Collections in storage can be exposed to significant risks of damage. Although museum storage is at the heart of a museum’s mission, surprisingly little attention is being paid to collections in storage in many museums of the world.

Numerous factors threaten objects in storage: poor tracking, theft or loss, damages due to overcrowding, inappropriate supports or fixtures, absence of environmental monitoring and/or control, building issues, etc. Such situations cause the objects to deteriorate rapidly but museum staff doesn’t know how to deal with it.

Thus, one of the greatest challenges faced by museums is implementing strategies for the effective care, management and tracking of collections in storage.

Objectives:

• Improve conditions of collections in storage to ensure their preservation and use
• Train museum professionals in storage management, reorganization and upgrading

Activities: see ICCROM’s web page for activities concerning storage re-organization Outcomes:

• A team of 8-10 trainers/facilitators in the area of Collections storage management and preventive conservation
• Measurable improvements in storage areas of museums in two different countries, selected as pilot projects
• A web-resource including case-studies, methodologies and teaching and learning tools, accessible to the wider museum network

Reports and materials:

• Bibliography on storage re-organization
• Presentation of the collection storage task force
• Evaluation meeting of the storage task force
• Museum storage assessment tool
• Pilot project proposal for the creation of a storage area at the Museo Historico Provincial de Corrientes (Spanish)
• Draft methodology and didactic tool for re-organizing museum storage

Other key areas of the partnership: 

• Teamwork for Integrated Emergency Management
• Documentation of museum collections
• Risk and deterioration assessment for preventive conservation

For more information on the UNESCO-ICCROM Partnership for the Preventive Conservation of Museum Collections in Developing Countries (2007-2010), please contact Nao Hayashi, UNESCO Section of Museums and Cultural Objects.

Start Date: 01-01-2007   End Date: 31-12-2010