Report on sustainability

"Strategies for Sustainability Survey Report: Conservation and
    Collections Care in Yorkshire, 2015"

York and Yorkshire are home to an amazing number of museums and
galleries containing a wide range of collection types.  However,
curation and care of these collections, many of national importance,
is becoming increasingly challenging in the current financial
climate.  In spring 2015 the York Consortium for Conservation and
Craftsmanship (YCCC) collaborated with Museum Development Yorkshire
(MDY) to commission a report on the current state of conservation
and collections care within the region in an effort to gain a better
understanding of how to create a sustainable future.

The report is based on data gathered through two comprehensive
surveys: one aimed at the employed and self employed conservators
working within the Yorkshire and Humber region and the other
directed towards museum professionals responsible for making
decisions about collections care and conservation.  The surveys
elicited a widespread response and the results provide a clear
snapshot of the regional situation.

The survey data covers a three year period and a number of key
issues were apparent, the most concerning of which was the urgent
need for better communication and engagement between conservators
and museum professionals, leading to a fuller understanding of how
museums and their collections can be adequately serviced and
protected by conservators operating within the Yorkshire and Humber
region.  Other areas covered by the surveys include age and
experience, accreditation and the Conservation Register, sources of
income and advice, training and the role of volunteers.

This survey has been a pioneering piece of work and we hope that the
findings in Yorkshire will also shed a useful light on the national
picture in the United Kingdom.

The full report has now been published and is available on the YCCC
website at

    <
    <URL:http://www.conservationyork.org.uk/yccc/media/media_library/pdf/Strategies-for-Sustainability-Survey-Report-Conservation-and-Collections-Care-in-Yorkshire-2015.pdf>

The York Consortium for Conservation and Craftsmanship


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