awesome, Scotty! And how thoughtful of the Ryans to think of you in that manner. Scott & Nolan... Two first class Gentlemen!

[perezfan]

Completely agree with Jimmy....

What a classy show of gratitude. Wonderful gestures on both ends!

[Scott Garner]

Thanks Jimmy & Mark.

I just wanted to put it out there that not all museum loan situations are terrible experiences.
It's fun to collect all of the baseball rarities that we accumulate in our hobby. That being said, I'm sure that many of us would agree that sharing your passion with other like-minded enthusiasts and fans is the ultimate thrill (aside from the hunt itself ).
IMHO this is one of my favorite things about net54.

Jimmy, it's great to see you check in. I hope things are well with you.
Any new terrific Beatles items to share with us?

[billyb]

The fear of donating items to the Hall and not having them display those items on a somewhat timely fashion scares me. Scott, your experience sounds like a winner all the way. Loaning the items with the agreement of displaying them sounds like a much better choice. What time duration would you recommend?

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by billyb

The fear of donating items to the Hall and not having them display those items on a somewhat timely fashion scares me. Scott, your experience sounds like a winner all the way. Loaning the items with the agreement of displaying them sounds like a much better choice. What time duration would you recommend?

Billy, IMHO a 1-3 year loan is probably ideal. Here are other items to consider:

1) All items be insured against damage or loss as another poster previously mentioned. When I did this I submitted replacement value for each item, and admittedly I hedged on the high side.
It's understood that many scarce items may not easily be replaced.
2) That the museum is absolutely solvent. Museum's do sometimes become insolvent for a number of reasons, including lack of traffic, etc. This happened recently with the Bob Feller Museum in Van Meter, IA.
3) They guarantee that the items will be displayed, the proper use of non-UV lights, etc.
4) Return of items at the end of the term will be via FEDEX Next Day and insured at the expense of the museum.

[billyb]

Thank You Scott, all sound suggestions.

[Dave Grob]

In thinking about loaning items to a museum for display, you also have to realize that not all museums are the same. Larger, more established museums typically have a combination of permanent, semi-permanent, and temporary (topical displays) all running in conjunction with each other. These exhibits are planned for in advance and curated accounting for display space requirements, current or similar artifacts already on display/within the collection, graphics, etc. Their (the Museum’s) desire and willingness to accept and display your item (s) may largely depend on timing. For significant artifacts or collections, you may end up simply being told “thank you, but it just does not fit right now.” Don’t be discouraged by this, as I have had institutions contact me after the passing of time and requesting a loan as circumstances change.

Dave Grob

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Jayworld

I would suggest you get all your ducks in a row with whatever museum(s) you are considering loaning your items and make sure to read through the loan contract to your satisfaction.

^^If donating or loaning this is great advice.^^ This was my biggest problem. The person who runs the museum also runs all the historic places in town. I owned a construction company for 20+ years and had easily done over 6 figures of work for them over the years with 0 problems. I was too trusting and believed everything she said and got nothing in writing.

Originally Posted by Scott Garner

1) All items be insured against damage or loss as another poster previously mentioned. When I did this I submitted replacement value for each item, and admittedly I hedged on the high side.
It's understood that many scarce items may not easily be replaced.
2) That the museum is absolutely solvent. Museum's do sometimes become insolvent for a number of reasons, including lack of traffic, etc. This happened recently with the Bob Feller Museum in Van Meter, IA.
3) They guarantee that the items will be displayed, the proper use of non-UV lights, etc.
4) Return of items at the end of the term will be via FEDEX Next Day and insured at the expense of the museum.

^^More great advice.^^ I had a great talk with the lady behind the counter at the Bob Feller Museum not long before it closed. Actually it is MLB that screws these great little places over causing them to close. I don't get how this works or why it is done but this is how it was explained to me. I will use the Feller museum as an example. As long as Mr Feller was alive they are allowed to have former players come and do autograph sessions and other events. These events are their main income. As soon as Mr Feller passed they are no longer allowed to bring in any former players to do these events. Without Mr Feller or any former players doing events they quickly run out of $ and have to close.

I would highly recommend donating/loaning items to museums even with my horrible experience. Just don't do it as stupidly as I done, get every aspect of the transaction in writing.

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by bnorth

^^If donating or loaning this is great advice.^^ This was my biggest problem. The person who runs the museum also runs all the historic places in town. I owned a construction company for 20+ years and had easily done over 6 figures of work for them over the years with 0 problems. I was too trusting and believed everything she said and got nothing in writing.



^^More great advice.^^ I had a great talk with the lady behind the counter at the Bob Feller Museum not long before it closed. Actually it is MLB that screws these great little places over causing them to close. I don't get how this works or why it is done but this is how it was explained to me. I will use the Feller museum as an example. As long as Mr Feller was alive they are allowed to have former players come and do autograph sessions and other events. These events are their main income. As soon as Mr Feller passed they are no longer allowed to bring in any former players to do these events. Without Mr Feller or any former players doing events they quickly run out of $ and have to close.

I would highly recommend donating/loaning items to museums even with my horrible experience. Just don't do it as stupidly as I done, get every aspect of the transaction in writing.

Ben is correct about all of this info, as it was the same thing that I heard.
It should be noted that Van Meter, IA is so far off the grid, that incidental traffic to the museum was always practically non existent. You would have to plan for a trip to Van Meter to catch the museum which was very nice, BTW.