On our final day we split up into two groups: one traveled to the archives of the Musse de l’Amerique Francophone part of the Musées de la Civilization and the other to the storage facilities of the same museum network. The tour of the storage facility was led by one of the museum’s curators, who wove several fascinating stories about items into our visit (including an especially intriguing and gruesome tale about the gibbet of Marie-Josephte Corriveau that recently made its way into the museum’s collection). The storage center organizes collections primarily by material and preventative conservations needs. Rooms are titled by their principal contents, such as large objects and furniture, small wooden objects, paper, metal, etc. Each room’s temperature and relative humidity vary according to the items in storage. The facility also includes large rooms for initial quarantine, cool and cold storage, a relatively small conservation lab for minor treatments, and an area for documentation. Despite the large scale of the storage spaces, barely a speck of dust could be found anywhere and it was clear that the collections are cared for very well. We only stayed for the morning, but we easily could have spent an entire day or weekend just to see the facility in its entirety.
After our tour we headed back to the Chateau Frontenac on our bus, being sure to give Ruth Seyler a large round of applause for a productive meeting and a marvelously-planned tour of Quebec City. Old Quebec is sure to charm any visitor with its historic ramparts and European flair, although the opportunity to experience the city and its museums with historians and conservators was an especially wonderful treat.
Category: Workshops, Tours, & Events
Other events that take place at the Annual Meeting
AIC Quebec City Trip Travelog Part 2
The second day’s itinerary was briefly delayed by a government strike, although late start was greeted thankfully by many of us. When the 1.5 hour strike concluded, we travelled to the Centre de Conservation du Quebec (CCQ), a government-sponsored institution that provides conservation services and advise to organizations across the province of Quebec. The facility services the national museums of Quebec, the National Library and Archives of Quebec, and the Ministry of Culture and Communications among other museums and archives. The CCQ is one of the largest conservation centers in North America and employs over 30 conservation professionals specializing in furniture, sculpture, paper, textiles, painting, photographs, archeology and ethnology, metal, stone, and wood. The center also conducts research related to conservation and art materials, documents museum objects, and publishes frequently in French and occasionally in English. Numerous publications are available on the CCQ website on the “centre de ressources” page under the the publications tab: http://www.ccq.gouv.qc.ca/
The director of the CCQ warmly welcomed us, after which the labs were free for us to explore in an open house format. The majority of CCQ conservators spoke excellent English, and we were able to discuss their current projects and discover the facilities at our own pace. From frames and sculptures to musical instruments and religious artefacts, the items undergoing conservation at the CCQ spanned hundreds of years of creativity and presented a wide range of complex treatment concerns. Staff from each specialty expressed how rewarding it is to work alongside and collaborate with such a large team of conservators and how helpful that can be while tackling difficult and complex problems.
One such collaboration on display at the CCQ resonated with the conference theme, Emergency! Preparing for Disasters and Confronting the Unexpected in Conservation. A recent fire at a museum collection was quickly extinguished by firefighters. While the emergency responders were well prepared and managed to drape the majority of the collection with plastic sheets, a few archeological and ethnographic objects were severely water damaged. Conservators at the CCQ’s textiles lab and archeology and ethnography lab worked together to slowly dry and stabilize the objects before performing exquisite treatments to bring the objects back to life.
Apart from the labs, the CCQ invited us to their rooftop to see three current research projects that explore the durability of various materials in the highly variable climate in Quebec City. One test is investigating the effectiveness of various paints and coatings on cedar shingles, another is testing the effectiveness of several varnishes as anti-graffiti coatings for use on outdoor acrylic murals, and the third is looking at the performance of several mortar recipes for use with limestone masonry. The CCQ is very passionate about finding answers to pressing conservation questions and sharing their findings with those individuals and institutions, especially those who may not have the resources to conduct equally technical studies.
After our tour of the spacious facilities, we enjoyed lunch with the conservators at CCQ. With the warm conversations, an invitation to a conservator’s classical music performance that evening, and a lively infant who joined us, the room where we dined was full of a familial spirit. Though we could have spent the entire day at the CCQ, we gathered for a group photo and departed for the Musée de la Civilization. A special thanks to Michael O’Malley for arranging the group visit to the CCQ.
The Museum of Civilization is located in Quebec atop an historic waterfront which gradually expanded through rubble and earth in-fill over the past centuries. The museum’s design by Moshe Safdie dates from 1988, his first building in the province of Quebec since his Habitat 67. We had a guided tour of two exhibitions that highlight many of the museums inititatives. The first, This is Our Story, walks visitors through Inuit and first nations’ histories and contemporary experiences while posing questions about the future of over 90,000 individuals from eleven Aboriginal nations currently living in Quebec. The second, Lifelines, features indigenous contemporary art from Australia that grows out of a dynamic range of political, cultural, and aesthetic ambitions. A special thanks to Annie Beauregard for arranging the visit to the Museum of Civilization and the two Friday tours.
We met David Mendel at the museum after visiting the exhibits and set out for a walking tour of the lower town. The urban fabric of Quebec City cascades over the extreme topography near the banks of the St. Lawrence, creating a series of stepped town squares and magnificently composed views of cobblestone streets. David brought drawings from the 17th and 18th century that highlighted the dramatic changes that the lower town has seen over the years. With his deep involvement in the architectural preservation of the city, David also shared some of the political conversations and decisions that resulted in the cities current approach to restoration. The city has opted to preserve as much history as possible without choosing to build new structures in a historical style, which many were worried might produce an inflated sense of architectural heritage.
The tour terminated at the Musée de la Place Royale, a building that succinctly embodies the city’s attitude toward preservation: historic walls remain preserved while a series of architecture modifications in explicitly contemporary materials allow the building to be simultaneously historic and new. We enjoyed a reception at the museum with refreshments, hors d’oeuvres, and wonderful views of the quaint square and church adjacent to the museum. After the reception, several of us ventured back into lower town in search of a regional dessert called beaver tail. After meandering through the twisty streets, a large beaver carved in wood led the way; we found our fried dough with cinnamon and sugar, and found the confection especially delicious with a squeeze of lemon!
AIC Quebec City Trip Travelog Part 1
After the magnificent whirlwind of the joint AIC, CAC-ACCR meeting, over twenty conference-goers and guests set out on an early bus towards Quebec City. As the Montreal skyline receded behind us, we caught glimpses of two groundbreaking works of architecture from the 1967 World’s Fair: Moshe Safdie’s Habitat 67 erupting as a brutalist landscape in the distance and Buckminster Fuller’s Montreal Biosphere, a futuristic pavilion encapsulated in a striking geodesic dome framework. The landscape quickly dissolved into forests and farmland, and we travelers began to get to know each other and share our conference experiences. One of the many pleasures of attending the post-trip was hearing fresh, first-hand accounts of the tips, breakout sessions, and lessons gathered by others at the meeting.
Our conversations on the bus revealed the great variety of experiences among the group: from emerging conservators to spouses and seasoned conservation professionals, we came from diverse backgrounds and represented Australia, Canada, Portugal, and US locations from the east coast to California and Hawaii. The dynamic mix would be a great asset as we explored the history, culture, and collections of Quebec City together.
As we approached the city over the St. Lawrence River, our bus driver pointed out the storied Quebec Bridge and informed us that the name of the city derived from an Algonquin word that means “where the river narrows.” This etymology is a point of pride for Quebec City inhabitants and was affectionately recounted by several others over the following days.
Upon arrival, we had a few moments to settle into our regal accommodations at the Chateau Frotenac before gathering for lunch and a lesson in Quebec City’s history led by David Mendel. David is a walking encyclopedia of the region, and his enthusiasm for the history, architecture, and culture of Quebec City was infectious. He shared the origins of the city, outlined military and trade history, and explained the national and international role that the city has played across time. David is such a talented raconteur that he makes Quebec City appear to be the center of all North American history, if not the whole world.
After our lesson, David led us on a brief bus trip across the Plains of Abraham, site of an historic battle during the French and Indian War during which British soldiers took control of the city from the French. The battlefields are also home to the Quebec Citadelle, the strategic architectural forefront of the city’s ramparts. This series of defensive structures make Quebec City the only fortified city in the US or Canada, a fact that helped the city gain UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1985. After our bus tour, David led the group by foot across the charming, winding streets of Old Quebec. We stopped in several magnificently gilded churches, learned about historic building methods, and saw an especially breathtaking collection of tapestries at the Museum of the Ursulines of Quebec.
After some restful free time, we indulged in a spectacular feast at Le Saint-Amour. A well-decorated restaurant, Le Saint-Amour prides itself on highlighting local products in traditional, regional dishes updated with innovative and contemporary culinary techniques. The company was as delightful as the food, and it was an ideal way to wrap up our first day in Quebec City.
44th Annual AIC Meeting, Pre-Conference Session, May 14: "Florence: Days of Destruction" by Franco Zeffirelli
If we try to pinpoint which events have caused major changes in our lives, we might come to the conclusion that many of them unfolded unexpectedly. And the worst ones seem to also happen fast. Whether we realize it or not, the Florence floods of 1966 were such a change. Many might not remember this time at all, and others – myself included – were yet to be born. As any other part of world history, it is a story that needs to be retold.
One of the pre-conference events was the screening of Franco Zeffirelli’s “Florence: Days of Destruction”. The Florentine filmmaker probably found that filming in this time of need was a way to cope with the immense gravity of the situation. What he also did was create a platform for awareness. The original Italian title, “Per Firenze”, reflects Zeffirelli’s attachment to his hometown and to all that it represented. Richard Burton, who narrates the film, could sympathize as he had recently seen his beloved Wales go through something similar. It doesn’t take being in the film business to relate to this feeling.
On Saturday, February 20th, 2010, heavy showers followed by landslides transformed Madeira Island – the place I will probably always call home – into a sort of gigantic mudbath. Everything that could be dragged from the mountain tops to the shore was. People were hurt, some even died that day. In a video published on February 21st by SkyNews, one sees how mother nature was nothing short of relentless:
On the quiet days that followed, there was a collective sense of mourning and loss. Everyone was shocked. I felt numb. Although I usually had no problem taking photographs, somehow I could not make myself pick up my camera. I could never be a photojournalist.
I first returned to work on February 23rd. Walking through the downtown part of Funchal, I saw damage on a scale I never thought I would have seen before. In a way, it felt like it could have been a war zone. Coincidence or not, that’s said in Zeffirelli’s film about Florence.
After about a week, the conservation team at the Arquivo Regional da Madeira, where I was working at the time, was contacted to provide help to a few cultural institutions in need. The buildings where they had their storages were on downtown Funchal, where basements had simply become pools of rubble. After draining the water out, they needed help figuring out how to deal with piles of books and documentation.
This experience changed my attitude towards conservation, setting a whole new standard of what an object in bad condition looked like. As much as those were tough times, they also provided bonding time with my colleagues. We kept each others spirits up amidst less than pleasing working environments when by the end of the day we were proud of our muddy coveralls. I would like to think it was a feeling common to all of those who put themselves to work during that time.
However catastrophic the situation that Zeffirelli’s documentary shows, it also focuses on the positive outcome that even such an event might have. It underlined the importance of cultural heritage in society and how it could bring people together because it was the right thing to do.
Because Zeffirelli’s work transcended into one of those things that are greater than the object itself, the film was shown for the first time after being digitally restored at this year’s AIC-CAC conference. It brought us together again at the conference, even after all these years have gone by. Not all the destruction was in vain after all.
To see how this event was portrayed in the media of its day, I encourage you to also take a look at the LIFE magazine Dec. 16th, 1966 issue (the report on the flood starts on page 28).
44th Annual Conference – Pre-Conference Workshop, May 14, "Choosing and Implementing a Fire Suppression System for a Collecting Institution" by Nick Artim et al
OK, I’ll be honest. The reasons why I went to this pre-conference workshop were:
- I had a business meeting in the afternoon and thought I’d better go to another session so I don’t look like a lazy git
- Nick Artim, Fire Protection Guru, was on the panel
Man, this would be a useful group to chat with back when we were trying to figure out which fire suppression system to go with for our rare book library years ago. For those of you not well-versed in fire suppression systems, this is a fairly comprehensive look at the different fire suppression systems available for cultural institutions. It also examines different investigations and processes looking into fire suppression systems for different cultural institutions.
Sprinklers at the Archives of Manitoba – Ala Rekrut
About the building itself: the Winnipeg Civic Auditorium was built in 1932; redeveloped in 1973 into Archives Building; new storage vault was created from the old concert hall that was part of the auditorium.
In 1994, the water micromist sprinkler systems were recommended, but they were too new and untested to be implemented at that point. So, they chose a wet pipe system and a dry pipe for cold storage in 1998. However, there was limited sprinkler coverage in the public areas and they wanted to re-investigate the possibilities of installing a fire suppression system.
One of the biggest hurdles in this project was that the building is managed by another entity, so the Archives can’t really make any changes. Here’s the timeline:
- Pre-2007: Building Conditions Assessment – recommendations included replacing HVAC systems, and installation of new sprinkler systems – so that they come close to building code (always a good thing)
- 2007: Vault renovation for HVAC, but no sprinklers, sadly
- 2010: Risk Management independent inspection: you should have 100% automatic sprinkler coverage, dudes. Bureaucracy stalls these things, you know
- 2013: Fire system alarm upgrade – still no sprinklers…
- 2015: Started project over again because the earlier estimates were way over budget – new team – what about sprinklers NOW? Finally YES we can investigate; water mist still not allowed, but they would investigate;who else has done this? Winnipeg Art Gallery had! What’s needed for water mist systems?
- Filtered city water; high pressure mist; 1 meter clearance needed; low ceilings are out
- Pump equipment sits on concrete slab 18” thick
A water-based conventional fire suppression system would be fine as well, but they will most likely go with a nitrogen gas (Inergen) system. It is still a work in progress…
You might be wondered how all of these recommendations could be ignored. Well, the answer is bureaucracy! The layers upon layers of government is why the building owners can ignore these recommendations. For example, recommendations from the province do not have to be heeded by the city government, for example. Also the building is grandfathered in due to its age.
Sprinklers at the Peel Library at University of Alberta – Carolyn Morgan
This project was to be an expansion of fire suppression systems in the Library at the University of Alberta. There were some systems in the basement of Library buildings: Halon in the public area and front office, but not storage; there was also a decommission wet pipe system in the same areas as the Halon. There was also an Inergen system in the audiovisual vault. Storage “fire suppression” protection in main collections storage consisted of a fire hose. They do have heat and smoke detectors.
The expansion project was to start May 2015, so staff had four months to sort the entire expansion project including choosing an appropriate fire suppression system. Nothing like a little bit of pressure to make one be decisive!
So, the goal with this project: protect and preserve our collections.
What are our choices?
- Gas systems: Inergen, Sapphire, FM-200
- Water systems: Sprinkler systems, wet pipe, dry pipe, water mist – pre-action or no pre-action?
- Hybrid: Victaulic Vortex
The chose the Victaulic Vortex system.
How did we come to our decision?
- Eliminated gas systems because of lack of space for tanks; expensive; lack of airtight integrity
- Eliminated water mist because of its unproven effectiveness where dense combustibles are present and the library lacked 1 meter ceiling clearance
- One of their biggest challenges was the limited head room: could not run sprinkler system – but maybe they could? No wet or dry pipe systems –
- selected Victaulic Vortex and double interlock pre-action sprinkler heads
Vicaulic Vortex – what’s that?
- Nitrogen and water
- Removes O2 and water and N2 65Km/ hour ; 10 microns drops of water
- Very little wetting; doesn’t require airtight rooms; few heads; quick system recharge
- High initial capital costs; need backup tanks; not widely used; may require a variance for acceptance by authority having jurisdiction
Double interlock pre-action heads – what’s that?
- Basically like dry pipe but water is held by electronically-operated valve
- You need: a detector system that must ID fire and open valve and the individual sprinkler heads are then activated
- Complex system and require attachment to fire detection system
Sprinklers in Historic Houses – Canadian Conservation Institute – John Ward
This was a summary of considerations and case studies involving historic buildings and fire suppression systems, including what you can do when you have no fire suppression system.
Eldon House, Ontario
- Typical house museum; very vulnerable; few have fire suppression system installed; usually fire detection system and that’s it
- Historic buildings can have passive measures, or can have passive measures added without drastically changing the building itself. Some recommendations:
- Compartmentalize buildings (fire-rated firewalls)
- Consider reinstalling doors in the house and close them in off-hours
- Check for vertical and lateral voids and fire-seal as required
They did review available fire suppression systems (eight of them) for the Eldon House and came to the following conclusions:
- Eliminate clean systems (not a tight enough seal in building)
- Water mist seems the safest but complicated to install; really best for rooms with special needs
- Options within that list; feasible to consider for this historic house:
- Pre-action dry pipe
- Water mist (Marriott Hi-Fog)
- Initially made for the cruise ship industry
- Hybrid nitrogen and water mist (Victaulic Vortex)
- For electronics/ computer rooms
- New: only around 10 years
- Doesn’t have to be ceiling mounted, moves around the room like a fog;
- Wet pipe still viable; simplest
Sinclair Inn; earliest wood frame building in Canada, Nova Scotia
- Victaulic Vortex doesn’t need to be used in a heated building!
Another hint mentioned: Keep at 15% O2 levels in high density storage to reduce fire risk – this is being used at the British Library’s high density storage building.
Canadian Centre for Architecture – Israel Dube-Marquis
- Replacing an automatic fire protection system
- Evaluation Before Choosing
- Define needs
- Context
- Construction type
- Area covered
- Space available
- Electrical emergency power
- Detection systems
- Security monitoring
- NFPA
- NFPA 750 for water mist
- System evaluation criterias
- Evaluation Before Choosing
[Unfortunately, I had a difficult time understanding this presenter, so I didn’t take many notes – if anyone has anything to add to this presentation, please add the information in the comments!]
Heritage Protection Group – Nick Artim
His talk basically covers elements one should consider when deciding upon a fire suppression system for your cultural institution and which choices are available to you at this time.
But first: a funny quote: “Disaster: an emergency we screw up.”
- Best fire suppression system?
- What do you want to have left after the fire?
- What’s the building like?
- What’s it made of?
- What are the collections?
- What is the recovery capability?
- How are the collections arranged?
- The people who occupy and visit the building? How many?
- Rural or urban?
- Fire safety elements
- Fire prevention
- Life safety
- Fire resistance
- Fire detections
- Fire suppression
- Recovery
- NFPA
- Codes 909; 914 – historic structures and cultural properties
- Not prescriptive; all of us stakeholders are to become part of the process to become part of the solution
- Smoldering phase can last for several hours
- British Library – did the low O2 system because of its size; there is no good choice for fire suppression system
- The better the Fire Department knows your building, the better off you are
- Automatic Fire Systems
- Standard pressure sprinkler
- Gets everything wet so it doesn’t burn
- Prevents fire from growing
- Failure tends to happen: in piping material and fitting
- A LOT of water
- Wet load: HEAVY for paper
- Water mist
- Developed from the maritime industry
- Water droplet and cause it to explode
- Microdroplet with more surface area which becomes the coolant – engineering finesse required for it to work well
- Air suspension – more flexibility
- Mist can be drawn into the combustion process – more like a gas than rain
- More precise fittings; very durable
- Works pretty well – Monticello has it
- Excellent in remote area where it’s hard to get water source
- Wet pipe, dry pipe, pre-action, deluge
- Water is always in a pipe; dry pipe is for areas where freezing is a possibility
- Gas Systems (“clean system”)
- Control fire without water damage
- Not exactly damage-free – discharge speed, e.g. – be careful where you put the nozzle for discharge
- Details on where those discharge nozzles go
- Compartment application systems – air tight or gas will not stay in concentration
- CO2, Nitrogen, aerosol – Potassium-based solid – post-damage potential? What does all that potassium do to the art? Halocarbons (FM-200; Novec)
- Hybrid (Nitrogen and Water)… and we ran out of time.
- Standard pressure sprinkler
44th Annual Meeting – Luncheon Session, May 15, Emerging Conservation Professionals Network Luncheon
The emerging conservation professionals luncheon was one of the events I was really looking forward to at the annual meeting. As a recent graduate and having just entered the conservation field as a postgraduate fellow, the idea of having a chance to converse with established conservation professionals, and receive advice to help launch my own career was extremely appealing.
Prior to the event, participants filled in a short online form that established what we wanted to achieve from the session. We could sign up as a mentor or a mentee, and choose between a variety of interests including (but not limited to) networking, jobs and fellowships, resume writing, getting into conservation and so on. This information was then used to match us to the people we would be interacting with during the session.
At the luncheon, participants were grouped into tables with approximately 7 – 8 people. At my table were two established conservation professionals, three recent graduates with fellowships/jobs, and two others new to the field.
The program started with an overview of the ECPN, introducing their board members, goals, and previous and upcoming programming. This was useful to new participants, allowing them to know who to reach out to, as well as the resources available to them. This was followed by several testimonials from established professionals, including Sarah Melching, Director of conservation at the Denver Art Museum who gave an in depth account of her unconventional pathway into conservation. It was interesting and also served as a source of encouragement for pre-program attendees.
Once the organized talks were completed, the official networking session began. Each table had a list of questions to facilitate discussions, making it easier for those of us who are a little shyer to keep the conversation flowing. The diversity at the tables was interesting, allowing some who came as mentees to serve as mentors to those just entering the field. This was surprising, yet rewarding. Personally, I left the event knowing I made some new connections, connections that only got stronger throughout the course of the conference.
I hope that such opportunities continue to be offered at future AIC meetings. The support provided from established colleagues in the field is invaluable and I find myself wishing that more time had been devoted to the mentor-mentee exchange. I would also appreciate the prospect of meeting more mentors and talking to them on a one-on-one basis. Thank you ECPN and ECC for organizing the event!
To find out more about the ECPN network and their resources, visit their page here.
Collection Care Network Program for Montreal
The Collection Care Network has been busy! We are highlighting the connections CCN has developed with some of our allied preservation professionals. We are delighted to team with the Canadian Association for Conservation/Association Canadienne pour la Conservation et la Restauration (CAC-ACCR) to bring you these collection care offerings.
This year we thought, why not start early, even before the meeting officially starts. Our colleagues at the International Association of Museum Facilities Administrators (IAMFA) thought this was a good idea too. AIC, CAC-ACCR and IAMFA have developed a dynamic and interactive pre-meeting seminar that focuses on some of the concerns we share.
Share the Care: Collaborative Preservation Approaches, Friday, May 13, 2016, 9:00 am – 5:30pm
This seminar delves into the concepts of shared risk and responsibility of allied preservation professionals. The following topics will be considered through this lens: interacting among the professional groups, reviewing institutional emergency plans, surveying the current state of environmental guidelines, considering the existing international environmental guideline standards.
Choosing and Implementing an Automatic Fire Suppression System for a Collecting Institution, Saturday, May 14, 2016, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
This special half-day session is the second part of the pre-meeting session hosted by AIC, CAC-ACCR, and IAMFA. The program will introduce attendees to the different types of automatic fire suppression systems available, evaluation criteria for each system, and implementation guidelines and considerations for collecting institutions.
This pre-session has a separate registration from the national meeting. For registration details for this special pre-meeting session consult: http://aics44thannualmeeting2016.sched.org/event/4gp4/pre-conference-meeting-iamfa-meeting#
Another pre-conference offering continues our successful collaboration and expansion of the original content provided by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC). We’re hosting the third installment of:
STASH Flash, Saturday, May 14, 2016, 3:30pm – 5:30pm. This session is FREE with regular meeting registration.Join your fellow colleagues for a lightening round of storage tips. Submissions are being solicited around three topics:
- Building on this year’s program theme Emergency! Preparing for Disasters and Confronting the Unexpected in Conservation the program will present storage solutions that were either specifically designed to mitigate against the threat of a disaster or inappropriate environment, or presentations that assess how rehousing solutions performed in protecting (or not protecting) collections in a disaster or emergency event.
- The second proposed theme focuses on multi-function supports serving more than one purpose, such as storage, storage, travel and/or exhibition purposes.
- General presentations on innovative storage solutions for individual or collection group. To read more about the session and how to submit an idea for a short five-minute tip presentation visit the STASH website.
Next, join us for the Collection Care sessions. The first installment is planned for Sunday, May 15, 2016 with the second Tuesday, May 17, 2016. This year’s program covers an extraordinary wide range of collection care topics whose solution is frequently rests in the cooperation and input from a diverse group of allied preservation professionals.
Collection Care Session I, Sunday, May 15, 2:00 pm – 5:30 pm
This session will cover topics that include: risk management, considering loss of value in a collection, facing institutional change while maintaining consistency, planning pitfalls during construction projects, considering art and noise, designing exhibition HVAC in historic buildings.
Collection Care Session II, Tuesday, May 17, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Speakers in this session will discuss collaborative preservation training; unforeseen hazards of implementing emergency training, planning for emergencies at archaeological sites, and lessons learned creating emergency planning for international partners.
Consider meeting for lunch! There are two opportunities to hear about recent work in collection care while enjoying lunch. Advance registration and additional fees apply.
On Sunday, May 15, the Collection Care Network Lunch will focus on collection care issues that have arisen from content developed for the upcoming book, Preventive Conservation: Collection Storage, a partnership publication by AIC, SPNHC, Smithsonian Institution and George Washington University. Expected publication date, October 2016.
On Monday, May 16 IMLS staff will conduct a lunch presentation focusing on the 2014 Heritage Health Index. Tune in to hear about developments in IMLS’s continuing support of collections care and conservation. Hear about the launch of a new national conservation assessment program for collections care in small and medium-sized museums. And hear highlights of models, tools, and other resources recently developed by IMLS-funded Collections Stewardship projects.
The full conference schedule can be found at http://www.conservation-us.org/annual-meeting/meeting-schedule.
Meet me in Montreal!
Gretchen Guidess
AIC Collection Care Network
43rd Annual Meeting- Workshop, May 13, "Using Wikis to Collaborate, Share, and Advance Conservation" with Rachael Perkins Arenstein, Michele Derrick, and Suzy Morgan
This year, the annual meeting wiki-a-thon turned into a daylong workshop in the hopes that we would have more time to add content to the site. Thanks again to NCPTT for helping to fund the day! Although we never seem to have enough time, the day was immensely helpful in getting beginners comfortable with adding content to the site and moving the more experienced users forward to another level with useful tips and problem solving for getting the wiki to do what we want.
After introductions, Rachael started with a useful overview of the wiki site and general goals. She also gave a brief talk put together by Leon Zaks (from the pestlist) about how to choose your online platform. Basically the wiki is a many to many platform- there are many contributors with loosely vetted content meant to reach a large audience.
Michelle presented on CAMEO, which is hosted by the MFA Boston. It has recently been moved to a wiki format so that it can be more easily updated- hopefully by more than just Michelle. Anyone interested is welcome to contact Michelle. CAMEO is a great resource and the wiki is not meant to duplicate it, but there is definitely room for increasing the connection between the two and improving the integration of the sites.
Unfortunately Nancie Ravenel was not able to make it, but we had Nora Lockshin available to step in and provide lots of great information about wikipedia in general, what are some of the ground rules and expected conduct on the site. If you didn’t know, there is a wikipedia teahouse made for newcomers- this is a great place to post questions and get answers about coding. Just beware- the AIC wiki does not have all of the extensions and add-ons, so something you can do on Wikipedia isn’t necessarily possible on the AIC Wiki. That being said, if there is anything you want to do and can’t let Rachael know and she can look into getting that functionality on the site.
Two other wiki sites, you should know about Preservapedia (also sponsored by NCPTT) and the SPNHC wiki which is just getting off the ground.
Other tidbits you should know that came out of the day:
- Creative Commons is a way of licensing images to limit their use by others, or make them available to all
- when searching through google images or flickr, you can filter those that have the CC license
- there is a great slider tool to help you determine if something is still under copyright or in the public domain
- The AIC has a policy and expects that if you post something, you have gotten the proper permissions and you have given AIC permission to publish and re-publish content in perpetuity, so that they can migrate to a new platform when needed in the future.
- When adding images- be aware of their size. Please resize before uploading.
- Zotero is a great open source citation tool- the exported citation format for the wiki is not exactly right, but could save you a ton of time when adding citations.
- Check out the Categories page from Special pages- these can be used to “tag” pages in a way to help link them together.
- For the non-beginner training session Suzy put all of her notes on the wiki under the news section, so you can find all of her great tips there.
Happy wiki-editing!
43rd Annual Meeting, Private Practice + Health & Safety Luncheon, "Studio Design Challenges: Creating a Safe and Practical Space" by Jeff Hirsch, William Jarema, Dan Klein and Roger Rudy
Whether or not you were lucky enough to have attended the luncheon on create safe and practical conservation studios, you will be happy to know that the entire PowerPoint is available on the Health & Safety site (http://www.conservation-us.org/publications-resources/health-safety/other-resources#.VV9GjU_Byyo). The presenters are architects and engineers with EwingCole, and were extremely generous in sharing their expertise. Having conducted numerous interviews with conservators in private practice (mostly paintings and paper), and toured many studios and labs, the presenters were able to provide specific examples of both challenges and solutions. The luncheon was divided into 2 sections, each with round table presentations followed by time for questions.
During the first section, the discussion focused on ways to identify and understand risks (probability and severity). Practical tips were provided to ensure safe storage for chemicals both at the work space and in cabinets. A broad discussion about workplace design started with information about different types of buildings, concerns about adjacent spaces, and the importance of accounting for all people who might be in a studio space (including children and pets). Fire prevention, detection, and suppression were covered. The section on ergonomics included a tip that I particularly appreciated – a board for step aerobics can provide adjustable heights for conservators working at tall tables.
The second section included information about air flow and exhaust. Since many conservators are concerned about the management of fumes, this generated a lively discussion with many questions. The PowerPoint includes a number of helpful charts, tables, and equations to help conservators determine the ventilation needs and capabilities of their spaces. Also included are case studies with practical solutions to ventilation needs, as well as links for helpful online resources.
43rd Annual Meeting – Tour, May 13, “Stiltsville and Miami River Sunset Boat Tour”
What a wonderful way to begin the conference. We boarded a small motor boat directly behind the conference hotel and headed down the Miami River. The day was sunny and balmy as the boat glided past the river art walk with its mosaics and palm trees. We passed yachts and skyscrapers, traveling between a Tequesta Indian stone circle and an ongoing archeological excavation site to meet the Biscayne Bay. Historian Dr. Paul George entertained us with local lore all along the way. As we left the mouth of the river, the captain opened up the engines, the breeze and spray picked up and it felt like a vacation. We quickly arrived at Stiltsville, with its houses on pilings above the water of Biscayne Bay and the Miami city skyline in the background. The first Stiltsville building was an off shore gambling shack, Crawfish Eddie’s, established in 1933. By the 1940s and 1950s there were fishing, boating, and “social clubs” that were frequented by the well-heeled, and connected. In the 1960s the Bikini Club was offering free drinks to anyone wearing a bikini. These places were suspected of, and often investigated for “vices.” We were told that Teddy Kennedy had his Bachelor party in one of the houses. At its height Stiltsville had 27 buildings, today 7 remain, hurricanes having done what they could to wipe it away. The Stiltsville Trust was established in 2003. The structures are now part of the National Park Service.
The other main attraction of the tour was the Miami Marine Stadium, the subject of a paper in the opening session of the conference. It is a Modernist building designed in 1963 by Hilario Candela. It features a cantilevered concrete roof, and no walls to speak of with seating facing the water. It was originally constructed for watching powerboat racing, later becoming a concert venue. The structure has been coated with graffiti. It is in disrepair, both beautiful and sad.
We passed beneath several draw bridges, past tug boats, and beside restaurants leaking delicious smells to finally be brought back to our hotel happy, windblown and with more knowledge of the area.