Compact storage of wet collections

Sue Valis <suev [at] austmus__gov__au> writes

>I would be very interested to hear if anyone has information on the
>possible detrimental effects of compactus movement on wet natural
>science specimens, caused either by the vibration of the compactus
>unit, or just by the motion of the preservation solution while the
>compactus is in use.

I believe that the National Museum of Scotland uses mobile shelving
for its wet specimen collections. They have made some minor
modifications, notably lining out the shelves with a shock absorbent
material and fitting retaining bars along the fronts of the shelves.
I understand however that they have retained static shelving for
some of their more fragile specimens.

We are about to introduce mobile shelving for our own pathology wet
specimen collections and have made provision for similar
modifications. The suppliers we have contacted have also suggested
adjustments to the drive gearing to make movement of the racks
smoother.

Simon Chaplin
Senior Curator, Museums of The Royal College of Surgeons of England
London WC2A 3PN UK


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 14:4
                 Distributed: Wednesday, July 12, 2000
                        Message Id: cdl-14-4-003
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