Natural History Museum- a preservation policy

Here are some notes from class discussion about preservation strategies in different institutions.
Our group- Helen, Kathy and Sonya- discussed possible points for a preservation strategy at a Natural History Museum.

1) Re-housing
Proper housing for collections is very important because it facilitates better access practices. If the artifacts are well-labeled and housed in secure trays with cavity cuts or in zip-locked plastic bags, researchers would have an easy time identifying which objects they want to look at will replace the objects into their specific cavity cut or container, when they are finished.

2) Access and Education
Only staff members should take out trays or boxes. Researchers should receive a short tutorial in handling objects before allowed to proceed with their work. Gloves should be provided. Some objects in natural history collections have a risk of toxicity associated with them. These objects include taxidermy and artifacts treated with pesticides during their institutional life. Artifacts suspected of toxicity should be clearly labeled and handled with gloves and possibly a mask. Staff and researchers should be alerted to the health risks involved in interacting with these artifacts.

3) Outreach
The museum should encourage students from relevant departments to volunteer in order to gain practical experience handling, organizing and preserving artifacts. Some departments that a natural history museum could advertise itself to are Museum Studies, Science, Archaeology/Anthropology and Classics. Many rehousing projects can be greatly aided with the involvement of student volunteers. It is a hands-on educational opportunity for the students and a chance to cut costs for the museum institution.

4) New Collections.
A major source of new collection material bringing back artifacts from the field during excavation projects. Some requirements should be instituted for the condition of these incoming collections. The artifacts should be clearly labeled so that they might be cataloged in a timely manner. The artifacts should not contain biological growth or pests. The artifacts should be cleaned in the gentlest possible way.