Preventive Conservation: Reducing Risks to Collections

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CCI Newsletter, No. 36, Fall 2005

Preventive Conservation: Reducing Risks to Collections

by Stefan Michalski, Senior Conservation Scientist, Conservation Research, CCI

The second collaborative course Preventive Conservation: Reducing Risks to Collections was presented by the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) and the Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) in Rome in June 2005.¹ The planning and teaching team was led by Catherine Antomarchi (ICCROM) and Stefan Michalski (CCI), and included Paul Marcon (CCI), Robert Waller (Canadian Museum of Nature), Agnes Brokerhof (Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage), and Isabelle Verger (ICCROM). The focus of this second course was entirely on risk assessment and risk management of collections, which is having a major impact on conservation (see the discussion by Jeanne Inch, Director General and Chief Operating Officer of CCI). Images and accounts of the course can be found on the ICCROM Web site (www.iccrom.org), and an invited paper on the content and design of the course is included in the Fall 2005 issue of Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals.

One hundred and twenty-two individuals from 53 countries applied to attend the course. Of these, 22 candidates representing 20 countries were offered places, and 19 accepted — including Canadians John O'Neill (Assistant Professor, Master of Art Conservation program, Queen's University, Kingston) and France Gagnon (Collections Manager, Naval Museum of Quebec, Quebec City). A third Canadian, Gayle McIntyre (Coordinator of the Collections Conservation Management and the Museum Management and Curatorship programs at Sir Sandford Fleming College, Peterborough), who had attended the first course in 2003 in Ottawa, was asked to participate as a course moderator and to coordinate course evaluation. These three have graciously agreed to summarize their experience for presentation here.

John O'Neill

All of the course participants were professionals involved in some way with conservation of cultural heritage collections: curators, museum administrators, educators, and conservators. I attended in the capacity of educator.

Insurance companies, other businesses, and governments have been using the idea of risk management for many years, but its application to the preservation of collections of cultural heritage is quite recent. The course therefore provided a general introduction to the risk management approach, as well as covering all the concepts and principles as they might be applied to collections of cultural or historical significance.

Until now, preventive conservation for collections has been codified in a series of rules or standards that were applied to all collections in a "one size fits all" manner. But risk management enables a systematic examination of the threats to a collection and allows

In essence, risk management is a tool that allows a collection curator or conservator to identify the risks that a collection or a museum is facing, and to quantify those risks in a systematic manner. Armed with this information, it is then possible to accurately prioritize the risks and ensure that scarce resources are spent on the most pressing and urgent problems.

This is a new approach in the field of preventive conservation, and an important development. It is essential that today's students of conservation be aware of risk management, and understand how it is carried out. It is a tool that they will definitely need in their future careers.

France Gagnon

I have been, for a long time, passionate about my work in museums. However, coming from education and collections management, I am relatively new to the field of conservation. It was therefore very gratifying to be chosen from among 123 applicants from around the world to attend this course. Even though I found myself intimidated by the experience and knowledge of the other participants when I met them on the first day, I soon realized I could learn a lot simply by talking with these conservators, teachers, scientists, and archivists.

Every day in my work, I am faced with dilemmas. I do not always know where to begin the preventive conservation of the 25 collections across Canada for which I am responsible, and the best practices I learned in school are often out of reach. However, after this course I will be able to identify the degree of danger from each agent of deterioration in a particular situation, justify decisions, and prioritize interventions.

Although at first the task of identifying, assessing, and quantifying each agent of deterioration seems overwhelming, the way it was taught will allow me, with (a lot of) practice, to make more confident decisions. With the risk assessment approach only starting to spread, it is exciting to be part of its development. After completing this course, I feel encouraged to pursue more knowledge in the field.

As for my Italian adventure, in spite of the heat and the busy course schedule, as a historian I feel I made contact with the deep roots of our way of life, democracy, city life, and culture. And that, I will never forget.

Gayle McIntyre

Simply stated, the course was a success! It demonstrated a strong, healthy, multilayered partnership between some of the world's leading conservation and heritage organizations.

The design, development, methodology, and delivery were brave and ambitious. The carefully crafted curriculum gently moved the participants toward a subtle paradigm shift. Risk management asks penetrating questions about the current and future condition of collections, and explores all aspects of an organization's efforts. It combines preventive conservation practices with advanced common sense, which then provides powerful and logical arguments for practical and systematic preservation strategies.

The program was delivered through a clever combination of teaching techniques: illustrated lectures; panel discussions; seminars; workshops; interactive exercises and role playing; large group work; small group work; self-directed learning and individual study; reflection and discussion; brainstorming sessions; site visits; and case study work. Learning activities were real rather than simulated. Participants had the opportunity to provide constant feedback through a multidimensional evaluation process, a tactic that contributed greatly to the overall success of the course.

The material presented concentrated on principles rather than a particular method or a recipe. It illustrated the different ways that organizations are implementing risk management concepts — an area that is developing and evolving in the cultural sector. The authentic application of the course theory will be realized when the participants implement what they have learned in their own context. As a result, the conservation and heritage profession will develop and refine a community of collective knowledge on risk assessment of cultural property.

1. The first course Preventive Conservation: From Current Issues to Common Strategies was held in Ottawa in June 2003. For more information, see CCI Newsletter 32 (November 2003), pp. 1-4.