Museums & Galleries Qld

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M&GSQ’s North Burnett Workshop on Preventive Conservation was presented by Museum Development Officer, Lydia Egunnike in Gayndah on Saturday 29 June. Topics included:

• Preservation planning
• Identifying and preventing deterioration and damage: Chemical and physical structure of objects; External and internal environmental factors; Biological factors (including use of Integrated Pest Management); Collection handling and use.
• Storage furniture and object enclosure selection: selecting materials and design; Simple DIY enclosures.
• Cleaning techniques.

Here’s my top tips on preserving collections from learning at the workshop:

1. Create a stable environment (locate collections away from sources of light, heat, moisture & air pollutants, allow for good air movement, uncluttered storage and display, use object enclosures and supports made from non-reactive materials and designed to avoid damage to the objects, monitor collections, use integrated pest management).
2. Dust is your enemy; implement a regular cleaning regime for the buildings and collections.
3. Use blunder traps for crawling pests.
4. If you find collection items infested with bugs or beetles, check with a conservator for best treatment eg paper based collections, textiles without wood or glass can be double bagged and put in a freezer to kill the pests; wood and glass objects can be given low oxygen treatments. For more information see http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/resources/preserving-collections/salvage_damaged_collections
5.  Use enclosures made of non-reactive materials to store collections-see guides to making an archival box and flap enclosures http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/resources/preserving-collections
6. Nitrile gloves may be better than cotton for handling collections.
7. Use a soft brush or vacuum cleaner with micro attachments for cleaning paper, textiles; use air puffer for gentle cleaning of photographs; wash glass and ceramics with deionised or distilled water, use a soft brush and don’t wear gloves.

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M&GSQ was awarded a federal Community Heritage Grant to conduct three workshops in the Burnett Region on Collection Management, Disaster Preparedness and Recovery and Preventive Conservation.    North Burnett Regional Council also generously supported the workshop venue at the Gayndah Arts and Cultural Centre, 34 Meson Street, Gayndah.

Community Heritage Grants are jointly funded and supported by the National Library of Australia, the Department of Regional Australia, Local government, Arts and Sport; the National Archives of Australia, the National Film and Sound Archive and the National Museum of Australia.