Facility & Space

• Suitable and sufficient space

• Various rooms if possible

• Separate Heating, Ventilation and Air Condition system from the rest of the building with a backup generator. It’s important to maintain a consistent temperature and humidity in collection storage.

• Size- Incorporate aisles at least 48" wide between rows of equipment; this width allows safe handling and movement of drawers, cabinet doors, and larger objects.

• Construction Features

  • Doors/Window- Should have few exterior doors and windows

  • Loading Dock and high floor capacity (at least 250 pounds per square foot)

  • Building Materials should be able to keep out the elements

• Metal shelving (no wood shelving= off gases acids & peroxides), raised off of floor 4-6” for cleaning and pest inspection, stabilized (bolted to floor.)

Condition Reporting

It’s important to create a record of the condition of the object when it came into the museum collection.

Write down a good description of the object, its identifying number, type of object, title, dimensions, specific damage, previous repairs, name of examiner and date.

There will almost always be SOMETHING to report. Look closely at every piece that comes in and report every type, extent and location of damage

A drawing or photographs of the object are also a good method for documenting an objects condition.

(Possibly a good idea to take photographs if you’re not the best artist. )

Marking/Labeling

Attaching an identification number to the object

• • Labels

  • Writing directly on the surface

  • Applying a barrier coat, then the number

  • Tags

There are some basic rules for applying identification numbers to objects:

(1) For objects made of more than one material, choose the least porous surface. (Metal, shell, glass or ceramic are better than wood or leather.)

(2) Avoid numbering over paint or pigments.

(3) When in doubt, use a tag.

(4) Do not apply a stiff material to a flexible surface.

(5) Disasters happen. Remember, barrier coats and labels will float off objects immersed in water. Use tags as a backup system.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

• • Must the number be "permanent? "

  • Do staff members remove tags before placing items on exhibit?

  • Do exhibit designers object to visible numbers?

  • Are some of your collections permanently stored in liquid?

  • Are insects a problem in your museum?

  • Do you need a simple inventory control tool?

  • Are you using a computer database? Or hand-written accession logs? Or both?

  • Do you agree that any form of damage to an object is unacceptable? (Some museums accept a certain level of damage in the name of inventory control.)

  • Who is applying the numbers? Are they skilled craftspeople or occasional volunteers?

Storage Solutions

Archaeological Objects

• Cleaning should be kept to a minimum as it can archaeological evidence such as food residues in a bowl, or blood or pigment traces might be removed. It can also interfere with scientific analysis.

• Humidity and Temperature really depend on what the object is and what climate it comes from. These are really for stable stone, bone, shell, ceramic.

• Something unstable like a mummified animal remains would require tighter humidity and temperature levels.

• Archaeological objects can be stored in boxes, shelves or in bags depending on the size and weight. Small objects may want to be stored together in small labeled bags in a box.

See also National Parks Service Curatorial Care of Archaeological Objects.

Polyethylene microfoam (Ethnofoam), is an inert foam that can be cut to cradle the objects within a container, is a great way to support objects.

Textiles

Textiles can include such items as clothes, flags, quilts, tapestries, household furnishings.

Textiles can be made of natural or synthetic fiber. Storage can depend on fiber type.

Both natural and artificial light can fade color and contribute to the degradation and permanent damage of many textile fibers.

Storage solutions for textiles depends on the size and material. Some options include:

· rolling for smaller banners, flags, rugs

· padded hangers for clothing

· specially prepared mannequins or forms

· laid flat with as few crease lines as possible

Furniture

Wood and other organic materials contract and expand based on the humidity in the air.

Light can yellow a piece of furniture's finish. Furniture should be kept in low lighting

Powderpost beetles are a common furniture pest. Collection staff should keep an eye out for sawdust like material along the floor that might be sign of burrowing bugs.

furniture Upholstered with horsehair, silk and wool can also attract a variety of bugs.

Furniture is usually quite large and creating custom crates or finding boxes that would be practicle is costly and would take up additional space. A protective covering made of fabric or polyethyline sheeting is best for keeping dust and water off furniture.