Sign up for the next C2C Care Webinar, RE-ORG: Step-by-step Storage Reorganization for Small Museums. It’s Free!
Date/Time: August 5, 2015, 2-3:00 EDT
http://www.connectingtocollections.org/re-org-step-by-step-storage-reorganization-for-small-museums/
As museum collections continue to grow, adequate storage space is becoming a rare commodity. A recent international survey indicated that roughly two thirds of collections in storage were at serious risk. With poor storage conditions, it is challenging for museums to use collections for enjoyment, research or education; moreover, effective emergency response may be compromised. Re-ORG, developed by ICCROM and UNESCO, is a step-by-step methodology to assist small museums in reorganizing their storage areas for better access and conservation. The focus of RE-ORG is on making improvements to existing storage areas, and not on planning and building new facilities. This webinar is an introduction to the RE-ORG methodology and various tools (both current and upcoming), and to the Canadian Conservation Institute’s RE-ORG: Canada training program.
Featured Speaker:
Simon Lambert holds a B.A. in art history and Italian literature from McGill University, and obtained a Laurea in paintings conservation at the University of Urbino, Italy and an M.Sc. in the Care of Collections at Cardiff University, UK. Simon is a Commonwealth scholar and recipient of a 2010 ICON Conservation Award (UK). After completing his studies, Simon worked for two years at ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Restoration and Preservation of Cultural Property) in Rome on the planning and implementation of international professional training activities about cultural heritage protection in times of conflict, and on developing didactic web-based tools for the reorganization of museum storage. Simon joined CCI in 2012 as Preservation Development Advisor in Preservation Services. His current interests include museum storage planning and reorganization, the sustainability of museum activities, and standards for museums.
Author: Sarah Norris
C2CC Webinar: Facebook, and Twitter, and Instagram, Oh My! Sharing Museum Collections through Social Media
Join Connecting to Collections Care on July 14 at 2:00 EDT for a free webinar:
Facebook, and Twitter, and Instagram, Oh My! Sharing Museum Collections through Social Media
Social media has infiltrated our lives, and it’s no longer restricted to personal use. Many cultural institutions are using social media outlets very effectively to connect and communicate messages to a wide variety of audiences. There are so many choices and platforms and ways of engaging with the public, which can make even just the term “social media” seem overwhelming or daunting. Whether you’re completely inexperienced or you’re looking to refine or streamline and make the most of your efforts, this webinar will provide an opportunity to learn more about what is out there, how different platforms are being used, and will provide tips for effectively using social media to share your collections, which ultimately assists in furthering access and preservation.
Presenters:
Molly Gleeson is the Rockwell Project Conservator at the Penn Museum (University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology). She works full-time in the museum’s open conservation lab on Egyptian mummies and artifacts. Molly received her M.A. from the UCLA/Getty Master’s Program in the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials in 2008 and her B.A. in Art Conservation from the University of Delaware in 2002.
Tom Stanley is a Public Relations and Social Media Coordinator at the Penn Museum. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in 2007 from Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pa., where he studied Communications with an emphasis in Broadcasting.
Sign up:
http://www.connectingtocollections.org/facebook-and-twitter-and-instagram-oh-my-sharing-museum-collections-through-social-media/
Webinar: Preservation Metrics Today: Heritage Health Information and Preservation Statistics, June 11, 2015, 2-3:30 EDT
Sign up for the next Connecting to Collections Care webinar, Preservation Metrics Today: Heritage Health Information and Preservation Statistics. It’s free!
http://www.connectingtocollections.org/preservation-metrics-today-heritage-health-information-and-preservation-statistics-2/
Now more than ever, data drives decisions: Which projects should be funded? Where is staff needed? What activities should take priority over others? How can you find the data to help when you are looking for funding or trying to persuade your community or legislators to provide funds for collections care in you museum, historical society or library? Collections care is an ongoing process and the need for caring for collections doesn’t go away when times are lean. Having your specific needs spelled out can help you make a persuasive argument for future funding.
The Heritage Health Information and the Preservation Statistics programs are both dedicated to collecting and analyzing the information on care for our collections in the broadest sense and they are the go-to programs for the data you need.
This webinar will give you the chance to learn more about these programs and to learn about how you might use the information they provide for your own situations. It will also help you to address StEPs MVG Standards 3 and 4.
Date/Time: June 11, 2015, 2-3:30 EDT
Featured Speakers:
- Lesley A. Langa is the Director of the Heritage Health Information Survey 2014 at Heritage Preservation. Ms. Langa is also a doctoral candidate in the iSchool at the University of Maryland. Ms. Langa has managed national research projects in the cultural sector for over ten years, including work for the Smithsonian Institution, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Getty Foundation. Her research has been presented at the American Alliance for Museums, the American Libraries Association, the iConference, the Museum Computer Network, and the Visitor Studies Association.
- Annie Peterson is the Preservation Librarian at Howard-Tilton MemorialLibrary, Tulane University, a position she has held since July 2012. Previously she was the IMLS Preservation Administration Fellow at Yale University. She is a coordinator of the annual Preservation Statistics Survey.
- Holly Robertson is a preservation consultant and grant writer based in Washington, DC specializing in preservation assessments, collections conservation management, disaster recovery, digital preservation, archival storage, and audio / visual preservation issues. As one of the coordinators for the all-volunteer Preservation Statistics Survey project, she works to assure that the preservation activities of cultural heritages institutions are documented to empower practitioners and support advocacy.
43rd Annual Meeting – Opening Session, May 14, Turning Philosophy into Practice: Documenting Process Through White Papers, by Benjamin Haavik
Through many years of preservation practice, Historic New England has developed traditions of care to achieve structural and aesthetic standards in its historical properties. Examples include methods of repairing joints; labeling repair materials; setting varied target dates for the appearance of structures; and larger concepts like “replace in kind.” Benjamin Haavik discussed his efforts as the Team Leader for Property Care to standardize these treatment practices and ethics by creating white papers.
With varying amounts of detail, white papers can standardize practice for both internal work and contracting. Haavik proposes that 75% of any project can be standardized into defined, basic steps. The remaining 25% is the most difficult part of project development. This 25% might include project details (what materials and how much to replace?), organizational philosophy (which of several column styles should be matched?), and practitioner’s experience (how can we best determine methodology in the field?) Time and cost are the limiting factors in standardizing this last 25%, since highly-detailed white papers may address issues that are more effectively determined on a case-by-case basis.
While Haavik’s talk examined management processes, surprising corollaries existed with John Hogan’s and Carol Snow’s “Sol LeWitt’s Wall Drawings: Conservation of an Ephemeral Art Practice.” Hogan echoed Haavik’s observations about the challenges of realizing the most interpretive portions of a project: here, Sol LeWitt’s instruction-based Wall Drawings. Whether in preservation management or art conservation, codified standards require careful interpretation in order to create successful work.
43rd Annual Meeting – Opening Session, May 14, The False Dichotomy of “Ideal” versus “Practical” Conservation Treatments, by Barbara Appelbaum (presenter) & Paul Himmelstein
AIC’s 43rd Annual Meeting opened with a challenge to its central theme, “Practical Philosophy, or Making Conservation Work.” In her opening talk, Barbara Appelbaum proposed that conservation treatment does not place theory and practice at odds. Instead, treatment is inherently an act of compromise, in which the needs of stakeholders and the needs of the object are blended into an ideal course of action. As acceptable end states for treatment have broadened, a wider range of conservation strategies has become acceptable. Examples were drawn from the contrasting worlds of institutional work and private practice. These environments can offer different types of knowledge about an object’s value, authenticity, and ongoing care. Ethical and effective treatments are equally feasible in both.
Appelbaum cautioned that semantic debates between theory and practice can create burdensome self-doubt among practicing conservators. Our field’s professional literature is both abundant and conflicting, potentially leaving the conscientious practitioner with lingering worries about fundamental practices and tenets. AIC’s core documents help to address this situation by offering support for flexible and ethical conservation strategies.
Contrasting views on the impact of compromise were discussed elsewhere during the conference, including Julie Biggs’ and Yasmeen Khan’s “Subject and Object: Exploring the Conservator’s Changing Relationship with Collection Material.” While Appelbaum highlighted how conservation treatment may be strengthened through processes of choice and compromise, Biggs and Khan suggested a dilution of achievable treatment goals and specialist skills given the competing demands of traditional conservation, digitization, and exhibition. These underlying themes animated many varied and timely discussions throughout the Miami meeting.
Connecting to Collections Care MayDay Webinar, May 1
Sign up for the next Connecting to Collections Care webinar on disaster recovery. It’s free!
“After Disasters: Salvage and Recovery in Small to Mid-Sized Museums and Libraries”
May 1, 2015, 2:00 – 3:30, EDT, with Susan Duhl.
Understanding the components of disaster response is key in successful recovery of collections of any type, size, and budget. This webinar will show professionals and volunteers the steps needed to effectively save collections, including:
+ What happens to collections after fires, floods, mechanical failures, and other events
+ Recovery logistics, team building, and securing supplies
+ Safety and health practices
+ Working with first responders, engineers, contractors and conservators, and local resources
+ Collections triage, handling practices, drying options, soot and mud cleaning techniques, and mold control
+ Long-term recovery: conservation treatment and funding
Susan Duhl is an Art Conservator and Collections Consultant, providing assessments, consultations, and conservation treatment for institutions and individuals throughout the United States and internationally. She specializes in disaster prevention and strategic recovery of art, archival, and historic collections from natural, mechanical, accidental, and man-made disasters. Capabilities include assessments, pre-incident planning, prevention, emergency response, strategic planning for recovery, and conservation treatment. Clients include private collectors, historic houses and societies, and institutional collections of all types and sizes.
Check the Calendar for more upcoming events.
This webinar is part of the MayDay Initiative. All activities hosted by the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation for MayDay 2015 are sponsored by Polygon Group, offering document recovery, emergency planning services, property damage restoration, and temporary humidity control across the globe.
Connecting to Collections Care is sponsored by the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation with funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Connecting to Collections Care Webinar, April 21
Please excuse cross postings.
Sign up for the next Connecting to Collections Care webinar on museum environments – it’s free!
“When Less is All You Got! Budget-conscious solutions to protect collections on display and in storage”
April 21, 2015, 2:00 – 3:30, EDT, with Ernest Conrad and Lisa Mibach.
In an ideal world, all buildings that house and display collections would have purpose-designed environmental control systems that work, enclosed display cases, chemically-neutral storage and display cases and containers, and enough trained staff to care for collections. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.
The first part of the webinar will illustrate the diagnostic effects of the lack of environmental controls, and will discuss budget-conscious solutions to protect collections on display and in storage. The second part will deal with proper storage and display conditions so that objects can weather minor disruptions. If you don’t have ideal storage and display conditions, you need to have regularly updated priority lists of objects (in order of vulnerability) to check during/after an environmental failure or change.
Check the Calendar for more upcoming events.
Connecting to Collections Care is sponsored by the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation with funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Electronic Media Group Call for Papers, AIC 2014 Meeting
The Electronic Media Group (EMG) of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) is calling for papers about the preservation and conservation of electronic media for the AIC annual meeting, May 28-31st 2014 in San Francisco, California. http://www.conservation-us.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=482&parentID=476
The theme of the meeting is Conscious Conservation: Sustainable Choices in Conservation Care. Topics could include sustainability of analogue media formats, migration and emulation strategies, approaches to digital asset management and preservation, care of electronic media collections, and case studies of particularly challenging artworks.
If your paper is accepted, you are expected to secure funding for your registration and travel expenses to attend the conference. See the AIC webpage for more information about grants and scholarships. – http://www.conservation-us.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=474
Please join the conversation – Submit an abstract by Friday, September 13.
Abstracts will be considered for:
General Sessions – General Session papers must specifically address the meeting theme. General Session papers will be considered for one of three categories: all attendee sessions, concurrent sessions, and concurrent interactive/discussion sessions.
Specialty Sessions – Specialty Session papers are encouraged to address the meeting theme but may also explore other topics relevant to that specialty, including: Architecture, Book and Paper, Collections Care, Electronic Media, Objects, Photographic Materials, Paintings, Research and Technical Studies, Textiles, and Wooden Artifacts.
Poster Session – Posters may address the meeting theme, but presenters can also address their current research interests. Posters are presented in the Exhibit Hall.
Submission Guidelines
You may submit an abstract for a combination of the three session types: General Sessions, Specialty Sessions, or Poster Session. You may submit your presentation to only one or two sessions if you so choose.
If you are submitting a Discussion/Interactive Session, please submit only for that, since the format is not compatible with the other General Session choices
Please indicate on the abstract the session/sessions for which you want the paper to be considered.
Please limit your choices to three sessions and rank them in order of preference. For example, your preferences could be one of the following:
- 1st Choice: General Sessions, 2nd Choice: Electronic Media Specialty Session, and 3rd Choice: Book and Paper Specialty Session
- 1st Choice: Electronic Media Specialty Session, 2nd Choice: Photographic Materials Specialty Session, and 3rd Choice: Research and Technical Studies Specialty Session
- 1st Choice: Electronic Media Specialty Session, 2nd Choice: Electronic Media Specialty Group Session, 3rd Choice: Electronic Media Specialty Session
- 1st Choice: General Sessions – Concurrent Interactive/Discussion Session
How to Submit an Abstract
Please send an abstract of no more than 500 words, along with a bio of no more than 300 words by Friday, September 13, 2013.
Email it to Ruth Seyler, Membership and Meetings Director, at rseyler@conservation-us.org
In the case of multiple authors please list all authors and include an email address for each author.
For further information, please contact Rose Cull – EMG Program Chair – roseemilycull@gmail.com
EMG Wiki Day 9/27
AIC’s Electronic Media Group announces our upcoming EMG Wiki Day on Thursday, 9/27, from 1 to 5 PM Eastern Time. EMG members and allied professionals are invited to write and edit for this valuable online resource. We actively seek contributions on topics including film, digital audio and video, optical audio and moving image formats, and digital storage.
Log onto the EMG wiki during the afternoon of 9/27 to join other EMG members in writing and editing content. The event offers collaboration and support for experienced wiki authors and novices alike.
Still need a wiki account? View the AIC wiki training video and then contact AIC e-Editor Rachael Arenstein to get your login. If you have content to contribute but can’t train in time, please contact EMG Webmaster Sarah Norris.
Visit the EMG wiki to learn more.
Mark your calendars for the afternoon of 9/27 and join your colleagues as we enhance this valuable wiki resource for the field.
-Sarah Norris
EMG Webmaster
www.facebook.com/ElectronicMediaGroup
http://twitter.com/EMG_AIC
http://cool.conservation-us.org/coolaic/sg/emg/