Hooks for paintings on sliding screens

We recently experienced an incident in which a painting was
accidentally knocked off the s-hook that held it onto the sliding
screen in our paintings storage vault.  This happened while hanging
a painting on the opposite side of the screen.  Fortunately only
minimal damage was done to the frame, but we are now reconsidering
the hardware that we use on all of the paintings in our vault.

While s-hooks are convenient and generally reliable, and allow for
quick removal in case of emergency, perhaps a spring-loaded or other
type of locking hook would be safer.  We are especially considering
double bolt snaps, which require that the handler manually open one
end of the hardware to remove the painting.

Compounding the issue is the fact that we are in an earthquake zone.
I have seen the NPS Conserv-O-Gram that suggests the use of snap
hooks in earthquake zones, but I have also read that simple s-hooks
have performed well in earthquakes (notably San Francisco's last big
one).  CCI's Note 10/3 on the topic suggests more permanent
solutions, but these are extremely labour intensive on the
installation end and do not allow for flexibility to accommodate
temporary movement of paintings to different locations.

I'm interested in knowing if others are using the snap type of
hardware for hanging their paintings in storage or if there is
resistance to something that may delay quick removal of the
paintings in an emergency or is generally more difficult to
manipulate?  Have others experienced the accidental dislodging of
s-hooks?  Has a more secure system been implemented as a result?
Your input is appreciated.

Kasey Lee
Conservation Manager
Archives, Collections and Knowledge
675 Belleville Street
Victoria BC V8W 9W2
Canada
250-896-0383


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 28:48
                   Distributed: Friday, May 15, 2015
                       Message Id: cdl-28-48-008
                                  ***