July 15, 2022

Museum Cleaning

Introduction: To Museum Cleaning Basics

By Helen Alten

An Imaginary Case:

While strolling through the gallery, a volunteer notices a layer of dust scattered over the objects in an 18^th century decorative arts gallery. She knows everyone is busy and decides to tidy up. It is just a little job, and after all, she knows how to clean house, been doing it for years! When she is done, all is spick and span.

She dusts and polishes the furniture. She vacuums the rugs, even damp mops. She polishes the silver, scrubs away some old stains on the carpet. What she doesn’t know is that by polishing the furniture she has damaged the finish, the vacuum has sucked up not only dirt, but fragile fibers in the rug as well, the damp mop brushed a sofa leg and caused the original finish to swell and bubble.

Polishing the silver removed the original patina and exposed the fresh surface to more severe corrosion than before. And, that nasty stain. Well, it so happened that it was important evidence about the carpet’s original use.

Now, I’d like to point out that the preceding anecdote was entirely fictional. I made it up to illustrate just what can happen. Sure, we all know how to clean a house. But cleaning museum collections – even museums themselves – is a different matter. Housecleaning materials and techniques often aren’t compatible with museum collections. And it’s painfully easy to damage a collection item or scrub away or suck up important information about it.

Most common cleaning methods aim to make a room or object look clean. But when it comes to preservation, the primary goal of cleaning is preventing damage. Museum cleaning must be considered a holistic activity that covers every aspect of the institution. No one person is responsible for all of the tasks. Building operations or maintenance should take care of the building, but they need to know specific information such as whether certain cleaning solutions are damaging the collection and what they should not clean without special training.

Cleaning collections is irreversible.

Cleaning museum collections is not as easy as it might seem. To begin with, you must know what to clean – and what not to clean. Aggressive or improper cleaning causes irreversible damage.

Just to make it more complicated, dust and pollution from the modern environment also cause irreversible damage. Yet the public expects cleanliness. A clean, dust-free, airy gallery is more attractive than a dingy one with an inch of dust on the sculpture and cobwebs hanging from the corners of the paintings.

Museum Cleaning Basics is designed to help you solve this dilemma.

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Excerpt from MS217 Museum Cleaning Basics

Join instructor Elizabeth Burton for Museum Cleaning Basics starting August 1, 2022 and learn more about how to clean your museum correctly and safely.

Early Bird Discounts Available for Full Length Courses

An Early Bird Discount is available for anyone who signs up for a full length course from museumclasses.org 30 days prior to the start of that course. 

Sign up for a full length course up to 30 days prior to its start and save $100.00!

For our course list or to sign up: http://www.collectioncare.org/course-list

To take advantage of this discount, you must enter coupon code EARLYBIRD at checkout at collectioncare.org

Earlybird Discount Deadline for September 2022 Courses is August 7, 2022

Earlybird Discount Deadline for October 2022 Courses is September 3, 2022

MS203: Museum Storage Techniques

August 1 to 26, 2022

Instructor: Laura Elliff Cruz

Description:

Is your collection stacked, packed and stressed? Museum Storage Techniques has the solution. The course builds on its sister course, Museum Facilities and Furniture, which looks at the bigger storage environment.. The Museum Storage Techniques course emphasizes the needs of individual objects and collection groupings. Guidelines for specific materials are provided. Participants learn about storage materials and mounts and the most effective use of trays, drawers, shelves and cabinets.

MS217: Museum Cleaning Basics

August 1 to 26, 2022

Instructor: Elizabeth Burton

Description:

Cobwebs in the gallery, dust on the dinosaur skeleton, mice in storage - a dirty museum results in poor visitor experience and poor collections preservation. In a museum, cleanliness really is next to godliness. Museum Cleaning Basics explores everything you need to know about cleaning your collections. Participants learn when to clean - and when not to clean. They also learn how to make those decisions. Topics range from basic housekeeping to specific techniques for specific objects. You will learn why cleaning is important and how to prevent damage when cleaning. We will look at specific techniques that minimize damage while getting the work done. And we will discuss when to call in a specialist, such as a conservator. Students will create a housekeeping manual for their institution.

MS 262: Moving Collections

August 22 to September 19, 2022  NEW DATES

Instructor: Stefani Pendergast

Description:

Moving collections is a daunting task. Fragile items need special packing and care to be safely transported. Large, heavy or awkward items like dinosaurs and oversized sculptures require special equipment and support from local authorities. How do you design your project to meet the budget and timing demands of your administration? Are your collections over-packed in acidic boxes and does your move includes improving their storage and care? Collections often take up more room when they are stored properly. How do you determine your needed storage space when the collection is decompressed? Moving Collections provides an overview of how to plan and manage a move to avoid the many pitfalls. The course includes: defining your project, developing a Request for Proposal (RFP), developing a work plan, staffing, and packing protocols. Whether you are moving part of the collection within your building or moving the entire collection to another facility, Moving Collections provides a blueprint for you to follow.

MS266: Legal Issues in Collections Management

August 1 to 26, 2022  NEW DATES

Instructor: Sarah Kapellusch

Description:

In this course we will examine the most significant laws and regulations that affect collections management, including the legal organization of museums, responsibilities of governing boards, collections care, loans and gifts, international regulations, intellectual property, cultural appropriation, and freedom of expression.

September Courses

MS 014: Education Collections

September 12 to 16, 2022 

Instructor: Karin Hostetter

Description:

What do you do with collection objects that no longer belong in the scientific collection but are too good to throw out? What do you do with the donations that just don't quite 'fit?' Use them in education collections. Their value as educational objects for the public is immeasurable.

MS 215: Care of Archaeological Artifacts from the Field to the Lab

September 6 to October 3, 2022 

Instructor: Diana Komejan

Description:

Archaeological finds come out of the ground fragile - and they often stay that way. Yet archaeologists and museum professionals have few clear guidelines for handling, moving, storing and displaying such materials. Participants in Care of Archaeological Artifacts From the Field to the Lab learn techniques for safely lifting and packing artifacts, safe transportation and temporary and permanent storage. The course also covers a broad range of excavation environments, including the Arctic, wet sites, tropical and temperate. Though Care of Archaeological Artifacts is not intended to train archaeological conservators, it is designed to help participants understand what can and can't be done to save the artifacts they unearth.

MS227: Care of Paintings

September 6 to October 3, 2022  

Instructor: Elizabeth Burton

Description:

Caring for paintings requires some knowledge of the component structure of paintings and the reaction of those components to both natural and man-made environments. This course looks at the painting structure, the effects of damaging environments, and proposes simple steps for basic care. Topics include the structure of paintings, proper condition reporting with standard damage vocabulary, and basic care and handling including environments, storage, and transport. The course is intended to help those entrusted with the care of paintings in any environment.

MS 268: Creating Interpretive Gallery Tours

September 6 to October 3, 2022

Instructor: John Veverka

Description:

There is more to a guided tour than information – you also need inspiration. This course will help curators teach and coach their docents and volunteers to create interpretive stories and experiences that will help make their presentations “come to life” for their visitors.

This training course will help curators help prepare their docents for tours that:

1. Have an interpretive theme.

2. Have accomplishable objectives.

3. Has about 7 tour stops, each of which illustrate the main interpretive theme.

4. Use interpretive communications structure for each stop (provoke, relate and reveal).

5. Use the techniques of tangibles and intangibles in their presentation.

6. Encourage the use of multiple senses to relate to visitors.

7. Have a provocative introduction and then ending conclusion summary for the tour.

8. Have as much "inspiration" as "information".

9. Leave the visitors asking for more (when's your next tour?).

MS303: Found in Collections: Orphans, Old Loans and Abandoned Property

September 6 to October 3, 2022 

Instructor: Sarah Kapellusch

Description:

Every museum has a few stray items. Some lost tags long ago. Others turn up as surprises during inventories. A few are all that remain from long-ago exhibits. While you'll want to keep some, others may be deteriorating. Even worse, some pose significant hazards for staff and the rest of the collection. All raise legal and professional questions. How do you deal with objects that have no records? Or loans from unidentified or deceased lenders? Found in the Collection addresses how to identify abandoned objects and old loans. It further covers the application of state laws and rules for identifying owners or establishing ownership.

October Courses

MS 106: Exhibit Fundamentals: Ideas to Installation

October 3 to November 11, 2022  

Instructor: Karin Hostetter

Description:

Nearly every museum develops exhibits, but how can we improve communication with visitors while taking care of our objects? Exhibit Fundamentals explores exhibits from idea to final installation in a variety of settings. Topics include exhibit theory, the role of the museum's mission, creating a timeline, accessibility and script writing. Also covered are design elements, installation techniques, object safety and security, visitor safety and evaluations. Each student develops an exhibit plan for his or her museum.

MS204: Materials for Storage and Display

October 3 to 28, 2022    

Instructor: Laura Elliff Cruz

Description:

One of the great benefits of the 21st century is the abundance of materials for storing and displaying collections. Materials for Storage and Display covers this vast array in detail. Lectures and handouts separate materials by properties: rigid, padding, barrier and attachments. Slide shows illustrate the use of each. The course emphasizes acid-free materials and how to retrofit less appropriate materials. Materials for Storage and Display keeps current with the latest materials available for preservation. Using material testing as a decision making tool is covered.

MS 234: Archives Management

October 3 to 28, 2022  NEW DATES

Instructor: Jennifer Edwards

Description:

Archives include flat paper, photographs, bound pamphlets, books, small 3-dimensional objects, and magnetic media. The Archives Management course covers an introduction to the materials found in archives and typical use of these materials including use patterns, retrieval needs, finding aids, handling and exhibition. The last half of the course details optimum storage options for archival materials. Storage includes furniture, storage techniques, standardized and specialized housing such as folders and boxes and custom-made housings.