We understand the need to maintain our significant assets such as our house, car, children – and our collections require the same attention. There are several main ‘agents of deterioration’ that can have a major negative impact on the health of your collection –  inappropriate light levels, unstable temperature and relative humidity, mould and pests, poor storage materials and conditions are some examples.

Preservation Australia will work with you to assess your entire collection – a condition assessment – or advise on your area of concern such as appropriate lighting or a mould outbreak.

We offer specialised services in:

• Condition Assessments – looks at the overall condition of the collection along with storage and display environments. Find out more.
• Environmental Assessments – to ensure a stable temperature and relative humidity
• Lighting – to determine appropriate light levels, and minimise harmful radiation such as ultra violet
• Pest Management – speaks for itself!
• Mould – responding to an outbreak, treating affected collection materials and establishing the best environment.
• Storage – best materials and method of access
• Conservation Cleaning – keeping damaging dust and pollutants at bay

A Preservation Needs Assessment (aka PNA, Condition Assessment; Conservation Survey) essentially looks at everything that can impact on the preservation of a collection, and prioritises actions to reduce those impacts. This generally results in a Preservation Plan or Program that  allows an organisation to preserve their collection within the resources available to them. A PNA takes conservation out of the ‘too hard’ basket.

The value of a good PNA is reflected in the success of the Community Heritage Grant Program administered from the National Library of Australia. This program has been running for many years and offers funding for organisations to engage conservators to carry out PNA’s for their collections.

The aim of a PNA is to look at the physical condition of a collection, the suitability of current housing and storage facilities and to make recommendations for the development of a conservation program”>.” National Library of Australia Community Heritage Grant program.

At Preservation Australia, both Kay and Tegan undertake the PNA’s depending on the collection type. We both thoroughly enjoy meeting the custodians of collections around Australia, discussing the variety of collection dilemmas and then putting together a comprehensive report and preservation plan.

We have been conducting PNA’s since the early 1990’s and were both part of the AICCM team that developed the Preservation Needs Assessment template. We have a wealth of experience in producing useful reports that comply with the requirements of the Community Heritage Grant program.

We are happy to say that many of our reports support the museum’s subsequent successful application for further funding from the National Library for conservation requirements such as training, conservation treatment, and storage material for their collections. Some successful recipients of further funding are:

• Port Macquarie Museum – received funding for conservation treatment
• Coonamble Council received funding for storage materials for their negative collection
• Singleton Library and Local History received funding for storage materials and conservation treatment
• National Institute for Dramatic Arts (NIDA) received funding for training workshops.

Of course, we can conduct a Preservation Needs Assessment for any museum, organisation or collection outside of the Community Heritage Grant program. Please contact Preservation Australia to discuss options and receive a quotation.

A risk assessment is the identification and consideration of different risks and their impact on collections. The assessment will provide the information to assist you in managing those risks, by assigning resources to reduce or even remove the risk and therefore minimize the impact (of the event- remove). It will also highlight which risks you need to prepare for, and the likelihood of them occurring.

Undertaking a risk assessment is also a useful thing (to do- remove) for general collection management as it highlights areas that need attention. We can carry out the assessment of  your collection or we can train you and your team in understanding common risks (agents of deterioration) and their impact on collection material. This will highlight the vulnerabilities of your collection. Training your team in risk assessment is advantageous to your museum, business or organisation. Understanding and implementing risk assessment practices can reduce your insurance premiums and increase the effectiveness of other operational areas – such as building maintenance.

Just because  your collection of old love letters has survived to date in a shoe box under the bed, doesn’t mean that this is the best method for long-term preservation.

How any collection is stored and accessed is vital for its long-term preservation. At Preservation Australia we work with you to determine the best archival storage options for your collection – considering storage materials,  storage furniture and access – along with assessing whether any part of the collection requires conservation treatment.

Collection re-housing can be as small as a shoebox full of old letters, postcards and photographs or as large as an historic library collection of rare books. Storing your objects in archival material is an important step in preserving them for future generations.

Some rehousing projects that we have been involved with include

• Veech Library – rehousing of historic books
• Family history rehousing

This is one of our favourite things that we do. We offer training in many areas of conservation, but particularly in Disaster Preparedness. Not only do we run training workshops in developing your plan, but we also hold workshops to work through different disaster scenarios and practice recovery procedures. It is important to have regular training sessions to keep your plan current and to become proficient at the various recovery procedures identified as being relevant to your collection and identified risks.

Exhibitions are a great way to showcase your collection to the community, whether it is collection material from your stores or a visiting travelling exhibition it is important to ensure that you provide the right environment.

Preservation Australia can assist your organisation in many aspects of exhibition preparation; such as

• Logistics, transport and crating
• Object support, display case specifications
• Condition assessment, object preparation and conservation treatment
• Environmental recommendations including lighting, micro climates and passive climate control
• Risk assessments specifically related to display and exhibitions.

Some exhibition questions to consider:

• Exhibition duration – can all objects remain on display for the length of the exhibition?
• What type of materials are the display cases made from?
• Is the exhibition space going to be repainted?
• How are paintings attached to the wall?
• Are the objects ready for display?

Please contact us for assistance with your next exhibition.

As with many good things in life it is sometimes difficult to find the funding for conservation projects – particularly for large collections. What resources will be needed? How long will the project take? A conservation business case development aims to answer all these questions through the preparation of appropriate sampling techniques, conservation condition categories and priorities, along with outlining the best preservation options for the collection. Of course the technique can also be applied to small collections.

A good business case that determines the condition of the collection, the priorities and timing for conservation work, and the budget required, will go a long way to securing appropriate support and funding.

At Preservation Australia we apply our conservation expertise, along with our practical approach to preservation, to deliver useful, succinct and clear business case documents.