3 June, 2015
The Blue Shield offers its unequivocal support for the United Nations Secretary General’s statements (26 May 2015). We agree that the only durable resolution to the current crisis in Yemen is an inclusive, Yemeni-led, peaceful transition process towards a negotiated political settlement. We share his aspiration that a long and lasting peace can be achieved as quickly as possible so as to alleviate the current intolerable humanitarian situation.
We also offer our total support for UNESCO’s Director General’s calls on all parties to protect Yemen’s unique cultural heritage.
Over the last few days and weeks there have been extremely worrying reports of destruction of cultural property including the bombing of the World Heritage Site of the Old City of Sana’a and the old city of Sa’adah, which is included on Yemen’s World Heritage Tentative List; the bombing of the Dhamar Museum; the reported damage to the archaeological site of the pre-Islamic walled city of Baraqish; and the reported targeting and destruction of the 1,200 year old mosque of Imam al-Hadi, located in the city of Saada; or the reported damage to the 10th century BC historic castle of Al-Cairo (Al-Kahira or Al Qahira), overlooking the city of Taiz; and the destruction of the Marib Dam.
We urge all parties, and in particular Yemen and Saudi Arabia, which are both States Parties to the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, to abide by the terms of the 1954 Convention. We ask that they not use cultural property for military purposes, to refrain from any targeting of cultural property, and to avoid wherever possible any collateral damage to cultural property.
The world needs to take humanitarian action to help protect those who have been most harmed by this conflict and to help to protect the remains of their, and our, common past.
The Blue Shield
The Blue Shield is the protective emblem of the 1954 Hague Convention, the international treaty formulating rules to protect cultural heritage during armed conflicts. The Blue Shield network consists of organisations dealing with museums, archives, libraries, monuments and sites.
The International Committee of the Blue Shield (ICBS), founded in 1996, comprises representatives of the four non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in this field:
• The International Council on Archives (www.ica.org)
• The International Council of Museums (www.icom.museum)
• The International Council on Monuments and Sites (www.icomos.org)
• The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (www.ifla.org)
Email: france.desmarais@icom.museum / peter.stone@newcastle.ac.uk
Please also view the website.
This statement can be viewed and downloaded here: http://www.ifla.org/files/assets/hq/topics/cultural-heritage/blueshieldstatementyemen.pdf
Category: Allied Organizations
Heritage Preservation Programs Transition to FAIC
Washington, DC — April 27, 2015 — Throughout its 33-year history, first as the National Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Property and then under its current name, Heritage Preservation has fulfilled its mission to preserve the nation’s heritage for future generations through innovative leadership and educational agendas. It has steadily advocated for the protection of cultural heritage by creating programs, publications, and easily accessed products that advance the field of conservation and serve the needs of allied preservation professions.
Heritage Preservation’s programs have been tested and proven. Hence, they are trusted and highly valued. Their loss would be severely felt throughout the cultural heritage community. Research undertaken over the past six months indicates that several synergies exist between the programs of the DC-based Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (FAIC) and Heritage Preservation. For this reason, following the recent vote by Heritage Preservation members approving its dissolution as of June 30, 2015, several popular Heritage Preservation programs will transition to FAIC, thus ensuring their continuation.
Programs That Will Move to FAIC
FAIC will administer and lead three primary emergency planning, preparedness, and response programs currently offered by Heritage Preservation: Alliance for Response (AFR), State Heritage Emergency Partnership (SHEP), and Risk Evaluation and Planning Program (REPP). FAIC will also promote the annual MayDay campaign in 2015 and into the future. Heritage Preservation’s plan to develop an app called the Disaster Assessment Reporting Tool (DART) is on hold until funding is obtained to develop a prototype.
Transfer of the Connecting to Collections (C2C) Online Community program, and other activities related to the statewide preservation planning and implementation program developed and funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), with programmatic assistance from Heritage Preservation, began in December 2014, and has been fully implemented as C2C Care.
FAIC is in the process of hiring additional programmatic and support staff, as well as part-time contractors, to ensure that former Heritage Preservation activities will thrive. Four key Heritage Preservation staff members will be retained, allowing uninterrupted access to their expertise.
Heritage Preservation’s joint award with the College Art Association was presented in February 2015 in New York City. The College Art Association and the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC) have agreed to form a partnership in time for the 2016 award. It is hoped that a new organizational arrangement for the joint Heritage Preservation/AIC Ross Merrill Award for Outstanding Commitment to the Preservation and Care of Collections can be announced prior to the 2016 award cycle.
Although FAIC will not directly oversee Heritage Preservation’s Save Outdoor Sculpture! and Rescue Public Murals programs, existing digital materials from these and other initiatives will be hosted on FAIC’s Conservation OnLine (CoOL) website to ensure continued access.
The Smithsonian Institution Archives, the Campbell Center, the National Park Service, the Library of Congress, the Washington Conservation Guild, the University of Maryland Archives, Conservation Resources Management, and the George Washington University Libraries graciously agreed to accept library and archival materials so that they may continue to be put to good use.
After April 30, 2015, the Heritage Preservation Board of Directors will:
- donate the intellectual property rights for the name and logo of Heritage Preservation to FAIC;
- transfer copyrights and inventory of all Heritage Preservation publications and products to FAIC so that these important resources can continue to be distributed;
- work with FAIC to arrange for mail, product sales, and the website URLs to be redirected to FAIC;
- and allocate all unencumbered monies and transfer unspent funds, as appropriate, to FAIC when the closure of Heritage Preservation is completed.
Other Key Heritage Preservation Programs
The completion and successful delivery of Heritage Health Information 2014, funded by an IMLS grant award with additional support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, The Getty Foundation, and others, will continue to be Heritage Preservation’s principal activity for the first half of 2015, with results tabulated and disseminated to the cultural heritage community by summer 2015.
The IMLS Conservation Assessment Program (CAP), managed by Heritage Preservation, will close on April 30, 2015. Further information about this program can be found at www.imls.gov.
Plans are underway to place the Heritage Emergency National Task Force, of which FAIC is an active member, under the jurisdiction of a federal agency.
Additional Information
Questions or comments regarding the status of Heritage Preservation programs may be directed to Tom Clareson, Acting President, Heritage Preservation (tclareson@heritagepreservation.org), or Eryl Wentworth, Executive Director, Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation (ewentworth@conservation-us.org).
To download the announcement, please go to http://www.conservation-us.org/about-us/press-room/hp-release
AAM’s Direct Care Survey: Please complete ASAP
As I recently wrote about on the Conservators Converse blog (http://www.conservators-converse.org/2015/02/direct-care-and-conservation/), the AAM has formed a task force to better define the meaning of “direct care” in regard to deaccessioning. This issue has a direct impact on funding for preservation and conservation at museums. Unfortunately, their task force did not include any conservators but now it is our chance to be heard. Anyone, not just AAM members, can fill out the short survey.
The link is:
https://newknowledge.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_cIb6SW5TiJB6GBD
The survey deadline is tomorrow, Mar. 4, so please complete it ASAP and forward it to other conservators.
"Direct care" and Conservation
Starting today, the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) is conducting an online survey on “direct care,” an issue of extreme relevance to conservators and one that could have a major impact on the future of the conservation field.
As most conservators are aware, deaccessioning museum objects is a complicated topic. Currently the AAM’s Code of Ethics says: “disposal of collections through sale, trade or research activities is solely for the advancement of the museum’s mission. Proceeds from the sale of nonliving collections are to be used consistent with the established standards of the museum’s discipline, but in no event shall they be used for anything other than acquisition or direct care of collections.”
While it is commonly understood that funds from deaccessioning should not be used for normal operating expenses, what does the term “direct care” mean? Does “direct care” mean conservation, and if so, could these funds be spent on conservation treatments? Or does “direct care” only mean preventive conservation? Either way, does “direct care” include conservation salaries? Because the term “direct care” is vague, the AAM has established the Direct Care Task Force to clarify the term and make new recommendations. Of course, each museum may have its own, more specific, guidelines and procedures. And while the AASLH also allows for money from the deaccessioning to be spent on “preservation,” the AAMD has stricter guidelines, allowing only for money to be spent on new acquisitions.
What does this have to do with conservation? If the definition of “direct care” were expanded to explicitly include conservation, more funding would potentially be available for conservation. But deaccessioning is already ethically challenging; conservators don’t want to be put in a position of seeming to encourage deaccessioning or to violate our own code of ethics, with our primary goal being the preservation of cultural property.
This important issue calls for dialogue – both among conservators and with our museum colleagues. AAM’s task force unfortunately does not include any conservators, so we must express our voice in other ways.
Links:
AAM Direct Care Task Force
http://aam-us.org/resources/ethics-standards-and-best-practices/direct-care-task-force
AAM Code of Ethics:
http://aam-us.org/resources/ethics-standards-and-best-practices/code-of-ethics
Help make Museums Advocacy Day a Success
Although registration for participating in Museums Advocacy Day 2015 here in Washington, D.C., is now closed, there is still much you can do from home. Advocates will be personally visiting Congressional offices in all 50 states on February 24 and 25 “to send a unified message to Congress about the value of museums and how federal policy affects their ability to serve the public.” The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) is coordinating this effort, and you can help by writing letters to Congress, sharing AAM’s postings on Facebook and Twitter (hashtag #museumsadvocacy), and using AAM’s advocacy tools.
Last year, more than 300 advocates visited Washington, D.C., for Museums Advocacy Day. If you are interested in joining them next year, be sure to check the AAM website to learn about registration this fall.
AAM’s resources:
- Advocate from Anywhere: http://www.aam-us.org/advocacy/museums-advocacy-day/advocate-from-anywhere
- Advocacy Resources: The Alliance offers several resources for building your advocacy skills, learning about Congress, making your case and getting involved in advocacy for your museum. http://www.aam-us.org/advocacy/resources
Museums Advocacy Day 2014 By the Numbers:
- More than 300 advocates gathered in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 24–25
- Advocates visited 335 Congressional offices in all 50 states
- Over 1,100 #museumsadvocacy tweets
- Two Great American Museum Advocates
- Hundreds of letters sent to Congress
- Six congressional champions
Information for this post was taken from the AAM website, http://www.aam-us.org/advocacy/museums-advocacy-day. Visit their website to learn more, and reach out to your Congressperson to let your voice be heard.
Call For Nominations: 2015 Spotlight Award (The Society of American Archivists)
The Society of American Archivists Spotlight Award Subcommittee invites nominations for the 2015 Spotlight Award.
This award “recognizes the contributions of individuals who work for the good of the archives profession and of archival collections, and whose work would not typically receive public recognition.” Nominees do not have to be members of SAA. Please share this message as you think appropriate. I hope you will consider recognizing a colleague (or yourself!) in this way. Additional information about the criteria and process is found below.
Purpose and Criteria for Selection:
Established in 2005, the Spotlight Award recognizes the contributions of individuals who work for the good of the archives profession and of archival collections, and whose work would not typically receive public recognition. The nominee(s) should have achieved distinction in one or more of the following ways:
* Participating in special projects.
* Exhibiting tireless committee or advocacy work.
* Responding effectively to an unforeseen or pressing need or emergency.
* Contributing innovative or creative ideas to the profession.
* Performing extraordinary volunteerism.
* Quietly but effectively promoting the profession.
Eligibility: Awarded to an individual archivist or a group of up to five archivists who have collaborated on a project. Preference is given to archivists working in smaller repositories, especially those without institutional support for professional activities.
Nomination Requirements: A completed nomination form, downloadable at http://www2.archivists.org/sites/all/files/Spotlight-Award-Form.rtf.
Sponsor and Funding: The Society of American Archivists Foundation.
Prize: A certificate and complimentary registration (for up to five individuals) to the SAA Annual Meeting occurring in the year in which the award is presented.
Submission Deadline and Nomination Form: Deadline: February 28, 2015. Please complete the nomination form (http://www2.archivists.org/sites/all/files/ Spotlight -Award-Form.rtf) and email it along with any applicable supporting documentation to awards@archivists.org with the subject line “Spotlight Award.” Attachments should not exceed 5MB.
Alternately, nominations may be mailed. Materials must be postmarked by February 28, 2015, and should be sent to:
Spotlight Award Committee
Society of American Archivists
17 North State Street, Suite 1425
Chicago, IL 60602-4061
Please visit http://www2.archivists.org/recognition for a list and explanation of all of the awards offered by SAA.
The above information and a list of past recipients is available at http://www2.archivists.org/governance/handbook/section12-spotlight.
NCPTT announces Mid-Century Modern Structures: Materials and Preservation 2015 Symposium
![By Daniel Schwen (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](http://www.conservators-converse.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/St_Louis_night_expblend.jpg)
The NCPTT symposium on the materials and preservation issues of Mid-Century Modern Structures will be held in St. Louis, MO, on April 14-16, 2015. Go to ncptt.nps.gov to learn more. Register now!
This three-day symposium will feature a keynote speech on preservation of Mid-Century Structures by Gunny Harboe, plus 23 lectures, a panel discussion, poster session, and tours by leading professionals from across the country.
Major topics include:
- Preserving the Gateway Arch
- Establishing an appreciation for mid-century structures from ranch houses and commercial buildings to architectural icons
- Understanding preservation and materials issues in mid-century structures including metals, glass, concrete, and fiberglass
- Learning from case studies of unique buildings such as the Farnsworth House, Fallingwater, and the Knapp Centre
Distinguished speakers include: Justine Bello, David Bright, Mary Reid Brunstrom, Amanda Burke, Bradley Cambridge, Barbara Campagna, David Fixler, Ann K. Dilcher, Christopher Domin, Carol Dyson, Evan Kopelson, Joshua Freedland, Holly Hope, Catherine Houska, Nancy Hudson, Mary Jablonski, Pamela Jerome, Stephen Kelley, Walter Sedovic, Laura Kviklys, Alan O’Bright, James C. Parker, Joe Sembrat, Robert Silman, Tyler Sprague, Claudette Stager, Anne Weber, Ashley Wilson and more.
A special public lecture on Monday, April 13, at Washington University in St. Louis will feature Kevin Roche, Susan Saarinen, and Robert Moore. Video recordings of lectures and published proceeding will extend the symposium to a broad audience. Brought to you by the Friends of NCPTT, the National Park Service, the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, the American Institute for Architects St. Louis, Washington University in St. Louis, and the World Monument Fund.
Read more at http://ncptt.nps.gov/events/mid-century-modern-structures-2/.
Call for Nominations: J. Franklin Jameson Archival Advocacy Award (Society of American Archivists)
The J. Franklin Jameson Archival Advocacy Award Subcommittee of the Society of American Archivists seeks nominations for the 2015 award.
http://www2.archivists.org/governance/handbook/section12-jameson
Established in 1989, this award honors an individual, institution, or organization that promotes greater public awareness, appreciation, or support of archival activities or programs. The individual’s or institution’s contributions may take the form of advocacy, publicity, legislation, financial support, or a similar action that fosters archival work or raises public consciousness of the importance of archival work. Contributions should have broad, long-term impact at the regional level or beyond. Up to three awards may be given each year.
Recent Winners:
- 2014: LGBT Center of Central PA History Project and National History Day
- 2013: Dr. Warren Stewart
- 2012: Eve Kahn, Bebe Miller, Phillip Stewart
- 2011: “Who Do You Think You Are?” (NBC)
- 2010: The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation
- 2009: Ross King (Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board)
- 2008: Data-Intensive Cyber Environments (DICE)
Eligibility: Nominees must be from outside the archives profession. Individuals directly involved in archival work, either as paid or volunteer staff, or institutions or organizations directly responsible for an archival program are not eligible for this award.
Mailed materials must be postmarked by February 28, 2015 and should be sent to:
J. Franklin Jameson Archival Advocacy Award Committee
Society of American Archivists
17 North State Street, Suite 1425
Chicago, IL 60602-4061
Nominations may be submitted electronically; please see the nomination form for details. For more information on SAA awards and the nominations process, please go to: http://www.archivists.org/recognition/index.asp
Look for the Heritage Health Index survey in your inbox
The Heritage Health Information 2014; A National Collections Care Survey (HHI 2014) is the only comprehensive survey to collect data on the condition and preservation needs of our nation’s collections. Heritage Preservation, in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowment for the Humanities, is pleased to announce this new study as follow up to the success of the Heritage Health Index 2004.
You can help us with this key endeavor by responding to the call to participate. Selected institutions will receive an email to participate beginning the week of October 20th. We encourage you to participate in this important survey. Look for the email OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS – The HHI 2014 National Collections Care Survey is here! and help us to ensure the preservation of our nation’s treasured cultural heritage in archives, historical societies, libraries, museums, scientific research collections, and archaeological repositories.
With your help and support, the HHI 2014 will once again prove to be a fundamental tool in the effort to preserve our shared heritage.
Heritage Without Borders volunteers land in Kosovo
Heritage Without Borders volunteers are delivering an object conservation course as part of Cultural Heritage Without Borders’ 20th Annual Restoration Camp in Mitrovica, Kosovo. They are updating us on their experiences in their own words. Read about cake, making a mess, insect poo and DJ-ing competitions in their blog, on the Heritage Without Borders website.