Specimen Loans

The Division of Birds lends specimen material to qualified domestic and international researchers with stated research objectives. Loans are sent to a museum or institution with proper storage facilities, in care of a permanent staff member who assumes full responsibility for the care and return of material borrowed. Loan requests from students, visiting researchers or other, nonpermanent staff members must be co-signed by an appropriate authority.

Loans of research specimens for illustration will be made only in support of a scientific publication or educational publications of merit. Requests for such loans must be received from the principal author of the project.

Loans are never made for general teaching or lecturing purposes or in support of commercial ventures, including federal or state hunting stamp competitions.

Submit loan requests via email to the collection manager, Chris Milensky. We encourage you to visit our online database and/or contact staff to query our holdings before you submit your request.

Please include the following in your signed formal written request:     

• Requests will be honored only if produced on institutional letterhead and signed.
• Your full name. If you are student,  include the full name and signature of the permanent staff member of the institution.
• Shipping address of the institution to which the loan will be sent, along with a contact phone number and e-mail address.
• A description of your research question(s) and the type of information you are seeking.
• Provide a description or listing of desired species, and number of  specimens needed. We encourage you review our online database and/or query staff for collections holdings prior to submission. 
• Let us know if any permits are required to ship the specimens.

Loans requests are reviewed by our curators and collection manager.  No material will be sent on loan without their authorization.  We reserve the right to deny requests.  

Length of Loans: Our standard loan period is six months or up to three years depending on the proposed research, after which the borrower must apply in writing for an extension. Unique or rare specimens may be lent for much shorter periods of time.

Numbers of Specimens: Loans of rare or unique specimens or requests for the entirety of our holdings of a taxon may be denied. Normally, not more than one-half of our holdings of a taxon will be lent or approved for destructive sampling at one time. Large loan requests will be divided into several parts, each being sent upon the safe return of the previous portion.

• Please note that the prefix "USNM" is the official designation for our specimens and this acronym should be used in citing our material in publications. The Division of Birds requests an electronic copy (ie PDF), or one copy of any book that results from the use of our material.
• All borrowers must agree, in writing, to abide by the Division's loan conditions. The borrower's signature on the loan invoice signifies such agreement.
• Loans are not to be transferred by the borrower to any other institution or facility without prior written permission from the Curator in Charge or Collections Manager at the Division of Birds.
• Specimens lent may not be cleaned, repaired, dissected or altered in any manner without prior written permission from the Curator in Charge or Collections Manager at the Division of Birds. Specimen labels may not be removed and they may not be altered except for noting re-identifications. Updated names or re-identifications may be made by neatly adding the name IN PENCIL on the label. The added scientific name should be followed by both the initials of the responsible individual and the year in which the re-identification was made. NEVER erase or otherwise alter any previous identifications or other data on the label.
• Our fluid preserved specimens are kept in 75% ethyl alcohol and must be maintained in that solution while on loan. Permission to dissect or stain wet specimens must be clearly granted beforehand.
• Specimens are to be protected from theft, excessive light, extreme temperature and humidity, dust, insects, and other pests. Please do not smoke, eat, or drink while working around the specimens. The borrower may be held responsible (and may lose borrowing privileges) if damage or loss is due to negligence.
• Packing and transportation shall be by safe methods using adequate material to protect the specimens. Generally we recommend using the same materials and containers in which specimens arrived (unless damaged during original transit).
• Our current insect pest control method is freezing at -20 Celsius in a non frost-free freezer. Consequently, for specimens on loan, we suggest isolation and inspection as acceptable alternative to pesticide application. Do not treat borrowed specimens with chemicals. If you find insect pests on the specimens please advise us as soon as possible at (202) 633-0800 or (202) 633-0794.
• When returning the loaned specimens, we request that an invoice or specimen list be prepared. Indicate our loan number on the list or invoice. Enclose one copy with the specimens.
• We reserve the right to apply special loan conditions in addition to those listed above if the circumstances warrant.

Holotypes are not lent except under extraordinary circumstances. If such a request is granted, the loan is made for the shortest period of time necessary and the borrower must assume responsibility for all special handling and shipping. Generally we ask that the borrower pay for overnight shipment both ways.

Loan requests that entail any destructive sampling procedure (dissections,removal of pieces of skin, bone, or feathers, for example) require additional information provided to us. Please see Destructive Analysis page for details.