Subject: Online course on collections preservation
MS104: An Introduction to Collections Preservation Instructor: Helen Alten Price: $475 Jan 10 - Feb 4, 2011 Location: online at <URL:http://www.museumclasses.org> Description: Every museum professional needs a solid foundation in preservation principles and techniques. Introduction to Collections Preservation provides an overview of current preservation issues from environmental monitoring to collection cleaning, exhibit mounts and storage furniture. Participants learn about every aspect of the modern museum and how the building, staff and fixtures affect preservation. Subjects include the agents of deterioration, risk management, object handling and transport, object labeling, exhibit lighting, security, emergency preparedness, materials for storage and display, storage and exhibit philosophies, and condition assessments. Course Outline: Preservation Principles Agents of Deterioration Monitoring Collection Handling Collection Labeling Collection Cleaning Storage Principles Exhibit Principles Emergency Preparation Conclusion Logistics: Participants in An Introduction to Collections Preservation work at their own pace through 10 sections and interact through online forums and chats. Instructor Helen Alten will be available at scheduled times for email support. Materials include online readings and lecture notes, slide shows, quizzes and links to relevant web sites. The course is limited to 20 participants. An Introduction to Collections Preservation runs for four weeks. To reserve a spot in the course, please pay at <URL:http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html> If you have trouble please contact Helen Alten at helen<-at->collectioncare<.>org The Instructor: Helen Alten, is the Director of Northern States Conservation Center and its chief Objects Conservator. For nearly 30 years she has been involved in objects conservation, starting as a pre-program intern at the Oriental Institute in Chicago and the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania. She completed a degree in Archaeological Conservation and Materials Science from the Institute of Archaeology at the University of London in England. She has built and run conservation laboratories in Bulgaria, Montana, Greece, Alaska, Minnesota and West Virginia. She has a broad understanding of three-dimensional materials and their deterioration, wrote and edited the quarterly /Collections Caretake/r, maintains the popular <URL:http://www.collectioncare.org> web site, lectures throughout the United States on collection care topics, was instrumental in developing a state-wide protocol for disaster response in small Minnesota museums, has written, received and reviewed grants for NEH and IMLS, worked with local foundations funding one of her pilot programs, and is always in search of the perfect museum mannequin. She has published chapters on conservation and deterioration of archeological glass with the Materials Research Society and the York Archaeological Trust, four chapters on different mannequin construction techniques in Museum Mannequins: A Guide for Creating the Perfect Fit (2002), preservation planning, policies, forms and procedures needed for a small museum in The Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums' Collection Initiative Manual, and is co-editor of the penultimate book on numbering museum collections (still in process) by the Gilcrease Museum in Oklahoma. Helen Alten has been a Field Education Director, Conservator, and staff trainer. She began working with people from small, rural, and tribal museums while the state conservator for Montana and Alaska. Helen currently conducts conservation treatments and operates a conservation center in Charleston, WV and St. Paul, MN. *** Conservation DistList Instance 24:29 Distributed: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 Message Id: cdl-24-29-013 ***Received on Monday, 13 December, 2010