Environment: Effective monitoring and management

Preventive conservation, the act of caring for objects, has always been embedded within conservation. Whilst some in conservation engage with the material qualities of the objects to return them to stability, preventive conservation engages with the environment and context in which an object is used to create conditions to enable its use over the long term.  The life expectancy of collections is significantly affected by the environmental conditions in which they are stored. Understanding the impact of environmental parameters such as light, humidity or temperature on the stability of materials helps those responsible for collections care to make judgements about how best to use those objects whilst retaining their value into the future.

This course will provide an introduction to agents that cause deterioration of museum and cultural heritage objects. The composition of a range of materials found in collections will be introduced and we will discuss the basic interactions of these materials with their surroundings. Students will examine a range of strategies, from technical to managerial, to understand and modify conditions to create acceptable levels of care for collections.

The course will consider the process of environmental management, from the identification of environmental factors to be considered, targets, monitoring conditions and data capture, to the interpretation of results with subsequent action.

Delegates will work on targets for light, ultraviolet light, temperature and humidity for their organisations. There will be a discussion of other targets such as pollution, pests and emergency preparedness and about how to integrate these concepts into the collection management plan.

There will be practical sessions to test environmental monitoring equipment and an opportunity to discuss the range of equipment available and the opportunities these create. The thorny issue of interpreting data, especially humidity and temperature charts, will be addressed so that participants are able to interpret charts from their own organisations and compare them to the targets they have set. The course will complete the cycle by discussing how to respond to and report on the findings of the data. Simple reporting and action plans will be discussed followed by a short session on making your recommendations not only accurate but influential.