Safe storage for collections is one of the primary goals of preventive care for collecting institutions, and individuals charged with collections care and cultural institutions often face challenges in designing storage and support systems for individual items or collections. Collecting institutions report damage from handling and improper storage or enclosures as significant preservation problems, supported by the Heritage Health Index finding that only 11% of all institutions had adequate storage facilities. There are few established venues for sharing information about the fabrication of supports, containers or systems that provide options for storage and support solutions.
A successful storage solution is the result of numerous choices regarding materials, techniques, time and skill. STASH (Storage Techniques for Art, Science and History collections), a new web based resource housed on Cool, sponsored by AIC and funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation is based on the understanding that the best ideas for safe and sustainable storage and support come from collaborative solutions. This project was precipitated by the need to find a new way to disseminate the older but highly valuable text, Storage of Natural History Collections: Ideas and Practical Solutions, originally published by the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), and is designed to gather, organize and solicit new storage ideas. The 42nd annual AIC Meeting on sustainable choices in collections care provides a forum for continued discussion about these topics.
The session will utilize a lightening round or “Tips” session format as well as guided, audience participatory discussion. Carefully selected short presentations will be given in a format that closely aligns with web site entries. These will be followed by small group discussions where individuals from different specialties have the opportunity to talk about the presentations, modifications, materials choice as well as creative ways to carry out these projects. The objective is to help make these solutions more sustainable by evaluating project organization, materials and construction. Members of AIC have experience with a wide range of collections, collectors and institutions, and combining short presentations with shared discussion about storage solution projects within the context of the STASH website will provide the attendees with the opportunity to truly engage in the kind of interdisciplinary conversation that often results in sustainable and conscientious choices.
During this session, participants will have the opportunity to share new solutions, ideas and materials and to develop sustainable and more effective solutions to collections care. The website project is interdisciplinary; the editorial board is composed of representatives from a wide range of allied organizations, and this session is planned to span the range of specialty groups within AIC.
