Abandoned property guide

Libraries, archives, and especially museums are filled with items of uncertain ownership.  Frequently material is given to the institution on loan or deposit, and now the original owners have disappeared.  Without a clear title, the institution may be unwilling to loan or even preserve the items (since this might involve altering an item they don't own).

One possible solution is to get orphan items declared to be "abandoned property" and then claim ownership of them  The Acquisitions and Appraisal Section of the Society of American Archivists has prepared a very useful compilation of state laws relating to abandoned physical property and how museums, libraries, and archives can assert ownership of the physical item.