Preserving the Collection: Disaster Planning, Response & Recovery

  Are pollutants affecting your collection? Or perhaps your collection contains pollutants? This recent technical bulletin from the Canadian Conservation Institute discusses the ins and outs of pollution in collections: what affects the collection, what is most vulnerable, and how to monitor and mitigate the potential dangers.  CCI Technical Bulletin 37: https://www.canada.ca/en/conservation-institute/services/conservation-preservation-publications/technical-bulletins/pollutants-museums-archives.html

  It's not just unplanned, disastrous events that can damage your collection - even renovations that will help your collection in the long run may have unexpected side effects. All construction projects have hazards; it's important to communicate in order to best prepare your collection and staff for whatever happens. From water damage to security concerns, the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) has a great article to get you thinking on potential concerns. https://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/preservation-leaflets/3.-emergency-management/3.9-protecting-collections-during-renovation

  This technical bulletin from the Canadian Conservation Institute discusses mold outbreaks in detail: how to prevent them, how to deal with them, and how to keep you and your staff safe while cleaning your facility and taking care of your collection. Technical Bulletin 26: https://www.canada.ca/en/conservation-institute/services/conservation-preservation-publications/technical-bulletins/mould-prevention-collection-recovery.html

  We normally like to share sources that can be reviewed and digested quickly, but this two-part publication, First Aid to Cultural Heritage in Times of Crisis, by ICCROM was too good to pick out just a couple topics. The handbook covers situation analysis, risk assessment, and stabilization, and the toolkit features checklists and instructions for a variety of tasks before, during, and after an event. Both publications are published in multiple languages and have plenty of photos and diagrams to help beginners and experts navigate an emergency. Handbook: https://www.iccrom.org/publication/first-aid-cultural-heritage-times-crisis-handbook Toolkit: https://www.iccrom.org/publication/first-aid-cultural-heritage-times-crisis-toolkit  

While any building faces challenges after a flood or other event that leads to water damage, historic buildings often face additional challenges. This article by the National Trust for Historic Preservation considers various things to keep in mind for any building after a flooding event, but especially historic buildings:  https://forum.savingplaces.org/HigherLogic/System/DownloadDocumentFile.ashx?DocumentFileKey=0a57fa53-ebf2-90d5-205e-c1d7e8732ca2 

The Colorado-Wyoming Association of Museums has collected resources on ash cleanup of buildings and collections and summarized them in a practical, easy to follow document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P_nbVLuxk9ptr1YkQ-x7Mpw3oT1nGd8FomELVpyd-mU/edit

  Fire safety is about more than knowing your exit path and keeping fire extinguishers up to date. The National Archives and Records Administration fire safety self-inspection form can be used for a wide variety of institutions, and should be reviewed regularly. https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:2b87a703-4072-4a44-8614-bc31efc3a35b#pageNum=1