The Loans Catalogue
The aim of the North Hertfordshire District Council Museums Education Service is to support the teachers' work in the classroom and form a productive partnership to enhance pupil learning.
How the Catalogue Works
The Loans Catalogue offers over 1100 objects, datapacks, photographs, videos, posters, cassette recordings, films and slides which are available for use across the curriculum.
Loans can be ordered by their catalogue number from the Museum Education Officer at the Museum Resource Centre and borrowed for a term. Orders are delivered in areas around Hertfordshire and parts of Bedfordshire; schools outside the area are welcome to make arrangements to collect their loans.
Ordering, delivery and collection dates can be supplied by calling 01462 422946.
It is a condition of use of the service that all schools take special care of their loans, especially handleable items, and ensure that everything is carefully repacked in entirety for collection at the end of term. It is the school's responsibility to return any items which are not made ready for the time of collection.
Loss or damage must be reported immediately to the Museum Education Officer and the school may be charged for replacement or repair.
A ‘Care of Museum Loans Information’ booklet has been produced to help you care for the loan items. This is available on the museum's website 
.
Activity Sessions
The Education Service also provides workshops for pupils in your school, led by the Museum Education Officer.
Please contact us to discuss your requirements. We can offer a wide variety of sessions from a Roman Feast or a World War Two Home Front Experience to Exploring Toys or Work and Play in Victorian Times.
To order loans, or school workshop, please contact
Museum Education
Museum Resource Centre, Burymead Road
Hitchin
Hertfordshire
SG5 1RT
Tel: 01462 422946
Fax: 01462 434883
Email: museum.education@north-herts.gov 
The Loans Catalogue
The loans catalogue is now illustrated with photographs of each loan item. To keep download sizes to a minimum, there are individual catalogues for each class of item, in PDF format.
Each item is identified by a unique six-character code. The first character identifies the form of the loan – a case, datapack or video for example. The second and third characters reflect the category the loans fall into, e.g. Ancient Egypt - AE, Toys - TO or Victorians - VI. The t garment for handling dating from Victorian times.
Please order by using the catalogue number of each item you require.
The Key
First letter
C - An object, specimen or model
G - Garmentsof category codes
D - Datapack of information
L - Local history
P - Poster
R - Cassette recording
V - Video
X - An item that is infrequently requested
Second and third letters
Category codes (see table)
| Category | Category Code |
[4.4 Mb] Natural History  | |
| Plants | PL |
| Mammals | MA |
| Insects | IN |
| Reptiles and Amphibians | RA |
| Salt and Fresh-Water Life | SA |
| Birds | BI |
| [0.8 Mb] Science | |
| Anatomy | AN |
| Archaeology | AY |
| Geology | GE |
| Space | SP |
| [2.2 Mb] Early history and archaeology | |
| Stone Age Cultures | ST |
| Bronze Age | BR |
| Iron Age | IR |
| The Romans | RO |
| The Anglo-Saxons | AS |
| The Normans | NO |
| The Mediaeval Period | ME |
| [1.2 Mb] Ancient Egypt and Greece | |
| Ancient Egypt | AE |
| Classical Greece | CG |
| [3.8 Mb] Recent History | |
| The Tudors | TU |
| Stuart and Georgian Britain | SG |
| Transport | TR |
| The Victorians | VI |
| World War One | WO |
| World War Two | WT |
| Seaside Holidays | SE |
| Life in Twentieth Century Britain | LB |
| [0.7 Mb] Toys | TO |
| [0.7 Mb] Geography | GY |
| Other Cultures - Canada and North America | CC |
| Other Cultures - South Africa | CS |
| Other Cultures - Asia | CA |
| North Hertfordshire in the 19th and 20th Centuries | NH |
| [0.2 Mb] The Arts | AR |
Please Note
We are continually adding items to the Loans Collection and building up the most popular subject areas. However, there are times when several schools request the same items. In these circumstances we endeavour to be as fair as possible to our subscribers; apportioning loans evenly to each school. This may mean, for example, a school ordering four items on the Victorians will receive two specified items and two substitutions on the same topic. When a subject area is heavily over-subscribed we reserve the right to supply only part of each school's order so that each may receive something.
If you wish to discuss your loan requirements please contact the museum education department on:
Tel: 01462 422946
Fax: 01462 434883
Email: museum.education@north-herts.gov.uk .uk
Or write to:
Hitchin and Letchworth Museums Education Service
Museum Resource Centre
Burymead Road
Hitchin
Hertfordshire
SG5 1RT
