Collections Care Challenges and Innovations for Ephemeral Altar Assemblages

This practical thesis project report contains a conservation survey, condition report and collections care proposal for the World War I portrait collection at State Records of South Australia. The plan prescribes immediate, short term and long term recommendations for the improvement of preservation techniques for the World War I collection. The paper also contains information and results gathered through the condition report of the collection sample and conservation survey. The survey investigated the current environment and storage facilities, access, security and disaster planning surrounding the collection. The paper also outlines the practices and methodologies of the applied thesis for both the conservation survey and condition report. The collection care proposal assesses current practices in order to provide State Records with accurate goals that offer flexible options. A detailed list of housing recommendations is included in the proposal; an advantages and disadvantages assessment if included for each option to help State Records better fit its needs and abilities in the future. Charts showing the results of the condition report and environmental assessment from the conservation survey are included in the appendix for further reference. This project is intended to draw attention to the urgent need for better preservation practices for the World War I portrait collection.

Download Full-text

Benchmarks in collections care for UK libraries

Library Collections Acquisitions and Technical Services ◽

10.1080/14649055.2002.10765820 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 76-78

Author(s):

Thomas W Leonhardt

Keyword(s):

Collections Care

Download Full-text

Explorations In Collections Care: Martin And Osa Johnson Glass Negatives In The Permanent Collection At The George Eastman House

10.32920/ryerson.14645067 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jennifer E. Ko

Keyword(s):

Glass Plate ◽

Culturally Sensitive ◽

Practical Project ◽

Provenance Research ◽

Collections Care ◽

Trajectory Of Care ◽

Potential Use

This paper discusses a professional practical project that dealt with the collections care undertaken for one instance of found-in-collections material. Consisting of 336 four-by-five and five-by-seven gelatin glass plate negatives by American travel and wildlife filmmakers Martin and Osa Johnson, the material had been cared for in the vaults of the permanent collection at the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film for many years without the establishment of official acquisition or public accessibility. The project discussed in this paper involved the trajectory of care required to make the Johnson material available, including provenance research, official acquisition, registration documentation, cataloguing, and housing improvements. The paper discusses this process, analyzing decisions made from issues of arrangement to culturally-sensitive description in associated cataloguing records. Finally, this paper suggests avenues for potential use of the Johnson material, arguing for the possibilities afforded by accessibility.

Download Full-text

The Invisibility of Collections Care Work

Collections ◽

10.1177/155019060700300107 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 103-112 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Kiersten F. Latham

Keyword(s):

Care Work ◽

Collections Care

Download Full-text

A Long View of Archaeological Collections Care, Preservation, and Management

Advances in Archaeological Practice ◽

10.1017/aap.2019.22 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 217-223

Author(s):

Danielle M. Benden ◽

Mara C. Taft

Keyword(s):

Natural History ◽

Thematic Issue ◽

Archaeological Record ◽

American Institute ◽

Natural History Collections ◽

Archaeological Collections ◽

The Future ◽

Care Practices ◽

Collections Care ◽

Innovative Techniques

AbstractCollections care practices have become professionalized in the last 30 years, in large part because of the work of organizations such as the American Alliance of Museums, the Canadian Conservation Institute, the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections, the American Institute for Conservation, and others in the museum sphere. Advances in preservation and management have benefited the discipline of archaeology in the field and laboratory. This thematic issue provides an updated perspective on the current happenings in the repository, highlighting innovative techniques and practices that collections specialists employ when managing the archaeological record. This article considers a macroview of the issues surrounding archaeological curation today and ponders what the future of collections preservation can and should look like.

Download Full-text

A Legacy at Work: Collections Care Specialists at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Collections ◽

10.1177/155019060500200104 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 29-46 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rebecca L. Fifield

Keyword(s):

Preventive Care ◽

Fine Arts ◽

Specialist Training ◽

Preventive Conservation ◽

Care Specialist ◽

Traditionally Prepared ◽

Museum Of Fine Arts ◽

Collections Care ◽

Future Plans

Curators and conservators have long been entrusted with collections care, although their training and strengths have traditionally prepared them for work in other areas. To reach higher preventive care goals while providing greater collections access, specific staff committed solely to the development, administration, performance, and advocacy for regular collections care is now necessary. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) is one of the first large institutions to extensively apply professional collections care staffing in promoting preventive conservation throughout the museum. This paper will examine the MFA program's roots, funding, and collections care specialist training and activities. Future plans for this program and the potential of this staffing segment for the conservation field will also be addressed.

Download Full-text