Environmental conditions for the safeguarding of collections: Future trends

This paper sets out the role of the International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC) in facilitating the current international debate on the selection of appropriate environmental conditions for collections to optimise their future condition while minimising energy consumption. It looks back 35 years to when Garry Thomson first published The Museum Environment and forward 35 years to demonstrate how IIC can care for the future as well as care for the past. It asks whether we are posing the right questions in this debate, draws attention to leadership in the cultural sector, and suggests that more conservation professionals should aspire to leadership positions directing museums and heritage organisations.     

Overview of Preventive Conservation Research Work on Seismic Mitigation and Subway Vibration Control in Chengdu Museum of China

ABSTRACT

The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake brought numerous issues to the attention of researchers of seismic mitigation in Chinese museums. After the Wenchuan earthquake, the structural design team of Chengdu Museum conducted a series of research projects on seismic mitigation and subway vibration control design of buildings. These projects included the following topics: optimization of design, numerical simulation of seismic performance, analysis of key technologies for the base isolation structure, in-depth studies on structural vibrations caused by the nearby subway, and proposals for reducing structural vibrations. In 2015, after the superstructure of Chengdu Museum was completed, conservators evaluated the safety of permanent exhibitions under earthquake conditions. Seismic protection devices were installed on the showcases according to the preventive conservation requirements for museum collections. Reinforced measures were used for museum collections according to the methods suggested in the document ‘Specification for seismic protection of museum collection’ (WW/T 0069-2015). The conservators also built a systematic platform for earthquake monitoring for museum collections. Preventive conservation studies on seismic protection and subway vibration control in Chengdu Museum are summarized and forecasted.     

浅谈博物馆在城市文化中的作用和地位

随着我国社会经济的迅速发展,博物馆在城市文化中的地位和作用日益突出。博物馆是重要的社会信息资源;是城市的文化名片;在社区生活中发挥着重要的作用;是新时期的爱国主义教育基地。     

Curation,conservation, and the artist in Silent Explosion: Ivor Davies and Destruction in Art

This paper examines the preservation and curatorial approaches explored for the exhibition Silent Explosion: Ivor Davies and Destruction in Art at Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales (November 2015–March 2016). The collaboration between the artist, curator/researcher, and conservators is considered and the evolving and flexible way in which transient pieces were presented/re-presented is described. The paper offers a case study in the context of this exhibition and argues that regardless of whether it is in traditional media (such as painting) or as time-based media (unstable and open to interpretation), Davies' work challenges a perception of artworks as finished, single-authored objects.     

Experimental and Numerical Analysis of a Novel Display Case Design: Case Study of the Renovated Anne Frank House

ABSTRACT

Many museums are housed in historic buildings, sometimes the building itself is part of the museum collection. Creating a stable environment by providing a nearly constant temperature and relative humidity at correct levels decreases the risk of object degradation. Maintaining this steady indoor environment, however, increases energy consumption and risks to the historic building. Museum display cases offer a solution to the mitigation of risks to which valuable objects may be subjected by providing an extra layer of protection to indoor climate fluctuations. The Anne Frank House is a historic house museum located in Amsterdam. The museum has undergone several renovations in the last years to deal with an increase in the number of visitors to over 1.2 million a year. The original diaries and other documents of Anne Frank are permanently on display in the Anne Frank House. With the recent refurbishment the possibility arose to design a new state-of-the-art display case. This study presents the results of the experimental research related to the design, performed in-situ. The temperature and relative humidity in the new exhibition space and inside the new display cases were monitored to gain insight into the hygrothermal behavior of these controlled environments. A complementary numerical study was performed to investigate effects of dynamic climate control of the exhibition gallery and climate conditions in the display case under various circumstances. Four main conclusions are presented in this paper. The investigated display case design is able to provide a stable relative humidity environment by means of silica gel, while using an active box-in-box climate control system to create stable temperature conditions. The inner case temperature depends on the temperature supplied by the display case air handling unit. Protocols must be in place in case of malfunction or failure of the climate control system of the display case. The air handling unit of the case needs to be shut off to create a passive environment for the objects on display until necessary actions are taken. Exhibition gallery set points can be less stringent when susceptible museum objects are on display in the display case. The environments are separated and provide an opportunity for energy saving set point strategies. The last conclusion drawn is that the numerical study provides valuable insight into imposing dynamic control of set points for temperature and relative humidity in the exhibition gallery and the effect on the display case environment.     

充分发挥水土保持期刊在我国西部大开发中的作用

分析水土保持期刊在我国西部大开发中的作用.介绍<水土保持学报><水土保持通报><水土保持研究>为西北大开发服务的做法和体会.     

中国大陆海外华人研究文献(1994—2001年)的分析与评介

以中国大陆三大学术期刊全文数据库为调查对象 ,采用文献计量学的方法 ,对 1994年—2 0 0 1年期间中国大陆海外华人研究文献的发文数量、研究领域、主题分布、文献源、活跃作者群及载文地区分布等进行研究分析 ,从文献学的角度对中国大陆海外华人研究的基本现状、学术方向和存在问题进行一次较为全面的梳理。     

网络环境下预防医学专业图书馆信息资源建设和信息服务

我国预防医学专业图书馆馆藏资源严重不足，工作方式落后，信息资源的开发利用和信息服务缺乏规范和保障，严重制约了我国预防医学专业图书馆的信息资源建设，在网络化环境下，预防医学专业图书馆信息服务的特点是服务对象社会化，内容多样化和方式现代化，因此，预防医学专业图书馆的工作重点是信息资源建设和深化信息服务。     

网络环境下高校图书馆与信息素质教育

文章从信息素质概念出发分析大学生信息素质现状,提出网络环境下高校图书馆如何利用自身优势开展信息素质教育.     

Assessment of indoor air quality and the risk of damage to cultural heritage objects using MEMORI® dosimetry

Air pollution is one of the environmental influences that degrade cultural heritage objects situated indoors. Other essential influences, such as temperature, relative humidity, and light are often well monitored. The presence of air pollutants is less often measured or included in risk assessment. The MEMORI^® technology presented in this paper was developed as a tool for easy measurement and assessment of the general risk of degradation of heritage objects situated indoors due to indoor exposure to air pollutants. MEMORI dosimetry was performed in locations belonging to English Heritage and Tate (both located in London) and the National Archives of Norway in Oslo, to assess air quality. The related damage risk for collection objects and the protection offered by display and storage designs was assessed. A high level of acidic effect was observed inside a number of showcases, and a high level of oxidizing effect was observed in some room locations. Relatively simple mitigation measures, such as constructing tightly sealed showcases using low emitting materials, installing active carbon absorbing media inside a ‘microclimate’ frame, and using cardboard storage boxes for paper, significantly improved air quality. Overall, implementation of such measures is likely to improve the preservation of objects and reduce conservation costs.     

The Conservation of Plaster Casts in the Nineteenth Century

ABSTRACT

Plaster casts of ancient sculpture were widely collected by universities and museums through the nineteenth century. One of the intended functions of these casts was to preserve accurate 3D records of the sculptures, many of which were in remote locations around the world, often vulnerable to damage from weathering and vandalism. Gypsum plaster makes excellent casts, capturing fine surface details; however, it is also soft, porous, and easily damaged. This paper draws upon historical archives and patents to reveal the considerable efforts made during this period to create new techniques, recipes, and equipment to try to protect the casts. Case studies are selected primarily from the collection of casts put together by Walter Copland Perry in the 1880s, originally for the South Kensington Museum but transferred in 1907 to the British Museum. Samples were taken from a number of these casts and examined using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy. These results, combined with archival evidence, demonstrate that protective coatings were carefully applied in thin coatings to many of the casts. Barium appears to have played an important part in these protective treatments and further testing is recommended to evaluate the precise nature of its role. These treatments successfully protected the delicate surfaces of the casts for many years. However, later neglect means that these casts now suffer from a range of other threats to their condition.     

网络环境下我国期刊管理理论研究发展趋势

网络环境下，我国期刊管理理论研究呈现出许多新趋势。本从其基础理论研究及一般理论研究两方面进行探讨。     

Overcoming Obstacles to Preventive Conservation Projects in Italy: With a Case Study of the Savoy Carriage Collection of the Presidency of the Republic

ABSTRACT

Working on preventive conservation in Italy is difficult but not impossible. After small successes and setbacks convincing museums to adopt elements of preventive conservation in the 1990s, the first author (Rossi Doria) was contracted for 15 years to preserve the historic carriages and associated objects of the Presidency of the Republic of Italy. This required patience to overcome or circumvent obstacles such as an inflexible bureaucracy and the absence of any formal recognition of preventive conservation within the educational and contractual systems for heritage conservation. The key factors in his success were the support of the curators, the financial and planning autonomy of the Presidency, and the obvious need for conservation and preservation of these elegant and complex objects. The program began in 2001 with the recovery of the forgotten collection from inappropriate storage in several locations. The entire collection was surveyed and recorded, not only the carriages but also thousands of harnesses, saddles, clothing, fabrics, weapons and memorabilia. Multiple preventive and interventive actions were undertaken, such as pest eradication for all sensitive materials, environmental surveys, and everyday maintenance, as well as complex treatments for the ornate carriages. Analysis by country of published articles on preventive conservation and of IIC membership both confirm that the topic is not as well established in Italy as in many other countries. Some reasons and solutions are proposed.     

对网络环境下重塑图书馆形象的思考

文章阐述了网络环境下重塑图书馆形象的意义、图书馆各类形象之间的关系及应着重塑造的图书馆形象,并就如何塑造图书馆形象进行了探讨.