diff --git a/lib/collectionspace/client/client.rb b/lib/collectionspace/client/client.rb
index 5224112..0c04bdf 100644
--- a/lib/collectionspace/client/client.rb
+++ b/lib/collectionspace/client/client.rb
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ class Client
 
     attr_reader :config
 
+    NAME = "CollectionSpaceClient"
+
     def initialize(config = Configuration.new)
       unless config.is_a? CollectionSpace::Configuration
         raise CollectionSpace::ArgumentError, "Invalid configuration object"
diff --git a/lib/collectionspace/client/configuration.rb b/lib/collectionspace/client/configuration.rb
index aea29d9..e6844d4 100644
--- a/lib/collectionspace/client/configuration.rb
+++ b/lib/collectionspace/client/configuration.rb
@@ -10,18 +10,19 @@ class Configuration
       page_size: 25,
       include_deleted: false,
       throttle: 0,
+      timeout: 60,
       verbose: false,
       verify_ssl: true
     }.freeze
 
-    attr_accessor :base_uri, :username, :password, :page_size, :include_deleted, :throttle, :verbose, :verify_ssl
+    attr_accessor :base_uri, :username, :password, :page_size, :include_deleted,
+      :throttle, :timeout, :verbose, :verify_ssl
 
     def initialize(settings = {})
-      settings = DEFAULTS.merge(settings)
-      settings.each do |property, value|
+      DEFAULTS.merge(settings).each do |property, value|
         next unless DEFAULTS.key?(property)
 
-        instance_variable_set(:"@#{property}", value)
+        send(:"#{property}=", value)
       end
     end
   end
diff --git a/lib/collectionspace/client/request.rb b/lib/collectionspace/client/request.rb
index 17e0ece..6d22467 100644
--- a/lib/collectionspace/client/request.rb
+++ b/lib/collectionspace/client/request.rb
@@ -7,38 +7,22 @@ class Request
 
     attr_reader :config, :headers, :method, :path, :options
 
-    def default_headers(method = :get)
-      headers = {
-        delete: {},
-        get: {},
-        post: {
-          "Content-Type" => "application/xml",
-          "Content-Length" => "nnnn"
-        },
-        put: {
-          "Content-Type" => "application/xml",
-          "Content-Length" => "nnnn"
-        }
-      }
-      headers[method]
-    end
+    DEFAULT_HEADERS = {"Content-Type" => "application/xml"}.freeze
 
     def initialize(config, method = "GET", path = "", options = {})
       @config = config
       @method = method.downcase.to_sym
-      @path = path.gsub(%r{^/}, "")
+      @path = path.gsub(%r{^/+}, "")
+
+      @options = options.dup
+      @options[:basic_auth] = {username: config.username, password: config.password}
 
-      @auth = {
-        username: config.username,
-        password: config.password
-      }
+      @options[:headers] = DEFAULT_HEADERS.merge(@options.fetch(:headers, {}))
+      @options[:headers]["User-Agent"] = "#{Client::NAME}/#{Client::VERSION}"
 
-      headers = default_headers(@method).merge(options.fetch(:headers, {}))
-      @options = options
-      @options[:basic_auth] = @auth
-      @options[:headers] = headers
+      @options[:query] = @options.fetch(:query, {})
+      @options[:timeout] = config.timeout
       @options[:verify] = config.verify_ssl
-      @options[:query] = options.fetch(:query, {})
 
       self.class.base_uri config.base_uri
       self.class.debug_output $stdout if config.verbose
diff --git a/spec/collectionspace/configuration_spec.rb b/spec/collectionspace/configuration_spec.rb
index 0073ab1..aff69b3 100644
--- a/spec/collectionspace/configuration_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/collectionspace/configuration_spec.rb
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
     expect(config.page_size).to eq 25
     expect(config.include_deleted).to eq false
     expect(config.throttle).to eq 0
+    expect(config.timeout).to eq 60
     expect(config.verbose).to eq false
     expect(config.verify_ssl).to eq true
   end
diff --git a/spec/collectionspace/request_spec.rb b/spec/collectionspace/request_spec.rb
index f691d57..bd27491 100644
--- a/spec/collectionspace/request_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/collectionspace/request_spec.rb
@@ -17,6 +17,13 @@
     }
   end
 
+  it "does not mutate the caller's options hash" do
+    opts = {query: {foo: "bar"}, headers: {"X-Custom" => "1"}}
+    caller_opts = Marshal.load(Marshal.dump(opts))
+    CollectionSpace::Request.new(default_config, "GET", "collectionobjects", opts)
+    expect(opts).to eq(caller_opts)
+  end
+
   it "can create a collectionobject" do
     VCR.use_cassette("request_collectionobjects_create") do
       response = client.post("collectionobjects", post_payload)