2010 Conservation Assessment Program Applications Available This Fall
  
In 2010, Heritage Preservation will celebrate the Conservation Assessment Program's (CAP) 20th year of helping museums obtain general collections assessments. Visit our website, www.heritagepreservation.org to learn about CAP participants from the past twenty years and the improvements they have made in collections care at their museums.
 
In 2005, Heritage Preservation, in partnership with IMLS, published the first comprehensive survey of the nation's museums, libraries, archives, and scientific research organizations - the Heritage Health Index. The survey found that 70% of collecting institutions had no current assessment of their collections. General assessments are a vital tool for all collecting institutions: they provide a summary of the state of collections and the conservation issues they face, they help institutions plan for collections improvements, and they are often a first step towards obtaining collections grants and accreditation.
 
CAP funds a professional collections assessment for small to mid-sized museums of all types, at a minimal cost. In addition, CAP funds historic buildings assessments for institutions with buildings that are 50 years or older. The assessment process helps museum professionals better understand and improve their institutions' policies and procedures, learn conservation and historic preservation best practices, and forge relationships with conservators and preservation architects.The resulting CAP report can help develop strategies for improved collections care, long-range planning, staff and board education, and fund-raising.
 
In 2009, 100 museums in 39 states were selected to participate in CAP, including the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper, WY.  To view the entire list of current CAP participants, visit www.heritagepreservation.org/CAP/09recipients.html.
 
The 2010 CAP applications will be mailed on Friday, September 4, 2009, to museums on the CAP mailing list and will also be available on Heritage Preservation's Web site at www.heritagepreservation.org. The postmark deadline for applications is December 1, 2009. The CAP program is now running on an expedited schedule, making it possible for museums to receive collections advice quickly. Site visits for participants can begin as early as January 1, 2010 and final reports must be submitted to Heritage Preservation by November 1, 2010. CAP is administered by Heritage Preservation and supported through a cooperative agreement with the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
 
To be added to the CAP application mailing list, or for more information, please contact CAP staff at cap@heritagepreservation.org or 202-233-0800.  

 

Dear Readers, 
 
Pinky is back with a vengeance.  Florida was not all it was promised to be.  Mostly it was the diet and all the work it took to catch those awful, slimy minnows.  I need hearty Western chow.  That, and my son Rodney is doing time in Canon City.  I could tell he was a bad egg all along, but you all know the depths of a mother's love.  Visiting is a breeze now- I just hop over the fence whenever I want and nobody dares give me a body search.  (I'll show them a spread Eagle.)  It is great to be back in CWAMland with all you wonderful, hard working, and underpaid people.  Never mind, we have a job to do and I am here to help.  Keep sending me those letters. 
 
Pinky      
  
Dear Pinky, 
 
Hi there.  I work in a very small museum whose board has just developed the concept of several window displays using actual artifacts.  The window have UV protection, but I'm still not comfortable with it.  Would you say yes or no?
 
Wondering in Winsor
 
 
Dear Wondering,
 
Where do these questions come from?  Haven't you ever been to a shoe sale and wondered why one shoe is lighter than the other? "There is a price to pay for every bargain," I always say.  And to answer your question: a definite NO. 
 
All light causes damage regardless of type or intensity.  UV films on widows will filter out the ultraviolet radiation in daylight which is great but will have little effect on the other wave lengths of light coming through the glass.  I bet your helpful board would also like to use artificial light at night to illuminate these displays after the museum is closed.  Window displays are not usually a good idea because daylight is hard to control and inevitably causes fading.  (I notice my plumage suffered badly in Florida- too much sun for an old bird.)  Then there is the security issue.  A distant relative told me of a museum in Oxford that had ceramics displayed in a window only to lose most of them when someone fell into it. 
 
Now, I admit to being an avid window shopper myself.  There must be a number of things that you could show in the window that would not be harmed by light.  Or do I dare suggest replicas, new photographs, or information about upcoming exhibits?  I bet you can be creative with your windows without using them as the first step in deaccessioning your collection.  Keep on Wondering in Winsor and fire me another question.  I am on a roll.  
 
Pinky 

 

 

 

 

 

The Western States and Territories Preservation Assistance Service, in cooperation with the Wyoming State Library and supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, is offering a free disaster preparedness and response workshop for cultural property on Sept. 14 and Oct. 12.  Registration can be done online at http://tiny.cc/ZePOL. For assistance, contact Kathy Krause at Krause@plsinfo.org.

 

MPMA is offering two pre-conference workshops in Laramie: Historic Preservation for Museums on Oct. 6, sponsored the state of Wyoming's SHPO and F. E. Warren AFB; and How to Protect Your Museums, Staff and Visitors on Oct. 7, offered by the International Foundation for Cultural Property Protection.  Visit www.mpma.net for registration information.

The Care of Leather in Museum Collections 
By Beverly Nadeen Perkins
Conservator, The Buffalo Bill Historical Center
 
Years ago a donor came to the front door of the museum sitting on his donation. The beautiful presentation saddle was sandwiched between the rump of the horse and the rump of the donor.  There was much fanfare over this important donation. The museum staff accepted the donation wearing white gloves and gently placed the saddle on a padded cart.
 
This story illustrates an interesting dilemma facing museums. Many types of objects found in  museum collections are still in use in the home kitchen, garage, or work place. People generally understand that objects in a museum are not handled in the same manner as the materials we live with out in the world. They would be horrified if museums placed collections in the dishwasher or drove sculptures through the car wash. The general public even has a sense that sending the family Ottoman carpet to the dry cleaner may not be the best course of action.
 
Works of art such as paintings are always given special treatment whether they are hanging in the living room or the gallery. It is common practice for museum standards to be applied to the care of paintings and fine drawings.
 
Materials such as guns and leather are usually passed down to the next generation with specific and often personal methods of care. When your grandfather's grandfather passes down his secrets for keeping leather supple and firearms in good working order, this information is retained and shared with the utmost respect and authority. This type of information was invaluable for the success of your ancestor's survival, and it is still vital information to pass on today.
 
There are fundamental differences between the leather that is being used on a horse or foot and the leather horse tack or boots in a museum collection. The leather being used to restrain a horse or protect your feet must remain supple, withstand strenuous cleaning, and be impervious to the elements. The leather in a museum should be in a stable environment with minimal changes in temperature and relative humidity and with low light levels. There is no longer a need for the leather to remain supple. It only needs to remain flexible so that it may be gently moved or placed onto a mount. 
 
In place of "feeding" leather to protect it, museums exhibit and store leather in a stable environment where it will remain clean and suffer minimum exposure to large amounts of light and wide swings in relative humidity or temperature. Museums do not use leather dressings, oils, waxes, or silicone oils on leather. These "dressings" are not needed in a stable environment where they would eventually break down, becoming dirty and difficult to remove.
 
Some visitors to museums are troubled by a white "bloom" they see on leather such as shoes, saddles, and tack. Visitors often inform the museum that they have seen mold on the leather displayed in exhibits. This white substance is generally not mold but old leather dressing that is breaking down. It could also be evidence of past use, such as residual salt from horse sweat. 
 
To determine the nature of the "bloom," use magnification such as a head loop, strong reading glasses, or a magnifying glass. If it is mold, it will have some dimension to it, like broccoli, not like a flat drawing of broccoli. If it is active mold it will smear when touched with a tiny artist's brush. If it is inactive mold it will powder and blow away when touched with the brush. If it does not smear or powder, it is probably not mold.
 
Once you have determined that the "bloom" is not mold, you may try to reduce its appearance.  Warm air from a hair dryer (not a heat gun) may be used to reform the "bloom" material. A soft cotton rag can be used to gently remove excess "bloom" material. It is likely that this "bloom" will become visible again if the object is placed back into a cool or cold room. The warming and wiping procedure can be repeated if the "bloom" reappears.
 
Cleaning leather is best accomplished by brushing it with a clean dry brush. If there is a great deal of dust to be removed, hold the nozzle of the vacuum in one hand and brush the dust in the direction of the vacuum nozzle. A soft, dry cotton rag cut from an old t-shirt can be used to wipe off light dirt. The use of water and/or solvents is not recommended for the cleaning of leather. 
 
Leather objects should be monitored every few months to check for insect activity. If you suspect insect activity, place the object in a plastic bag in order to more easily monitor the piece to see if there are insects or vermin present. If there is insect activity, you may need to place the piece in a freezer. At this point it is best to call a collections manager or conservator for more information.
 
If at all possible, objects should not be folded. If there is a fold in an object, this fold should be padded with a small amount of tissue or unbleached cotton formed into a roll. Leather and other textiles should not be placed onto forms or mannequins that are too large. It is better to underpad an object rather than to overstuff the form. Leather should not be hung from metal hangars or nails. Padded surfaces and slanting mounts are a better way to exhibit and store objects. In order to reduce permanent creases, take the time every year to unfold an object and refold it in a new place.
 
Leather should not remain on exhibit for more than a few months at a time. Leather should be taken off exhibit and placed in dark storage.
 
Further information about the care of leather may be found through The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works at www.aic-faic.org.

 

Svein Edland, doting father, avid chef, paragliding enthusiast, and Curator of Exhibits at the Longmont Museum, died July 16, 2009 as the result of a motorcycle accident. Born in Stavanger, Norway, Svein moved to the United States in 1980, and to Colorado in 1981. From 1982 to 1987 he was the Curator of Exhibits at the Loveland Museum. Svein spent 22 years as the Curator of Exhibits at the Longmont Museum, and his designs shaped many landmark exhibits, including Works by Warhol: Cowboys, Indians and More, Twenty-one Golden Years with Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and Ansel Adams and Edwin Land: Photographs from the Polaroid Collection. His creative genius can still be seen in the Longmont Museum's core history exhibit Front Range Rising, where he used many unique materials to create 2/3 scale replicas of a locomotive and an adobe fort. Svein was active in the museum community, mentoring other designers in the region, and presenting at CWAM, MPMA, and AASLH conferences. He will be missed by many friends and colleagues throughout the region.

 

Svein is survived by his children Kristine and Kristoffer Edland, their mother Marguerite Brehm, his parents Elsa and Tor Edland of Stavanger, Norway, and friend Meg Coulter of Loveland. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to an educational fund for Svein's children - Svein Edland Memorial at Addison Avenue Credit Union, 1371 Sculptor Drive, Loveland CO 80537, or to the Friends of the Longmont Museum, 400 Quail Road, Longmont CO 80501.