Collection services

Note! Materials from the collections of the City of Turku Museums are not loaned for exhibitions. Extensive collection transfers and removals place an exceptional burden on the museum's collection staff and limit the use of the collections. Pre-arranged loans will be handled according to agreements.

We loan objects and other materials from our collection to other museums for exhibitions in Finland and abroad.

• Objects from the museum's collections are loaned on the basis of written requests for loans for a maximum period of five years.
• Loan requests must reach the museum at least 6 months before the start of the desired loan period, preferably earlier in the case of large loans. This will facilitate the processing of loans and ensure sufficient time for condition surveys and possible conservation measures.
• The loan request should include precise information about the object to be loaned.
• The loan request should include the following information: the organiser of the exhibition, the name and venue of the exhibition, the exhibition period and the desired loan period. Information on the conditions of the exhibition space is also desirable. The exhibition space must correspond to normal museum conditions in terms of humidity, temperature and lighting.
• The recipient of the loan must insure the objects for the entire duration of the loan.
• Lending is a fee-based activity, for which the museum charges for the work involved in displaying and returning the objects, checking their condition, making condition reports and packing them. In addition, any conservation work is charged separately.

The conservation division primarily manages and conserves the museums' own collections, in accordance with each conservator's area of expertise. As a paid service, the freezing of objects or groups of objects is carried out as a method of pest control.

Advice to museums and individuals

The conservation division also advises local museums and individuals on the care, handling, conservation and preservation of objects and on pest control. Other conservation services can be enquired about.

Conservation services for church textiles are not currently available. Church textiles conservation services can be obtained from The Finnish section of the Nordic Conservation Association.

You can ask the museum staff about topics related to the museum's collections. The service is free of charge, as long as it does not require extensive research. The museum does not make estimates of the monetary value of objects.

The museum's archaeological collections, works of art, artifacts, photographic material, archival collection materials and reference library are available to researchers and other visitors. A research and/or photography permit is usually required to examine the materials.

Our researchers will guide you through the process of examining the collections. Sufficient time must be allowed for the retrieval, handling, transfer and storage of objects, and it is not always possible to retrieve large numbers of objects. It is possible to visit the museum's collections by prior arrangement.

You can also consult our collections on the national search service Finna, where we are constantly adding new material.

Finna.fi search service

The main subject areas of the Turku City Museum's reference library are Finnish history, local history, archaeology, conservation, museology, art and crafts. An art library with a focus on the visual arts is part of the library. The library's collection is constantly updated with works related to the museum's research and exhibition activities and subscribes to several series of publications and periodicals.

The library is primarily intended for internal use.

The library's holdings can be found in the City of Turku's Vaski database.

The Magic Box of Modernity and the Archipelago Time Travel / Skärgårdens tidsresa material packs allow you to explore the collections outside the museum environment.

The material packs are suitable for example as refreshment material for reminiscing. They can be used in schools and other activities. The packs can be loaned to service centres, municipalities, associations, rehabilitation and recreation groups and other communities. Lending is free of charge, but the material must be booked in advance and collected in person from the Kalastajankatu branch of Turku City Museum.