Preserve Collections

| “Stewardship Notes” | General Guidance | Collections Care & Handling | Collections Disaster Assistance | Other Resources |

Stewardship Notes

“Stewardship Notes” are learning resources developed especially for History Trust members.

• Arranging and Describing Archival Collections - The focus of this piece is physical archival records of enduring value.
• Accessioning and Cataloging Objects - One important topic is how museum cataloging differs from library cataloging (or indexing).
• Differences Between Archives, Libraries, and Museums - What’s the difference between libraries, museums, and archives anyway?

NOTE: Learning resources are currently being developed.

General Guidance

• Preservation Leaflets ⇗ from Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) are a popular and authoritative resource on a variety of collections preservation topics (https://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/preservation-leaflets/overview).
• Dear Donia ⇗ presents questions and answers about “keepsakes and treasures,” associated with Preservation Week (http://www.ala.org/alcts/preservationweek/advice).
• Collections Management ⇗ from the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) is a great resource for all related topcis. It includes info on things like collections documentation standards, collections management systems, digitization, etc. And, access to pretty much everything on this site is free (https://www.canada.ca/en/services/culture/history-heritage/museology-conservation/collections-management.html ).
• Active Collections ⇗ is a look at what the future of museum collections might be like, online (http://www.activecollections.org/ ) or the book Active Collections edited by Elizabeth Wood, Rainey Tisdale, and Trevor Jones.
• The Small Museums Cataloguing Manual ⇗ (PDF) from Museums Australia (Victoria) is consistent with U.S. practices and standards for cataloging and managing museum collections. It also includes some useful information on physical care and marking collections (https://amagavic.org.au/assets/Small_Museums_Cataloguing_Manual_4th.pdf).
• Society of American Archivists ⇗ is an incredible resource!
• Hunter, Gregory S., 2020. Developing and Maintaining Practical Archives (Third Edition) from the American Library Association is a practical guide for arranging and describing collections that is available on MaineCat ⇗ (check with your local Maine library) or for purchase through the ALA Store ⇗.

Collections Care & Handling

• Winterthur Care in Handling Series
  • Introduction ⇗ (VIDEO) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA4hXq2cpwE).
  • Textiles ⇗ (VIDEO) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNy6g9K1NAo).
  • Paper ⇗ (VIDEO) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEIEPuV_c10).
  • Books ⇗ (VIDEO) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54DOw-PkOKI).
  • Paintings ⇗ (VIDEO) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQS9f6YcaF8).
• Library Collections Care ⇗ (VIDEO) from the Met (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UnXsWudagQ)
• Photo Conservation ⇗ by Debra Hess Norris at TEDxUniversityofDelaware (VIDEO) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSw0PCwe1oE).
• Graphics Atlas ⇗, a print and photograph identification resource (http://www.graphicsatlas.org).
• Ritzenthaler, Mary Lynn, Diane Vogt-O’Connor, ed. 2006. Photographs: archival care and management. Chicago: Society of American Archivists.
• Lowell, Waverly B. and Tawny Ryan Nelb. 2006. Architectural records : managing design and construction records. Chicago: Society of American Archivists. SURFACE 2011-10-28T07:00:00Z.
• Price, Lois O. 2011. Line, Shade & Shadow: Fabrication and Preservation of Architectural Drawings.
• Simmons, John E., 2017. Things Great and Small: Collections Management Policies (2nd edition). American Alliance of Museums Press.
• James B. and Elizabeth E. Merritt, ed. 2004. The AAM Guide to Collections Planning. American Alliance of Museums Press.
• Catlin-Legutko, Cinnamon, and Stacy Klingler. 2012. The small museum toolkit. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press.
  • Collections Management Policy chapter in Small Museum Toolkit by Julia Clark (Julia is happy to share a copy with HT members).
  • Stewardship: Collections and Historic Preservation in Small Museum Toolkit.

Collections Disaster Assistance

• Disaster & Emergency Assistance ⇗ lists phone numbers and online resources compiled by Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) to help care for collections in an emergency (https://www.nedcc.org/free-resources/disaster-assistance/emergency-phone-assistance).
• Disaster Planning ⇗ resources from Maine Cultural Emergency Coalition (http://cercmaine.org).

Other Resources

• Collaborate – Links about working together.
• Preserve Collections – Links and other resources recommended by the History Trust collections committee.
• Share Collections – Help using Digital Archive and making historical collections available to all.
• All learning posts: “Here’s How,” “Archivist Notes,” “Stewardship Notes,” and “Quiz Yourself”.