At Conserv, we care about collections AND the people who care for collections. We talked to Toni back in May 2022 on disaster preparedness at The National World War II Museum in New Orleans and wanted to learn more about her and how she uses Conserv as the Director for Collections Management. Toni acquired […]
Environmental monitoring standards? Which standards? Environmental monitoring standards for collection environments are a series of targets for factors such as relative humidity, temperature, light, pollutants, and pests. The targets, sometimes referred to as “ideal conditions”, are followed to avoid damage or to slow the rate of deterioration to collections. The development and agreement of environmental […]
Funding your environmental monitoring program Collection stewards who take on preservation responsibilities have likely heard some version of the statement, “environmental monitoring is one of the best ways to ensure the long-term preservation of collections.” This sentiment is correct. Using environmental data to inform decisions about collections storage, access, and display is a great way […]
A data report is any type of documentation that describes an analysis of your data. It can be short and simple or quite complex, depending on the amount of data and the depth of your analysis. Reports are used to share information with partners who may not have access to the data, or who don’t […]
Once you have begun collecting data you are ready to set a timeline for environmental data analysis. Having a full year of data is ideal for preservation planning, but analysis can begin at any time – particularly if you are troubleshooting after a water incident or an equipment malfunction. Analysis doesn’t need to be complicated: […]
At CONSERV we care about collections AND the people who care for collections. We recently sat down with Chloe Richardson, the Collections Coordinator at the Matheson History Museum in Gainesville, Florida to talk about how she uses Conserv for monitoring temperature and humidity in historic buildings located in Florida’s most humid city. As a Gainesville […]
What data does an environmental monitoring program typically collect? The most often gathered data is for temperature (degrees), relative humidity (%) and light (lux). Temperature and relative humidity data can be gathered easily and inexpensively. Light data includes visible and UV light and can be gathered easily with the right equipment. Collect and review data […]
Defining environmental goals – what are you looking to monitor? When setting up an environmental monitoring program one of the first questions to ask is what are you looking to monitor. Like with any program you need to have an idea of what you are trying to accomplish. Having an understanding about what your monitoring […]
What is “preventive conservation?” Preventive conservation is an umbrella term within the preservation world that describes actions meant to prevent damage to cultural heritage, or at least reduce the likelihood of damage (Caple 2012). Preventive conservation typically does not involve physical modification of an object. Rather, it addresses external factors like environmental conditions or how […]
The Definitive Guide to Environmental Monitoring for Collections?! We’ve long had the idea for a definitive guide to environmental monitoring for collections – the topic of this post. The idea of a definitive guide is a bit tongue in cheek. When we started Conserv in the fall of 2018, Nathan and I were convinced that […]
