Overview

Collection Environment Field Activities is examining real-life situations in the field to investigate environmental strategies for collections that support their access and preservation in an economic and environmentally responsible way. By exploring actual situations, scenarios for decision making in which the requirements of the collection and the building are balanced with the institution's mission, values, and operations can be used as examples for the field.

In order to assist the formulation of sustainable environmental strategies, it is important to understand the conservation needs of a collection in its surroundings and context. To this end, a conservation assessment not only evaluates the condition of collection(s), but also the state of preservation of the building or buildings in which the collection(s) is kept, including the immediate surroundings and the site's location. Assessing the risks to the site, building and collection(s), helps inform the decision-making process in designing a suitable environmental strategy, which an organization can support and carry forward into the future.

Building on previous work at the GCI to evaluate the environment of museum collections and their buildings, the project team is carrying out conservation assessments of collections which are kept in challenging environments or demanding climate zones to address the need in the field for pragmatic approaches to collection preservation.

Page updated: August 2017