You are a collections care expert. You are well-trained, and possibly even have many years of experience in this unusual field. Your organization relies on you to provide top quality care for your unique and irreplaceable collection. But who do you rely on for help with the myriad challenges presented by your building’s environment? While […]
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 […]
Collections storage at McKissick Museum at the University of South Carolina is fraught with challenges because the building was not purpose built – a challenge that many museums deal with. Our issue is that the building was originally constructed as a library in 1940 with more than 10 separate areas for housing the stacks, which […]
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 […]
The Arizona Museum of Natural History (AzMNH) Anthropology Department was excited to be chosen for the Conserv Preservation Award to re-house several ethnographic textiles in 2023. Award funding was used to purchase archival quality materials to roll the textiles according to best museum practices. This was an essential project that improved storage of textiles previously […]
The Schultze & Weaver archive at the Wolfsonian-FIU One of the most valued holdings in The Wolfsonian–FIU collection is the Schultze & Weaver archive, a group of over 8000 architectural drawings, documents, and photographs produced by the renowned New York City’s architectural firm. Between 1921 and 1948, Schultze & Weaver designed many iconic buildings throughout […]
One of the major goals of a data monitoring program is to eventually make improvements to your collection environment. These improvements can be in the form of reduced energy consumption, changes to increase the longevity of the collection materials, or a combination of the two. Actively adjusting temperature, humidity, light, and the collection’s physical surroundings […]
You may be personally responsible for maintaining healthy conditions for your collections or beloved cultural heritage building, both as a result of your org chart and also your own personal sense of duty. But as the well-known saying goes…it takes a village to stay within temperature and humidity ranges. Let’s take a look at some […]
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: […]
