Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2015 - (Page 18)

Features The Collections Care Network by Tim White and Rachel Arenstein Our membership needs to hear more about the Collections Care Network and we need to hear from them about their concerns about preventative conservation. Three years ago the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) created the Collection Care Network (CCN) in recognition of the critical importance of preventive conservation as the most effective means of promoting the long-term preservation of cultural property and to support the growing number of conservators and collections care professionals with strong preventive responsibilities and interests. Its purpose is to: * Create awareness of preventive care * Identify and develop standards and best practices, training, and other projects to advance preventive care in institutions of all types and sizes, locally, nationally, and globally * Provide resources to support collection care and conservation professionals * Work with related groups to reach and support key collections care constituents Over the past three years the CCN has worked to establish liaisons with allied organizations including SPNHC, allowing it to become a conduit for advancing projects with common goals. Tim White, the SPNHC liaison to the CCN, attended a one-day meeting on advancing Collection Care as part of AIC's 2014 annual meeting. Take a look at some of the projects that AIC's CCN has already started to work on with input and collaboration from SPNHC. Connecting to Collections Care - As of January 1, the management of the Connecting to Collections online community http://www.connectingtocollections.org/ passed from Heritage Preservation to the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation (FAIC). This site provides features such as online forums, links to vital resources, and a free series of webinars that are useful and relevant to the work of many SPNHC members. John Simmons and Lori Benson represent SPNHC on the new Advisory Group that will provide guidance on the future develop of this community resource. Please reach out to them with your thoughts so that the site will ensure that its content meets your needs. STASH - If storage and rehousing of collections are part of your job description, then you will want to know about the Storage Techniques for Art, Science and History Collections (STASH) website www.stashc.com. This new resource, a collaboration of FAIC and SPNHC and funded by the Kress 18 * SPNHC Connection Foundation, is loaded with the articles from the original publication, Storage of Natural History Collections: Ideas and Practical Solutions, and increasingly new submissions and additional resources to create innovative storage mounts. If you have an idea for a new submission, please contact the SPNHC liaison to the STASH Editorial Board, Laura Abraczinskas (abraczi1@msu.edu). The STASH Editorial Committee is organizing a STASH Flash at the upcoming AIC Annual Meeting in Miami, FL. If you have a tip to contribute to the program, please contact SPNHC member Lisa Goldberg (lgoldberg@stny.rr.com). Best Practices - SPNHC has been a leader in developing Best Practices and supporting grass roots groups, like the Integrated Pest Management Working Group, that advance preventive care in areas of interest to natural history collections. Wikis have become a useful tool for collaborative work and editing, and SPNHC has launched its wiki site with a goal of developing working groups to tackle areas of best practice. Along with the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT) and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, AIC will sponsor a full-day wiki workshop in Miami on Wednesday, May 13, 2015. Participants will learn how to work on MediaWiki platforms and participate in a hack-athon to start producing content. If you are interested in learning more, please contact SPNHC member and AIC e-Editor Rachael Perkins Arenstein (rachael@amartconservation.com) or visit the workshop registration page http://www.conservation-us.org/annual-meeting/workshop#.VM6-8C4uxdw CCN is sponsoring a wealth of programming at AIC's upcoming annual meeting in Miami, May 2015. Some programs that might be of interest to SPNHC members include: * A Collection Care Workshop on Wednesday, May 13th entitled: Influence for Impact: Leadership Strategies for Collections Care Professionals. * Collection Care Session featuring talks on a variety of topics from the latest preservation self-assessment program to best practices for food in the galleries. * An update on the recent Heritage Health Information Survey conducted by Heritage Preservation. CCN's Collection Resource page on the AIC website http:// www.conservation-us.org/publications-resources/collectioncare#.VM7AQi4uxdw contains other information that may be of interest to SPNHC members including the results of a Collection Care Staff Survey, links to information on environmental guidelines, exhibition standards and mount making tips. Tim White is the Director for Collections & Operations at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. Rachael Arenstein is the Conservator at the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem. http://www.conservation-us.org/annual-meeting/workshop#.VM6-8C4uxdw http://www.conservation-us.org/annual-meeting/workshop#.VM6-8C4uxdw http://aics43rdannualmeeting2015.sched.org/event/df872ba3554630830e53b3e28e64a0ed http://aics43rdannualmeeting2015.sched.org/event/df872ba3554630830e53b3e28e64a0ed http://www.connectingtocollections.org http://www.conservation-us.org/publications-resources/collection-care#.VM7AQi4uxdw http://www.conservation-us.org/publications-resources/collection-care#.VM7AQi4uxdw http://www.conservation-us.org/publications-resources/collection-care#.VM7AQi4uxdw http://www.stashc.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2015

From the President
Society Reports
What’s New
Announcements
Calendar
Features
Member Profile
Employment
Photo Credits
Governance

Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections March 2015