(a) Prior to a museum (1) accepting donated property pursuant to section 11-81, or (2) taking ownership of abandoned property pursuant to section 11-82, the museum shall make a reasonable good faith effort to find the address of the lender and provide notice that the museum may become the owner of such property. Such notice shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the address of the lender on record with the museum.
(b) If the museum does not have an address on record for the lender of the property, or the museum does not receive written proof of receipt of the mailed notice after thirty days after the date such notice was mailed, the museum shall publish a notice, at least once each week for two consecutive weeks, in a newspaper of general circulation in the town in which the museum is located and the town of the lender on record with the museum, if available. Such published notice shall contain: (1) A brief and general description of the unclaimed property, (2) the name and address of the lender on record with the museum, (3) a request that all persons who may have any knowledge of the whereabouts of the lender provide written notice to the museum, and (4) a statement that if no claim of ownership is made or action to recover such property is filed on or before sixty days after publication of the second notice, the property shall be deemed donated or abandoned and shall become the property of the museum.
(c) For purposes of this section, if the loan of property was made to a branch of a museum, the museum shall be considered to be located in the town in which such branch is located. Otherwise the museum is located in the town in which it has its principal place of business.
(P.A. 12-171, S. 5.)