Preserving the Collection: Disaster Planning, Response & Recovery

In November 1966, the Arno River flooded, and had a disastrous effect on the city of Florence and its population. Books, paintings, and other significant objects were buried in mud and water for days. The disaster and recovery garnered international support, and had a huge effect on the development of emergency response and the field of conservation in general. Next week, we'll discuss the long-term impact of the flood. Today, we're sharing two videos, one from 1968 about the immediate aftermath of the flood and the process to salvage books and documents; the second video is from 2023, more than 50 years after the event, about the conservation of a specific painting. PBS News Hour: Saving Art After The Florence Flood Arno River 1966 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81XkmmRquhM University of Utah, J. Willard Marriott Library. The Restoration of Books: Florence, 1968, a film by Roger Hill - https://stream.lib.utah.edu/index.php?c=details&id=284

This article discusses some high- and low-tech methods museums are using to conserve energy.  As climate change threatens cultural treasures, museums get creative to conserve both energy and artifacts: https://grist.org/looking-forward/as-climate-change-threatens-cultural-treasures-museums-get-creative-to-conserve-both-energy-and-artifacts/

This webinar hosted by CCAHA discusses how to establish salvage priorities both before and after an emergency, evaluating objects by their significance to the collection and their vulnerabilities. Picking Favorites: Strategies for Determining Salvage Priorities