2012 Webinar Archives

Protecting Collections During Special Events - December 12, 2012

Barbara Heller, director and conservator of special projects at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), shared the steps her institution took to better protect collections during the planning and hosting of special events.

Hurricane Sandy Collections Recovery - November 20, 2012

In response to the ongoing recovery efforts associated with Hurricane Sandy, the Online Community hosted a webinar and live chat on Tuesday, November 20. This webinar brought together conservators with years of experience in the field of disaster recovery to provide the cultural community with critical information on salvaging damaged collections.

Museums for America Grants from IMLS: An Overview of the Program - November 7, 2012

Starting in 2013, the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ grant program Museums for America (MFA) will provide support for collections care projects that were once previously funded under the Conservation Project Support grant program. Connie Bodner, an IMLS supervisory grants management specialist, reviewed the new MFA grant guidelines and application process. Following her presentation, Connie provided answers to numerous questions from the audience regarding the program.

Tour of the Canadian Conservation Institute’s Online Light Damage Calculator - October 10, 2012

On Wednesday, October 10 at 2:00 pm (Eastern), Stefan Michalski, a Senior Conservation Scientist with the Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI), gave a tour of CCI’s Light Damage Calculator. The Calculator provides an estimate of the fading that might occur to the color of various objects when exposed to different amounts of light. The user may choose from numerous scenarios including the type of colorant in an object and lighting environments to determine the cumulative fading effect on an object. Stefan explained, the Calculator will continue to expand and become more robust as new colorants and parameters are added.

Why do Old Books Smell and Other Adventures with Odors in Collections - September 26, 2012

Tara Kennedy, Preservation Field Services Librarian at Yale University Library, hosted a lively discussion focused on odors in collections. Lead by Kennedy, members of the Online Community explored the chemical properties of certain scents, gained a better understanding of what odors may signal deterioration, and discussed the safest methods to rid collections of odors.

Adopt-an-Object - September 5, 2012

A number of collecting institutions have used Adopt-an-Object campaigns to raise funds for artifact conservation. Adoption programs offer a unique opportunity for visitors to meaningfully contribute to conservation efforts and to gain a sense of ownership of their favorite objects and institutions. In this live chat event we discussed existing Adopt-an-Object models and explored the lessons learned by the institutions that have used them.

Wireless Dataloggers - July 17, 2012

Wouldn’t it be nice to have temperature or relative humidity alarms texted to your phone, environmental data beamed back to your desktop, or information accessible from anywhere via the web? How else can you monitor inside a sealed vitrine? Wireless dataloggers make all this possible but, despite their appeal, they aren’t right for many applications or institutions. This live chat event focused on currently available wireless datalogger technology and what factors you must evaluate to determine if wireless environmental monitoring is an option for you.

WebWise Reprise: Oral History in the Digital Age - June 28, 2012

Digital tools for oral history collecting, curating, and dissemination was a topic at the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ WebWise 2012 Conference. We were pleased to feature it again on a WebWise Reprise webinar.

Sharing Public History Work: Crowdsourcing Data - June 14, 2012

Crowdsourcing was one of the topics at the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ 2012 WebWise Conference. Crowdsourcing is increasing public interest in collections, improving collections management workflows, and becoming easier thanks to several open source software programs. We were pleased to present on it again via a WebWise Reprise webinar.

Care of Plastics - June 13, 2012

More and more, the collections in our institutions are featuring elements of plastic. Varying and temperamental, this material requires special care and storage. Christine Frohnert, Conservator of Contemporary Art, Modern Materials and Media, and Odile Madden, Research Scientist, Museum Conservation Institute, Smithsonian Institution were featured speakers in the live chat webinar event “Care of Plastics”.

Collections Care and Conservation: How to submit an Art Works grant to the National Endowment for the Arts - June 6, 2012

August 9, 2012 is the deadline for applications for conservation projects supported through the Art Works program at the National Endowment for the Arts. The NEA’s guiding principle is embodied in one sentence: “Art works.” “Art works” is a noun; the creation of works of art by artists. “Art works” is a verb; art works on and within people to change and inspire them. “Art works” is a statement; arts jobs are real jobs that are part of the real economy.

Security for Collections: Preventing Loss and Planning for Any Budget - May 23, 2012

From loss prevention to staff training to electronic security, there is a lot to consider when safeguarding your institution’s collections. Stevan Layne, a leading authority on security management, risk assessment, emergency preparedness, violence prevention, and loss prevention spoke live with participants on how to incorporate smart security into their collections care plan – at any budget.

Selecting a Conservator - May 8, 2012

Even the most well-meaning and well-informed personnel cannot and should not perform all the collections care tasks that their artifacts need. Consulting a conservator is good practice when planning any collections care activity but hiring one is particularly recommended when working with specialized collections, delicate conditions, extensive projects, or dangerous materials. How does one find conservators, determine which one to hire, and write a contract for their consultancy?

MayDay! Create a Game Plan - April 18, 2012

Mayday is an international emergency distress signal derived from the French m’aider, which means “help me.” The MayDay effort to prepare for disasters has grown to be a national initiative. On May 1, libraries, museums, archives, historical societies, and preservation organizations across the country will take one simple step to protect the art, artifacts, records, books, and historic sites they hold in trust. Want to participate but not sure what to do?

Outsourcing Digitization - April 4, 2012

Digitization:  we all know it’s the one way to improve preservation and access to collections and bring our institutions into the 21st century, but it is a daunting task.  Choices need to be made on what to digitize, how to digitize, where  to host the digital records, and how to ensure those records are maintained and preserved.  Whether to tackle the effort in-house or to outsource is one of the first decisions to make.  For smaller institutions, the infrastructure required to handle digitization in-house is typically not available, so this webinar explained why you may wish to choose to use a vendor for your project, how to do so, and what to expect from the process.

Introduction to LED Lighting - March 29, 2012

Have you been considering using LED (light emitting diode) bulbs for your exhibits? This rapidly-developing class of environmentally friendly lighting fixtures has generated quite a buzz. The staff at the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont, has been researching and using LED bulbs in some of its galleries for about eight years.

Applying to NEH’s Preservation Assistance Grants - March 12, 2012

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Preservation Assistance Grants help small and mid-sized institutions—such as libraries, museums, historical societies, archival repositories, cultural organizations, town and county records offices, and colleges and universities—improve their ability to preserve and care for their significant humanities collections. These may include special collections of books and journals, archives and manuscripts, prints and photographs, moving images, sound recordings, architectural and cartographic records, decorative and fine art objects, textiles, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, furniture, historical objects, and digital materials.

Choosing the Datalogger That Is Right for You - March 6, 2012

Temperature and humidity have a powerful impact on the condition of the collections in your care. Being aware of the environment in the areas that house your collections is essential to ensuring their long-term health. Dataloggers are battery powered devices equipped with sensors and a microprocessor to monitor and record data such as temperature, relative humidity, light, voltage, etc.

Making the Most of the Storage You Have - March 5, 2012

This webinar explored the realities of using the storage you have to the best benefit of collections.

Objects on the Move! Packing and Transporting Collections - February 8, 2012

This webinar concerned the moving of collections into temporary or new storage, or re-configuring existing storage. Covered topics included estimating time and staff to pack and move items, ordering supplies, arranging transportation, packing properly, and even featuring this behind-the-scenes work in public outreach and education.

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