Conservation surveys

Rebecca Cameron <becky_cameron [at] paradise__net__nz> writes

>Could anyone recommend some useful reading matter on carrying out
>conservation surveys, especially for small mixed collections. Texts
>that are available online would be particularly appreciated.

Heritage Preservation <URL:http://www.heritagepreservation.org/>
administers the Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) and has
several online sources for CAP assessors that might be of interest
to you, such as the

    Handbook for Assessors,
    <URL:http://www.heritagepreservation.org/
        PDFS/CAPAssessHandbook.pdf>

    The Conservation Assessment: A Tool for Planning, Implementing,
    and Fund-raising, Best Practices for General Conservation
    Assessments
    <URL:http://www.heritagepreservation.org/
        PDFS/BestPractices.pdf>,
    and

    Best Practices for Conditions Assessments of Historic Structures
    <URL:http://www.heritagepreservation.org/
        PDFS/BestPracticesArch.pdf>.

All are PDF documents and can be found at
    <URL:http://www.heritagepreservation.org/
        PROGRAMS/CAPassess.HTM>.

    **** Moderator's comments: The above URL has been wrapped for
    email. There should be no newline.

If you are not familiar with the CAP program, it is a
non-competitive program for US institutions that provides funds for
small to mid-sized museums to hire a professional conservator for a
two-day site visit. The CAP assessor uses the site visit to examine
the museum's collections, environmental conditions, and sites.  The
assessor then writes a report recommending priorities to improve
collections care. The resulting CAP report can help institutions
develop strategies for improved collections care, long-range
planning, staff and board education, and fund-raising. If museums
are located in a historic building (50 years or older), CAP will
support the participation of a preservation architect as well.

Please feel free to contact me with questions regarding the program,

Kate Marks
Coordinator, Conservation Assessment Program
Heritage Preservation
1012 14th Street NW, Suite 1200
Washington DC 20005
202-233-0831
Fax: 202-233-0807


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 18:43
                  Distributed: Monday, March 14, 2005
                       Message Id: cdl-18-43-008
                                  ***