One of our main areas of expertise at Preservation Australia is that of Disaster Preparedness and all its associated areas. A long time ago (!) Kay Söderlund authored “ Be Prepared: Guidelines To Writing a Disaster Preparedness Plan for Small Museums” and we have been working with museums and other organisations to develop their own Disaster Preparedness Plans ever since. The information contained within a disaster plan is also very useful for efficient collection management. We also offer training in this area.
Planning
Developing a Disaster Preparedness Plan is a vital step to ensuring the safety of your collection. The plan should be an easy to use document that provides the critical steps and information needed to guide you when a disaster situation arises. At Preservation Australia we have the experience and expertise to help you collect the necessary information to write your plan, and to ensure that it has everything you need.
Or alternatively we can come to you and work with you in-house
Preparing an effective plan requires staff time and resources and sometimes this can be difficult to facilitate on your own.
We are here to help – and it is another chance to travel!
Disaster Assistance
If the worst happens and you find yourself trying to deal with a disaster…our conservators at Preservation Australia are ready to assist you.
Have you been flooded by storm waters, had a leaking pipe, or another water related event that has wet your precious objects or collection?
Have there been bushfires in your region or has a house fire left your significant objects damaged by soot, smoke or even burnt?
We can advise you over the phone as to the best immediate response, and come to you if practical.
We can assist in the salvage, recovery and treatment of your objects.
Speed is of the essence here – so make sure you contact us immediately at the studio (02 9568 4841), or on 0407 927 274 (Kay Söderlund) out of hours. We are ready to help at any time.
Please look at our “First steps after a disaster” to advise you in handling and first-aid of objects.
Disaster Preparedness Workshops
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.
