Exhibits Policy

The Archives and Special Collections Librarian plans, coordinates, and oversees a rotating roster of exhibitions in the Pacific University Libraries that showcase library holdings, that contribute to the cultural and intellectual life of the university, or that otherwise connect to the university’s mission or curriculum, student or faculty scholarship, campus organizations and events, and/or current events.Proposed exhibits should display unique and/or creative content, and should convey a specific point-of-view, position, or argument. Exhibits are intended to engender thought and discussion; purely decorative exhibits should not be proposed.

To propose an exhibit, please use the exhibit proposal form (docx | pdf). Proposals will be reviewed as they are received. Advance notice of at least one month is required; some spaces are booked one year in advance.Student-led exhibit proposals are encouraged, but students must be prepared to commit the time necessary to prepare, install, and de-install the exhibit. It is estimated that small exhibits require approximately 15-20 hours of work.

• Exhibits are selected based on:
  • Educational content
  • Connection to the university’s mission or curriculum
  • Timeliness to current and campus events
  • Relation of materials to the campus and wider community
  • Scheduling constraints. Proposed exhibitions must fit into the exhibit planning calendar.
  • Reinforcement of the university and/or Libraries’ mission or strategic goals
  • Quality and aesthetic value
  • Thematic and narrative integrity
• Exhibits that showcase holdings from Pacific University’s Libraries, Archives, Art and Museum collections will be given preference when scheduling exhibits.
• All exhibits are temporary.
• The Archives and Special Collections Librarian, in consultation with the Dean of University Libraries, will make the final determination about all exhibits.
• Exhibits may not compromise our users access to collections or services or otherwise disrupt or harm the facility, collections, or visitors.
• The Libraries commit to presenting diverse points of view and to the principles of academic freedom.

In order to be included in an exhibit, the exhibit curator must:

• Ensure that all appropriate permissions have been received to display the materials.
• Provide accurate and appropriate descriptive annotations and acknowledgements for materials and provide accurate citations for all content used in creating exhibit descriptions.
• Ensure that exhibit materials will not damage or otherwise endanger the condition of display cases/walls or other library fixtures.
• Receive explicit permission from the Archives and Special Collections Librarian to include any fragile, rare, unique, or otherwise extremely vulnerable materials.

Installation/De-installation: A specific date and time must be pre-arranged with the Archives and Special Collections Librarian for all approved exhibits. Changes to this time must be agreed to in writing. The Archives and Special Collections Librarian or an approved substitute must be able to be present for any exhibit installation/de-installation. Failure to meet an agreed-upon installation schedule may result in forfeiture of the time and space allocated for the exhibit.Costs: The exhibit curator, if outside of the Libraries, will cover any special cost incurred in mounting the exhibit, including the repair of any damage to the building or library property caused in installation or removal of the exhibit.

Security and Insurance: Materials in an exhibit are afforded the same security protection as that of any materials in the given exhibit area/space. This means that third parties including, but not limited to, the general public and students may have unsupervised and unregulated access to the exhibit area and the materials. Additional security cannot be provided by the university, and the university is not responsible for the safekeeping of the exhibit materials and shall have no liability to the owner of the exhibit materials or any third party in the event of any damage or loss (including theft) to the exhibit materials. The owner of the exhibit materials bears all risk of all loss or damage to the exhibit materials regardless of cause. The university does not provide any insurance for materials on display or assume any responsibility for the loss, theft of, or damage to any materials on exhibit. The provision of insurance for the exhibit materials is the responsibility of the exhibit curator and/or owner of the materials.

Physical Arrangements: Reasonable efforts should be made to make all exhibits accessible to everyone, with special provisions, when possible, to accommodate people with disabilities. An exhibit must not constitute a physical hazard or impede research or regular library use.