Online courses at museumclasses.org

Here are the courses that will be running on museumclasses.org in
March 2014

Courses beginning March 3, 2014

MS101: Introduction to Museums
Instructor: John Simmons

    Description: The United States has more than 17,000 museums, we
    can only guess at the world's total.  While most people think of
    a museum as a well-staffed, professionally run institution, the
    vast majority of museums are started and run by people with
    little or no basic training in museum studies or preservation.
    Introduction to Museums is designed to change that.  The course
    introduces basic concepts, terminology and the role of various
    staff members, including curators, registrars and directors.
    Introduction to Museums is aimed at staff members, board
    members, interns, volunteers, as well as anyone interested in
    becoming a museum professional or learning more about the
    profession.

    More Information:
    <URL:http://www.collectioncare.org/training/trol_classes_ms101.html>

MS 108: Fundamentals of Museum Volunteer Programs
Instructor: Karin Hostetter

    Description: Volunteers are essential for most non-profit
    institutions.  But good volunteers aren't born--they are made.
    Even though they don't get paychecks, it takes time and money to
    have effective volunteers.  Fundamentals of Museum Volunteer
    Programs teaches the basics of a strong volunteer program.
    Topics include recruiting, training and rewarding volunteers, as
    well as preparing staff.  Instruction continues through firing
    and liabilities.  Participants will end up with sound
    foundational knowledge for starting a new or strengthening an
    existing volunteer program based on a nine-step process.

    More Information:
    <URL:http://www.collectioncare.org/training/trol_classes_ms108.html>

MS 205/6
Disaster Plan Research and Writing
Instructor: Terri Schindel

    Description: Every museum, library and archive needs to be
    prepared for fires, floods, chemical spills, tornadoes,
    hurricanes and other disasters.  But surveys show 80 percent
    lack trained staff, emergency-preparedness plans for their
    collections, or both. Disaster Plan Research and Writing begins
    with the creation of disaster-preparedness teams, the importance
    of ongoing planning, employee safety, board participation and
    insurance.  Participants will learn everything they need to
    draft their own disaster-preparedness plans.  They also will be
    required to incorporate colleagues in team-building exercises.

    More Information:
    <URL:http://www.collectioncare.org/training/trol_classes_ms205.html>

MS215: Care of Archaeological Artifacts from the Field to the Lab
Instructors: Diana Komejan

    Description: Archaeological finds come out of the ground
    fragile--and they often stay that way.  Yet archaeologists and
    museum professionals have few clear guidelines for handling,
    moving, storing and displaying such materials.  Participants in
    Care of Archaeological Artifacts From the Field to the Lab learn
    techniques for safely lifting and packing artifacts, safe
    transportation and temporary and permanent storage.  The course
    also covers a broad range of excavation environments, including
    the Arctic, wet sites, tropical and temperate.  Though Care of
    Archaeological Artifacts is not intended to train archaeological
    conservators, it is designed to help participants understand
    what can and can't be done to save the artifacts they unearth.

    More Information:
    <URL:http://www.collectioncare.org/training/trol_classes_ms215.html>

S224: Care of Leather and Skin Materials
Instructor: Helen Alten

    Description: Prior to the invention of plastics, skin materials
    were the flexible covering used for most objects--from bellows
    to books, carriages to desktops.  Furs and skins are in almost
    every museum's collection, be it Natural History, History or
    Art.  Caring for leather and skin materials demands an
    understanding of how and why they deteriorate.  Care of Leather
    and Skin Materials offers a simplified explanation of the
    origin, chemistry and structure of leathers and skins.  Students
    learn to identify leathers and surface finishes, determine their
    extent of deterioration, write condition reports, and understand
    the agents of deterioration that are harmful to leather and
    skins both in storage and on exhibit.  Topics include preparing
    hide and skin materials for storage and exhibit, the use of
    archival materials and which ones might harm skin proteins,
    housekeeping techniques for large objects or books on open
    display, and three-dimensional supports for leather and skin to
    keep them from distorting.  Integrated pest management and
    historical treatments will be covered, with a unit on hazardous
    materials applied to older skins and leather that might prove a
    danger to staff.

    More Information:
    <URL:http://www.collectioncare.org/training/trol_classes_ms224.html>

MS234: Archives Management
Instructor: Susan Duhl

    Description: Archives include flat paper, photographs, bound
    pamphlets, books, small 3-dimensional objects, and magnetic
    media.  The Archives Management course covers an introduction to
    the materials found in archives and typical use of these
    materials including use patterns, retrieval needs, finding aids,
    handling and exhibition.  The last half of the course details
    optimum storage options for archival materials.  Storage
    includes furniture, storage techniques, standardized and
    specialized housing such as folders and boxes and custom-made
    housings.

    More Information:
    <URL:http://www.collectioncare.org/training/trol_classes_ms234.html>

MS 303: Found in the Collection: Orphans, Old Loans and Abandoned
Property Instructor: Lin Nelson-Mayson

    Description: Every museum has a few stray items.  Some lost tags
    long ago.  Others turn up as surprises during inventories.  A
    few are all that remain from long-ago exhibits.  While you'll
    want to keep some, others may be deteriorating.  Even worse,
    some pose significant hazards for staff and the rest of the
    collection.  All raise legal and professional questions.  How do
    you deal with objects that have no records? Or loans from
    unidentified or deceased lenders? Found in the Collection
    addresses how to identify abandoned objects and old loans.  It
    further covers the application of state laws and rules for
    identifying owners or establishing ownership.

    More Information:
    <URL:http://www.collectioncare.org/training/trol_classes_ms303.html>

Short Course beginning March 10, 2014

MS010: Condition Assessments
Instructor: Helen Alten

    Description: Whenever an object leaves or enters your museum, it
    should have a dated condition report completed.  A condition
    report is so much more than "good" or "poor." Learn about
    different types of condition reports, what is essential and what
    is optional information in each, the function of a condition
    report, and how to use an online condition assessment tool.

    More Information:
    <URL:http://www.collectioncare.org/training/trol_classes_ms010.html>

Brad Bredehoft for Helen Alten
Northern States Conservation Center


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 27:32
                Distributed: Thursday, February 20, 2014
                       Message Id: cdl-27-32-022
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