Category: Topics

42nd Annual Meeting – Workshop, May 28, Respirator Fit Test Lecture and Respirator Fit Testing, May 29 by appointment, AIC Health and Safety Committee

In the past year have you:

  • Grown a beard to emulate your conservation idol Steve Koob?
  • Participated in a juice cleanse which inspired a new pattern of healthy eating and daily lunchtime walks?
  • Had a little work done ?
  • Contracted Hepatitis B while doing archaeological site conservation in an exotic foreign location? (I sure hope not!)

Koob
Steve Koob, Conservation Idol

 
Unknown
Juice cleanse

 
Rivers set for Charles comedy gala
A little work

If you answered yes to any of these questions then you are a candidate for a respirator fit test even you don’t work in a place where an annual test is required. Facial hair, weight loss or gain of 20lbs or more and any other changes in the shape of your face may mean that the respirator you have been wearing is no longer tight-fitting. Serious illness may compromise your respiratory and/or other systems making respirator use dangerous.
I trust that those reading this are already aware of the importance of protecting ourselves from the potentially harmful chemical compounds (vapors and particulates) and other irritants (such as mold) that we may be exposed to in the course of our work. Depending on the risk, such protection might be afforded in a variety of ways such as via the use of laboratory fume hood, appropriate room ventilation systems including workstation elephant trunk style air outlets, and/or personal protective equipment (PPE) such as a dust mask or respirator.
If you don’t work in a museum or other institution with a designated health and safety officer following OSHA required guidelines, you might be unclear about what kind of mask is required for a particular contaminant and even what “fit testing” means. Personally, never having been “fit tested” before, I will admit that for years I wasn’t even 100% clear whether it meant “are you fit (in proper health) to wear a respirator?” or “does the respirator fit?” Of course it means both! These days all you need do is consult the very informative AIC Health and Safety Committee Wiki to get your fill of information about respirators and so much more
http://www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/Health_%26_Safety#Personal_Protective_Equipment_.28PPE.29
 
As a conservator in private practice, I have no employer checking up on whether or not I am protecting myself. Several years ago I purchased a respirator, which seemed to fit well. While wearing it with the correct cartridges for the organic solvents I was working with, I figured “If I can’t smell the vapors it must be fine.” But I was never really sure that it fit and it is important to follow guidelines about the life of your cartridges to be sure you are getting adequate protection.
When I signed up for the respirator fit test, the AIC Health and Safety committee sent me the six-page OSHA Medical Evaluation Form (mostly check boxes with yes or no) to fill out and have signed by my doctor prior to fit testing. Keep this in mind if you plan to participate in fit testing at AIC next year – you must plan ahead and have this signed paperwork in hand or you will not be allowed to be tested! This form is available for download on the wiki.
 The respirator fit testing consists of two steps, both of which fulfill the annual requirements mandated by OSHA. First, a brief Powerpoint, given by James R. Smith, Safety Coordinator at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, covered topics from the requirements of the Respiratory Protection Program (29CFR 1910.134) to hazards requiring a respirator, how to choose the correct respirator, care and maintenance, donning and doffing and training requirements for employers. The lecture was accompanied by handouts prepared by AIC Health and Safety and we were given a 10 question true or false quiz at the end.
IMG_2268
I had scheduled my fit testing appointment prior to traveling to San Francisco. AIC Health and Safety asked participants to choose their top three time slots on the given date in order of preference. When I arrived, I noticed that there were still a couple of time slots available. I would highly recommend pre-registration for fit testing at AIC if you plan to do it next year because then you are guaranteed a spot.
The fit testing itself was quite simple. After donning my mask, James handed me a card with a poem to read while moving my head up and down, side to side and in a circular motion.
IMG_2271
While I read this rainbow poem, he followed me with a little pen like device emitting an irritant smoke. I believe that the finale required bending at the waist. The test was brief and painless and I was relieved to hear that I had passed – particularly since I had already used the respirator on numerous projects. Once the test was over, James offered to prove to me that the respirator worked by allowing me to experience the irritant sans respirator. I declined saying that I trusted the test. However, he said that some people like to have proof and offered again. Somehow I took the bait and learned first hand that indeed, the gas is an irritant and my respirator is working properly.
Thank you to James, Kathryn A Makos, MPH, CIH (Industrial Hygienist (Ret.) Smithsonian Institution) and the rest of the AIC Health and Safety Committee for offering this service at the annual meeting.
 

42nd Annual Meeting – Electronic Media Session, May 31st, “Establishing Time Based Media Conservation at the National Galleries of Scotland; Creating More in Times of Less" presented by Kirsten Dunne, paper conservator at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh, Scotland

I really enjoyed Kirsten’s Dunne’s talk because she addressed a challenge that all conservators face regardless of their specialty. That is developing economically viable and sustainable solutions for collections management which are flexible enough to anticipate and adapt to a future that includes an increasing amount of time-based media and other conceptual or intangible works of art. Ms. Dunne, a trained paper conservator, has nobly volunteered to take on this challenge in addition to her regular duties because, as in many institutions facing cuts and austerity measures, there is no budget for a full time, time-based media conservator at the GMA. So, how is she faring and what advice does she have for the rest of us?
The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art currently has around 20 time-based media works. The first challenge that Ms. Dunne faced was to locate each one and manipulate Mimsey, the GMA’s CMS, to make sure that each was properly characterized and documented. She stressed the importance of an artist questionnaire or interview at the time that each piece is acquired. This is the best way to insure that the information gathered is accurate and also an appropriate time to make a record of any contemporary technology that may be required to display the work (such as a VHS or laser disk player, projectors, or sound equipment). This information is especially important if your institution has purchased a master copy for loan and repeat display, as opposed to an exhibition copy that must be disposed of after a single showing. The legal implications of this had never occurred to me, nor the fact that proper and complete erasure of an artwork can be an issue. This was part of the underlying theme of Ms. Dunne’s talk which cast the conservator as ethicist. It became her job to answer legal and moral questions about the work such as ‘How many copies can be displayed simultaneously?’ and “Who should have access to the digital files?” She said that she was compelled to question who she was as a professional and that the exercise ultimately reinforced her confidence in her own knowledge base and the ethical principles which she cultivated during her training.
Ms. Dunne went on to say that one excellent source of guidance was “Matters in Media Art,” a collaboration between MoMA, SFMoMA, the New Art Trust (NAT), and Tate, which has an established time-based media lab. The project, which can be found here, is “designed to provide guidelines for care of time-based media works of art.” The templates provided her with a list of questions which assissted her research and shaped her approach to documentation. Gradually, she said that she began to “close the knowledge gap,” and to implement some quick organizational strategies. These included:
1. Physically consolidating time-based media works in storage and documenting their new locations
2. Entering new information fields and consistent keywords in the museum’s CMS in order to describe and track pieces and
3. Drafting a preservation management plan for electronic and time-based media, which included an “Equipment Asset Register” to track on site audio visual equipment and which could be programed to send an alert when that equipment was in danger of expiring
Ms. Dunne offered some excellent advise for any conservator who is faced with unfamiliar materials and formats, namely:
1. Trust Your Instincts because the broader principles of conservation will hold true and
2. Embrace the Chaos! because the best way to learn is by doing.
She also talked about the value of involving your colleagues such as curators, registrars, and IT staff. Sometimes it can be a challenge just to get others to recognize that a conservator should be involved from the beginning regarding decisions about display and storage, even if there is nothing currently “wrong” with the piece. Often, a general lack of experience with new media pieces leads to fear, and consequently, neglect. She explained that she was able to barter her time and expertise with time-based media conservators at other institutions whose experience proved to be invaluable. In fact, interinstitutional sharing can extend to those ancillary components like betamax machines or tape decks, and she suggested partnering with other institutions to create a repository of such devices. This approach can cultivate good will and also form a visible, public partnership.
In summary, Ms. Dunne found that while establishing her museum’s nascent draft of core guidelines for conserving and exhibiting time-based media was challenging, it was a rewarding experience. She reported that she made allies in the field, added to personal and institutional knowledge of the collection, and came to regard herself as “a conservator” rather than “a paper conservator” who was prepared for the challenges posed by an evolving artistic landscape. Her concluding words to institutions were these: “ If there is someone on your staff who wants to take on a similar project or responsibility for your time-based media collection, give them that freedom! You will benefit tremendously.” And to educators and conservation professionals: “Continue to act as mentors. I’ve been lucky to have the support of those in the field.”

42nd Annual Meeting, RATS session, May 29th, “Free fatty acid profiles in water sensitive oil paints: a comparison of modern and 15th century oil paints,” presented by Joy Mazurek, Assistant Scientist, Getty Conservation Institute.

A standard method in many conservation science labs is the use of Meth-Prep II (a methanolic solution of trifluoromethylphenyl trimethyl ammonium hydroxide) for the transesterification of triglycerides to methyl esters and esterification of free fatty acids (FAs). However, this method gives you the total fatty acid content of the sample, including free fatty acids, their oxidation products, fatty acids bound in metal soaps, and intact triglycerides. If you want to assess the extent of hydrolysis of an oil paint film, which might be related to water sensitivity, you need to use another method. What Joy has chosen to do is to modify the Meth-Prep II solution to prevent transesterification. She takes 400 μL of Meth-Prep II, evaporates it at 50 oC under nitrogen to remove the methanol, rinses it with toluene, and then adds 500 μL of toluene and 100 μL of t-butanol. T-butanol does not permit transesterification, but the methylation of free alcohol groups can still occur. So a sample can be analyzed with this modified solution- only the free fatty acids and fatty acids in metal soaps (non-glycerides or NG) will be methylated, and thus only they will quantified by GC-MS. Then the same sample can be re-treated with the normal Meth-Prep II solution to determine the fatty acids in triglycerides.
As with any quantitative GC-MS method there are potential issues. The sample needs to be well homogenized to ensure extraction and reaction. The efficacy in methylation of fatty acids soaps is not known, and so those species may not react fully and be underrepresented in the chromatograms. She also sees partial evaporation of her internal reference when the sample is retreated with unmodified Meth-Prep II and so that must be accounted for.
With all of these caveats in mind, they began to look at reference paints, including Bellini tube paints and handmade paints in cold-pressed linseed oil. For the new handmade paints the fatty acid profiles of the NG and the total FAs look similar. But pigments do make a difference- for yellow ochre and red iron oxide paints, the NG accounted for 50-57% of the total FAs, but for malachite and lead white paints the NG fraction was much lower, approximately 12%. This might be due to the formation of metal soaps and poor extraction of fatty acids from those complexes.
For water sensitive Winsor and Newton oils she found 17-37% NGs, although the high levels of palmitate present in cadmium paints may indicate the addition of palmitate soaps. However, there was nothing obvious about the fatty acid profiles that seemed to relate to the water sensitivity. Likewise, a water sensitive cadmium paint in a 1961 Jack Youngerman painting, while also having elevated palmitate levels suggesting palmitate soap addition, had nothing else unusual about the binder. To address this issue cadmium yellow and a chrome yellow paint were mixed with linseed oil, applied onto canvas and glass and artificially aged. The resulting cadmium yellow paint film was very water sensitive, while the chrome yellow film was not. However, there was no major difference between the NG ratios of the two films, and so something else must be rendering the paint sensitive. Furthermore, that sensitivity is not related to the palmitate soaps found in the commercial paints. So there’s more work to be done to determine what is going on, but in the meantime beware cadmium paints!
She had the opportunity to analyze a sample from MOMA’s Water Lilies by Monet, which has a very water sensitive surface. The total FA content of the samples were very low, indicating a very medium poor paint, consistent with Monet’s working method of removing media from his paints. The NG content depended strongly on the sample location and pigments present. The pink-orange paint contained no stearate or palmitate, while other samples contained very high palmitate in the NG fraction. Again, the origin of these differences cannot be explained at this time- but might be due to soap formation and incomplete methylation.
Additional objects tested with this methodology included a variety of Italian paintings ranging from 1595-1758 in date, a Byzantine painting, a Fayum portrait, and a Jackson Pollock painting. The Italian paintings had higher NG fractions than was observed for the tube paints and modern paintings, 22-66% of the total fatty acids, but the NG fraction did not correlate with the age of the material- so extent of hydrolysis cannot be used to determine the age of an object. One possible explanation for this is that paintings this old have likely been cleaned several times and this may have impacted the amount of free fatty acids. The Byzantine painting had a higher NG content of 40-90% and the high palmitate and stearate amounts suggested the formation of metal soaps. Joy found that the modified Meth-Prep method simplified the analysis of beeswax and resulted in less overlapped and confusing chromatograms. In 19th century beeswax she found palmitate and stearate, but in a sample of unpigmented wax from a Roman tomb, she detected neither of those species, implying that they had all evaporated with time. However, in the pigmented Fayum portrait both species were seen, which might be due to the formation of metal soaps, which would help preserve those species, or to the modification of the wax- a contentious subject in the art history field. The white sample from the Pollock painting contained no fatty acids at all, so they evaporated the Meth-Prep solution and reanalyzed it using a method developed for proteins and determined that it was actually a casein paint.
So this seems to be a promising method, and one that could fit easily into a laboratories work flow. Obviously there is more work to be done- particularly on determining efficacy of extraction of fatty acids from soaps and trying to determine how certain pigments create water sensitive films without altering the fatty acid ratios…
 
 
 

42nd Annual Meeting, Objects and RATS joint session, May 30th, “Animation Cels: Conservation and Storage Issues,” presented by Kristen McCormick, Manager of Art Collections and Exhibitions, Walt Disney Animation Research Library.

“Darling, forever is a long, long time, and time has a way of changing things.”
—Big Mama, The Fox and the Hound.
Kristen chose that quote to begin her talk, and indeed it is true of all objects in cultural heritage institutions. Her particular institution, the Walt Disney Animation Research Library is home to over 60 million objects, including animation drawings, pencil story sketches, watercolors, maquettes, and animation cels, the latter of which make up approximately 10% of the collection. Animation cells are transparent sheets of material, usually celluloid (nitrocellulose), cellulose acetate, or polyester that have been inked on one side, and then painted with gum based media on the other. These materials, particularly cellulose nitrate and cellulose acetate, are highly prone to degradation, so the library partnered with the Getty Conservation Institute to investigate the material nature of the cels and determine if the environmental conditions in the library (62-65 oF, 50% RH) and the microclimate packaging used were sufficient to protect these objects.
Phase one of the project involved investigation of the material nature of the animation cels, addressing the questions: what is the base polymer of the cel, what plasticizers are present and in what quantity?  They initially used a portable FTIR and non-destructively analyzed 200 cells dating from 1937-2003, and then chose 80 of those items to do more in-depth, microdestructive GC-MS analysis on. In their initial survey they found cellulose nitrate, cellulose diacetate, cellulose triacetate, and polyester as the base support material. Surprisingly, the material used for a single production would not necessarily be the same; it seemed that the artists used whatever was at hand. Due to the limits of the talk time, Kristen chose to focus on the acetate films for the rest of her talk.
The cellulose acetate cels were found to contain 11 different plasticizers, 6 different types in the diacetate and 5 in the triacetate. These included triphenyl phosphate and a variety of phthalates including dimethyl phthalate (DMP) and bis(2-methoxyethyl) phthalate (DMEP). The plasticizers accounted for 12-19% by weight of the diacetate films and 8-14% by weight of the triacetate films. The diacetate films had an acetyl content of 35-41%, while that of the triacetate films was 43-45%. They are not sure if the range is due to partial hydrolysis or variability in manufacturing. There was no correlation between acetyl content and production year. However, it did appear as if the older films might be a bit more yellow, but more work needs to be done to determine if this is a viable observation.
Phase two was assessing the environmental conditions, or as Kristen said quoting Mufasa from The Lion King, “Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance.” Since this portion was focusing on cellulose acetate cels, Kristen referenced Image Permanence Institute guide for the storage of acetate film (https://www.imagepermanenceinstitute.org/webfm_send/299) and pointed out that the library’s storage conditions were outside of the optimal range recommended by the IPI (50 oF or lower, 20-50% RH). However, the cels are composite materials and it is unknown how the gum based paints would react to lower temperatures and what kind of mechanical stresses might be induced by those conditions, so they feel that the chosen conditions are a good compromise. However, belief isn’t the same thing as actual data, so they performed a survey using AD strips, looking at four vaults and 8 different locations. The strips were assessed after 8 and 96 hours and only one location, next to the Bambi collection, was off-gassing acid. They are planning on investigating that collection further to zero in on the problem.
The library also stores and exhibits the cels in passé-partout packages that include a window mat, the cel (usually hinged with Japanese paper and methyl cellulose), matboard, and a sheet of Artsorb conditioned to 50% RH. They include a RH strip to be able to easily determine if the Artsorb is working. This was supposed to be best working practice but after an exhibition of cels at the Grand Palais, they noticed microcracks and paint delamination and became worried that the package was concentrating off-gassed materials and accelerating the decay of the cels. To try and determine what was happening they extracted gas from a sealed package and analyzed the entrapped air by GC-MS. No acetate (at least above 800 ppb) was detected, suggesting that hydrolysis of the cellulose acetate was not occurring.  AD strips were also inserted into packages and no color change noted. Thus they decided that neither the package, nor the exhibition conditions was causing hydrolysis of the acetate groups. They did find adsorbed camphor in a package containing cellulose nitrate, so scavenging of plasticizers might be an issue. Thus, they think that their environmental conditions are generally good and that the passé-partout packages are not the issue. They are not sure what caused the observed deterioration; whether it was mechanical damage caused by temperature changes, vibration during shipping, etc. and are continuing to look into this. They are also planning to begin looking at the ink and paints to better understand the complete nature of the cels.
For more information on this project see the Getty Newsletter:
http://www.getty.edu/conservation/publications_resources/newsletters/29_1/animation.html
 

42nd Annual Meeting, Textiles Session, May 29th: A Case Study Using Multi-band and Hyperspectral Imaging for the Identification and Characterization of Materials on Archaeological Andean Painted Textiles by Rebecca Summerour and E. Keats Webb

The paper began by acknowledging a third author who was inadvertently left off the program and abstract booklet, but will appear as a third author in the TSG Postprints.  The paper was presented by E. Keats Webb, the digital imaging specialist for the Conservation Institute at the Smithsonian.  She showed how by combining a lower resolution spectral camera (Surface Optics Corp SOC710) with a modified DSLR with bandpass filters, the resulting images could be used to identify certain pigments on a painted textile.  The project began with four textiles being described as plain weave with color (a limited color palette of browns and blue/blacks) delivered in a paste form without an organic binder, the color remaining on one side – this is important, keep this in the back of your thoughts as you continue, dear Reader!
I live in Silicon Valley, but I am not tech savvy.  I am also several years out of school and realize that I my not have the vocabulary to give a precise recall of the methods and analysis described. Having said that, I feel I did learn about a (relatively) low cost technique that would be helpful in characterizing pigments on textiles.  Essentially, the technique required several images to be taken at various bandwidths along the visible to near infra-red spectrum.  Knowing the reflectance spectra for a given pigment allows the researcher to target the images for analysis.  The targeted images are overlayed to get the difference which results in areas that appear to fluoresce for a positive identification.
It was found that indigo was readily identified, whether it was used alone or as a component of other colors.  Reds and browns proved a bit more problematic.  The success of this technique seems to have been that there was a small color palette, as well as the textiles in question were of known provenance, so they already had an idea of the pigments to look for.  Also, the pigments were on one side and in good quantity.  They did not achieve good results with dyes or small samples due to background noise interference.  Though it was brought up in the question/answer portion that HPLC gives definitive “fingerprint” spectra for positive identification, the imaging technique presented does not require sample-taking (important to the National Museum of the American Indian) as well as allows for the entire textile to be mapped, keeping the pigment identification within context.
I could see this technique as a very useful first step in pigment identification or potentially in identifying areas of restoration and the pigments used.   I look forward to reading the paper in the Postprints.

42nd Annual Meeting – Opening Session, May 29, "Social Participation as a Way for Sustainable Projects in Conservation of Worshiping Objects: The Case of Current Mayan Communities in Yucatán, Mexico" by Giovana Jaspersen

The involvement of source communities and practices that allow conservation to be sustainable within communities are hot topics in conservation right now, and Giovana Jaspersen presented a very interesting case study that covered both of these topics in the Opening Session of the AIC Annual Meeting 2014. She discussed the ways in which her team engages with Mexican communities, spaces where religion is a center of social life, and objects of worship are in frequent use.
The objects themselves were beautifully painted sculptures, which would be paraded around and put on display within the religious community. Jaspersen noted that previous restorations had been undertaken on some objects, using non-conservation friendly materials, such as automotive paint, which apparently imparts a high gloss that is seen as desirable.
She noted some significant problems in approaching these communities about the conservation of their objects, the most important being the challenges of communication. Other questions included ongoing conservation – how do you ensure preservation after the conservator has left the community?
Using a number of different approaches, from initial immersion to assistance and then intervention, she was able to develop a methodology which utilized a number of different media to engage and teach the community – lectures, plays and skits, brochures, and involvement of children in the community.
A number of themes seen in this talk were repeated in other talks and discussions, and are really important things for all conservators to consider. Reaching out to children is a great way to ensure that the conservation profession is sustained in the future, and engaging with conservation students ensures that the message about community involvement is spread among professionals.
Overall I really enjoyed this talk, and I think the most important takeaway was the statement that our profession is not just about material conservation, but sociocultural conservation. The only way we can achieve that is by projects such as this one!
 

42nd Annual Meeting – General Session, May 29, "A LEED Primer for Conservators: Or, What Should I Do When the Architect Proposes Daylight in Our New Galleries, by Scott Raphael Schiamberg and Rachael Perkins Arenstein"

Both Scott and Rachael emphasized the importance of working together. This is NOT the attitude they endorsed.
Both Scott and Rachael emphasized the importance of working together. This is NOT the attitude they endorsed.

When I perused the list of talks for this meeting, the subtitle of this one immediately caught my eye. In fact, I used it as one of the justifications for my Museum to support my attendance. There have been many skirmishes in the ‘natural light in galleries’ tug of war at the Penn Museum lately. It turns out that the light issue was peripheral to the LEED discussion but I’m so glad I was drawn into this fascinating and useful talk.
Scott started off explaining that to be good clients for architects, conservators should have a basic understanding of LEED. Like all of us, I’ve been seeing LEED mentioned in every building project I read about or walk past but I never really knew was it was or how it worked.
From the US Green Building Council website: “LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a green building certification program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices. To receive LEED certification, building projects satisfy prerequisites and earn points to achieve different levels of certification. Prerequisites and credits differ for each rating system, and teams choose the best fit for their project.”
With gentle humor, Scott filled out this definition for us. He compared LEED to eating one’s vegetables: sometimes a challenge but good for us. Considering LEED factors is Doing the Right Thing (something conservators always strive for, right?). He explained that the system is constantly evolving and getting better. There are five different ratings systems but none of them is a perfect fit for museum buildings; he hoped that there might be a special system for our special needs. Until then, we need to understand how the system works and how it can be used for and against conservation factors. Scott explained that sometimes architects (not his firm, of course) ‘game’ the system – using LEED to justify things like the aforementioned natural light in galleries: “if you don’t give in on this, we won’t make our LEED rating”. But the LEED system is point-based and natural light only counts for 1 point out of a possible 110. Putting a bike rack outside the building gives you the same point with much less impact on artifact preservation.
Scott emphasized that it’s not our jobs as conservators to be intimately acquainted with LEED, just to understand enough to work effectively with the construction team.
Scott’s takeaways before handing over to Rachael included:

  • The reminder that the client is always right. The Museum is the architect’s client.
  • Do your homework; it’s important to select the right architect. Check with colleagues and previous clients. (Speaking of someone who has been working with an absolutely stellar architectural firm recently and has coped with the results of less successful choices, I can’t emphasize this strongly enough)
  • Work closely with the architect
  • LEED is not perfect but is a good starting point and is getting better.
  • It’s more important to get things right than to chase LEED points, if they don’t align with your needs.

Rachael began by pointing out that new construction should be exciting but in her and many colleagues’ experience, it turns out to be more stressful than joyful. She theorized that the problems many of us have faced are not inherent in the LEED system but in the design process. We (and she included in this pronoun conservators, facilities staff, administrators, and donors) make our lives difficult. Rachael suggested some strategies for reducing the stress for everyone.
The most important factor is probably effective project management. All the stakeholders should be involved early. Rachael referred to the trap many of us have experienced: being told that it’s ‘too early’ to be involved in the process then, when we are allowed a seat at the table told that it’s too late to change the problem items. She reiterated the importance of wise choice of architect; the right architect needs to be responsive to the client’s concerns and this should be just as true of ‘STARchitects’. To be an intelligent client we need to be prepared to sit through a lot of meetings and to have done our homework. Rachael provided some resources she’s found useful:

Both the books are available on amazon.
She suggested that we as conservators need to have a voice in broader preservation concerns and emphasized that this is best done by contributing positively: “be an ally not a critic”. [Later several of us were discussing this profound fact at the lovely evening reception and Terry Drayman-Weisser shared her technique for responding to suggestions from non-conservators that horrify her conservatorial instincts: “That’s a good idea, let me work with you to figure out how we can manage that” I may not have the quote exact but you get the gist.]
Rachael’s LEED specific tips included the insight that there were three of the six LEED rating categories that tended to have the most potential for contention with conservation concerns: Energy and Atmosphere; Materials and Resources; Indoor Environmental Quality. But these are only contentious if the team is choosing to chase LEED points without considering the Big Picture.
Finally Rachael reminded us that all the planning in the world will not help if the plans are not followed through or carried out properly. Perhaps the most important tip was to ensure that the construction plan included an independent commissioning agent. Building commissioning (Cx) is the process of verifying, in new construction, all (or some, depending on scope) of the subsystems for mechanical (HVAC), plumbing, electrical, fire/life safety, building envelopes, interior systems (example laboratory units), cogeneration, utility plants, sustainable systems, lighting, wastewater, controls, and building security to achieve the owner’s project requirements as intended by the building owner and as designed by the building architects and engineers [thank you, Wikipedia]. An independent commissioning agent is one who ensures that everything has been done as laid out; clearly an outside specialist is to be preferred to the contractors who have an understandable vested interest in passing their own work.
I’ve tried to do justice to this very informative presentation but I’m sure I’ve left out or misrepresented some vital facts. This blogging stuff is hard – I don’t mean to discourage others from doing it; I’m really glad I did so but it’s just that it’s always harder to take coherent notes for others who weren’t there. So, if any of you who were there read this and have additions, emendations or suggestions, please do so. Until then, I’ll leave you with Rachael’s last slide:
blog

Get Ready for San Francisco with the Sustainability Committee: Come see us!

AIC's 42nd Annual Meeting - 2014
This is the fourth in a series of posts by the Sustainability Committee in the run-up to the 2014 Annual Meeting, describing sustainability issues and initiatives in the city of San Francisco. The first blog post explained plastic bag and container laws. The second described the water crisis in California. The third post was about the California Academy of Sciences: The world’s greenest museum. Here, I will tell you about the activities the Sustainability Committee will be involved in during the conference.
1. We will be sharing a booth with the Health & Safety Committee. Stop by! We will have samples of sustainable materials and handouts on various topics relating to sustainability in conservation.
2. On Friday, May 30th from 1-2 PM, we will host a Sustainability Roundtable Discussion in the Hospitality Room: How Do We Support Meaningful Change in Our Cultural Institutions? It’s free! Come check it out. It will be a conversation about engaging decision-makers in museums, libraries, and archives on the topic of sustainability.  How do individuals rally interest, build momentum, and transition from well-meaning intentions to meaningful action in their cultural institutions at large? During this informal discussion, members of the sustainability committee along with facilitators Sarah Stauderman, Collections Care Manager at the Smithsonian Institution Archives, and Jia-Sun Tsang, Senior Paintings Conservator at the Smithsonian Institution will share real-life examples of the sustainability movement in cultural heritage. Bring your questions and ideas to share!
3. Some members of the committee have put together a poster for the poster session. The poster session will be divided into two venues. Our poster will be #46 in the SeaCliff Foyer: Life Cycle Assessments: Lighting, HVAC, Loans, and Treatments by Sarah Nunberg, Pamela Hatchfield, Dr. Matthew Eckelman, and the AIC Sustainability Committee. Check it out if these questions interest you: What is the environmental impact difference between LEDs and Halogen lamps? What aspects of a loan have the biggest environmental impact? How much energy does regularly shutting down, or coasting, the HVAC system save? Silanes vs B-72 in Acetone:Ethanol vs B-72 in Xylene: Which Has a Higher Human and Environmental Impact? The poster session runs from 10 AM Thursday through Friday evening. For those unable to see the poster in person, it will be available to download from the AIC website sometime in June.
4. At the CIPP Seminar on Wednesday from 1-5PM, two of our committee members will take part in a panel discussion on Greening your Business. AIC Sustainability Committee Chair Betsy Haude (Senior Paper Conservator, Library of Congress) will present an overview of the committee’s work and Sarah Nunberg (Objects Conservation Studio LLC, Brooklyn, NY) will speak on sustainable practices in the conservation studio.
5. Committee member Christian Hernandez has prepared a talk for the StashFlash Session on recycled materials and long-term storage. Christian will not be attending the conference, but is sending is PowerPoint.
 

Get Ready for San Francisco with the Sustainability Committee: The World's Greenest Museum

AIC's 42nd Annual Meeting - 2014
This is the third in a series of posts by the Sustainability Committee in the run-up to the 2014 Annual Meeting, describing sustainability issues and initiatives in the city of San Francisco. The first blog post explained plastic bag and container laws. The second blog post described the water crisis in California.
Did you know that the California Academy of Sciences, located in San Francisco, is the world’s greenest museum? It is also the largest public LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum-rated building in the world. Designed by architect Renzo Piano, it was built from recycled materials where possible, it has a green ‘living’ roof with six inches of soil for insulation and skylights that open to vent hot air, solar panels, radiant heating in the floors, and insulation made from recycled denim (yes, denim!).
The green roof is comprised of seven hillocks to pay homage to the landscape of San Francisco, and also to blend in with the setting of Golden Gate Park. It also has weather stations to provide data to the automated passive ventilation systems. The benefit of a living roof is absorption of moisture and carbon dioxide, and natural cooling of the building.  It was planted with native plants intended to survive well in the San Francisco climate. There has been some critique of that idea, because native plants may not be suited to a city environment, but any new idea takes a while to be perfected. Hopefully, green roofs will become more and more common within the next decade and difficulties will be smoothed out.  If you visit Golden Gate park, check out the building and see for yourself.
For more information on the LEED program and how it relates to preservation concerns take in the talk by architect Scott Schiamberg and conservator Rachael Arenstein at AIC’s Opening Session, May 29 10:50am – 11:10am  A LEED primer for conservators: or, what should I do when the architect proposes daylight in our new galleries?
I also recommend the de Young Museum, with its copper exterior that is intended to turn green over time to match the park setting, and the Japanese Tea Garden because it is beautiful.
 

Interested in Storage Solutions? Attend the STASH Flash session at AIC's Annual Meeting

STASH_logoSafe storage for collections is one of the primary goals of preventive care for collecting institutions, and individuals charged with collections care and cultural institutions often face challenges in designing storage and support systems for individual items or collections. Collecting institutions report damage from handling and improper storage or enclosures as significant preservation problems, supported by the Heritage Health Index finding that only 11% of all institutions had adequate storage facilities. There are few established venues for sharing information about the fabrication of supports, containers or systems that provide options for storage and support solutions.
A successful storage solution is the result of numerous choices regarding materials, techniques, time and skill. STASH (Storage Techniques for Art, Science and History collections), a new web based resource housed on Cool, sponsored by FAIC and funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation is based on the understanding that the best ideas for safe and sustainable storage and support come from collaborative solutions. This project was precipitated by the need to find a new way to disseminate the older but highly valuable text, Storage of Natural History Collections: Ideas and Practical Solutions, originally published by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), and is designed to gather, organize and solicit new storage ideas. The 42nd annual AIC Meeting on sustainable choices in collections care provides a forum for continued discussion about these topics.
The session will utilize a lightening round or “Tips” session format as well as guided, audience participatory discussion. Carefully selected short presentations will be given in a format that closely aligns with web site entries. These will be followed by small group discussions where individuals from different specialties have the opportunity to talk about the presentations, modifications, materials choice as well as creative ways to carry out these projects. The objective is to help make these solutions more sustainable by evaluating project organization, materials and construction. Members of AIC have experience with a wide range of collections, collectors and institutions, and combining short presentations with shared discussion about storage solution projects within the context of the STASH website will provide the attendees with the opportunity to truly engage in the kind of interdisciplinary conversation that often results in sustainable and conscientious choices.
READ ON for abstracts of the selected presentations:
Solutions for Individual Items
Simple Box Construction
T. Ashley McGrew, Independent Consultant/PACCIN Publications Chair
In this presentation, a custom lidded storage box will be fabricated from heritage board in less than four minutes. This simple and efficient method for mass production of storage trays and lidded boxes was utilized recently during the re-housing of a medium sized archeological collection and is made possible with the use of a “homemade” creaser that can be constructed inexpensively with materials found in any home improvement center by someone with an intermediate level of proficiency in wood and metal working in just a couple hours time.
The Elephantine in the Stacks; Housing an Oversize Serial
Jamie Roberts, Conservation Technician, Library of Congress
The project describes custom housing for an elephantine newspaper (approx. 36” by 51” inches, closed) that allows for both safe storage and quick display. This relatively simple housing is easy to fabricate and the elements of the storage portfolio can be rearranged to provide an easel to show the newspaper.
If the Shoe Doesn’t Fit
Laura Mina and Lisa Stockebrand, Costume and Textiles Conservation, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Shoes with unusual materials and designs require custom mounts to provide appropriate support during storage and transportation. This presentation will detail two case studies from the Philadelphia Museum of Art where new materials and custom solutions support the idiosyncratic needs of diverse collections.
 
Solutions for Groups of Items
From Heel to Toe: The Costume Institute Shoe Rehousing Project
Rebecca Bacheller and Lauren Helliwell, Research Assistants for Collections, Costume Institute, Metropolitan Museum of Art
This presentation details the Costume Institute’s efforts to create internal and external storage supports for a large, varied shoe collection, with examples from the sixteenth century through the present. The basic model involves creating Ethafoam heel and toe supports to pressure-fit the shoe to an archival cardboard handling tray. Without ties or tissue covering, the support system allows for greater visual and tactile accessibility to the object with minimal handling. This technique uses common archival materials but adaptations to the basic storage model have been developed to address conservation, material, and structural concerns which arise in such a varied collection.
A Vertical Storage System for Flat Plaque Baskets
Crista Pack, Kress Post-Graduate Fellow
Dr. Nancy Odegaard, Conservator and Head of the Preservation Division
The Arizona State Museum (ASM) recently developed a storage solution for 200 flat plaque baskets to address the needs for efficient space usage, cost effectiveness, preservation, and facilitated access. The plaque baskets are round, flat, rigid and mostly coil and wicker weave. ASM conservators determined that many could be safely stored vertically if sufficiently padded and supported. A tray with dividers, foam, and pillows which can house up to 25 plaque baskets upright was devised for these purposes. Four trays (approximately 100 baskets) can be placed on a rolling wire shelf unit. This solution not only saves space, but allows researchers to easily find, view, and access individual baskets. This presentation covers the design, construction, advantages and disadvantages of these storage trays.
Ziplock Bag File Box
Angela Yvarra McGrew, Contract Conservator, Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University,
This presentation describes the design and construction of a box designed to hold small artifacts stored in polyethylene “Ziplock” bags upright to maximize space. The boxes can be customized to allow for wider spacing needed for objects that are more 3-dimensional. The container box has a ledge so that more of the bag is visible once the lid is off.
A Housing for the Horizontal Storage of Cracked Phonograph Discs
Rayan Ghazal, Preservation Officer and Brandon Burke, Archivist for Recorded Sound Collections, Hoover Institution Library and Archives, Stanford University
There is little if any debate that the preferred storage orientation for phonograph discs is in the vertical attitude. However discs in poor condition, particularly cracked glass-based discs, and discs of any substrate exhibiting advanced delamination, cannot be stored vertically without exacerbating damage. This presentation demonstrates the functionality of a housing that was custom-designed by conservators and archivists at the Hoover Institution Library and Archives for the horizontal storage of cracked, broken, and/or delaminating phonograph discs.
LBJ’s White House Photograhs;Roll-Film Negative Storage Problems and Solutions
Margaret Harman, Audiovisual Archives Specialist, Lyndon B. Johnson Library & Museum
For decades the original negatives (ca. 30,000 film rolls) in the LBJ Library’s White House Photo Collection remained in 1960s era acidic paper “wallet” enclosures stored inside rusty metal file cabinets. After 50 years of active use, many of the wallets showed considerable wear and negatives needed rehousing to prevent damage. Finding ready-made negative enclosures that meet institutional requirements has been difficult in this increasingly digital age. Hopefully sharing our experiences and exchanging ideas will result in potential solutions.
Discussion Points
The safe and effective storage for negatives is a problem that faces many collections care individuals in an array of institutions. We have heard several presentations where effective solutions were proposed for the storage of multiple like items. Based on these, and past experience, what solutions might your group consider for the problems presented by storage of negative films?
 
Sustainable Solutions
Compactor Storage
Cathleen Zaret, Mellon Fellow in Textile Conservation and Emily Kaplan, Conservator, Smithsonian Institution – National Museum of the American Indian
This presentation highlights some examples of a variety of storage solutions that were developed at the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution by collections management staff in collaboration with conservators during and after a five year project to move and re-house 800,000 ethnographic and archaeological objects. Challenges included protection of collections from lateral and vertical movement as they were housed in nine foot high electronic compactor storage units and shelved with mechanical warehouse lifts, while maintaining accessibility and visibility of the objects and taking future handling into consideration.
Evaluating Shipping Containers as Storage
Geneva J. Griswold, 3rd year students in the UCLA/Getty Program on the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Objects, Walters Art Museum, Division of Conservation & Technical Research
Ayesha Fuentes, 3rd year students in the UCLA/Getty Program on the Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Objects,
Metal shipping containers are often used for short and long-term storage of cultural materials and archives in post-disaster remediation, as well as in areas with limited permanent storage solutions. While shipping containers are widely available and inexpensive, their lack of climate control may catalyze deterioration unless modified. Research is currently underway to develop guidelines for the preparation, installation, and maintenance of metal shipping containers to be used as storage facilities. Feedback and suggestions for further study are sought from the AIC community at large.
Defending the Use of (Recycled) Materials
Christian Hernandez, Contributing writer, Plinth Magazine
Materials used in the long-term storage of museum objects usually are not made from recycled materials since these are traditionally considered of a lesser quality. This presentation relates research to find sustainable museum quality materials by comparing conventionally used materials to sustainable alternatives that have the same working qualities. Tests of several foams and boards demonstrate there are materials made from recycled material that can pass an Oddy Test, which is the most commonly used benchmark of all museum-quality materials.
 
Discussion Points
In most institutions, housings are designed to fit the pre-determined needs of the space, staff or available equipment and cost. As collections care professionals become more cognizant of and concerned about sustainable choices, the range of acceptable choices can become broader. What materials, solutions and choices would / could you suggest that would highlight sustainability as a goal in creating an effective storage solution?