Key West's San Carlos Institute, a cradle of the 19th-Century Cuban nationalist movement, inched a step closer to a prestigious association with the Smithsonian Institution on Thursday.

Officials announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two institutions.

As the 21st participant in the Smithsonian's Affiliations Program, the museum, social club and education facility eventually will be entitled to borrow and exhibit items from the Smithsonian's 140 million artifacts and other archival materials.

It will not be entitled to any federal funding related to the exhibits, under the agreement.

At any given time, the Smithsonian -- on the national mall in Washington, D.C. -- displays less than 1 percent of its collection. So Secretary I. Michael Heyman a couple of years ago instructed administrators to design and implement a lending arrangement with museums around the country.

First, however, the Key West institution will have to embark on a feasibility study followed by a formal request process, said affiliations program director Michael Carrigan. The memorandum was signed last month. Borrowing rights are months away, if not years, he added.

The association with ``the most prestigious museum in the world'' should help corporate and private fund raising, said Rafael Peñalver, chairman of the San Carlos board of trustees.

In 1985, trustees began restoring the century-old institution, which Jose Marti visited to summon Cuban patriots to revolution against the Spanish. The trustees reopened it in 1992 as a concert hall, social club and exhibit venue.

The property is technically deeded to the Republic of Cuba. But the agreement announced Thursday was not made with the government of Fidel Castro. Instead, it was a private agreement with the South Florida-based, nonprofit organization that administers the property today.

Miami's Museum of Science has similarly embarked on an association with the Smithsonian as part of its vision of building a Science Center of the Americas complex.