Enhancing Research Impact in Heritage Conservation

This paper examines how research impact is defined, measured, and generated – with a view to understanding how it can be enhanced within heritage conservation. It examines what is meant by ‘impact’ and how it can be promoted within heritage science through effective inter-disciplinary collaboration. Following a general examination of the current discourse concerning research impact, the study examined: (i) active research networks within heritage science; (ii) research planning and evaluation practices within heritage science; and (iii) the experiences of users (i.e. conservators and other heritage professionals) within research collaborations. Terminologies surrounding the notion of impact and the various phases of the research process were reviewed – from the initial identification of a knowledge gap to the eventual application of new findings in practice. Next, the reach and diversity of research collaborations (as identified through publication co-authorship) were studied to characterise the inter-disciplinary nature of heritage science and its connectedness to users. Findings showed substantial growth in international research collaborations over recent years, predominantly involving academic- and research-oriented institutions – although the engagement of heritage institutions has proportionally decreased. In addition, a worldwide survey of institutional planning and evaluation practices revealed a general reliance on processes driven by the interests of researchers – the systematic consideration of stakeholder opinion and evaluation of research outcomes being less common. Finally, a series of semi-structured interviews with senior heritage professionals explored their experience of collaborative research. The results identified key areas where strategic support is needed to promote user participation and enhance impact. These include training for research readiness, engagement, and impact for both researchers and users; better methods for needs and outcome assessment; affordable open access options and greater diversity of knowledge exchange opportunities. Finally, the need for ethical guidelines for responsible research, and greater emphasis on non-academic impact within research rating systems are discussed.     

Balancing Significance and Maintaining ‘Sense of Place’ in the Sustainable Display of Tudor Tapestries in the Great Hall,Hampton Court Palace

ABSTRACT

Hampton Court Palace’s Great Hall located in Surrey, UK, is a magnificent late medieval hall. Its large hammer-beam roof is sumptuously decorated while its walls for the past century have been rehung with Henry VIII’s five-hundred-year-old tapestries illustrating The Story of Abraham, and one of the most internationally significant sets of sixteenth-century tapestries, commissioned for the same hall. This paper presents research which began in 2007, exploring conservation solutions based on evidence-based decision-making, through to successful implementation of measures that conserve these invaluable tapestries without damaging the aesthetic or physical integrity of the Great Hall. The impacts of environmental exposure conditions mapped in detail were assessed to evaluate risk for each tapestry. Next, feasibility studies identified the effectiveness of a range of potential mitigating options to address each local risk, now being incrementally implemented over many years. The research has enabled us to develop, test and deliver permanent interventions that have – when considered together as a holistic management regime – allowed the tapestries to remain in situ. These interventions will continue to be monitored and evaluated for at least a further year to confirm their effectiveness.     

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.     

Access and Conservation at Pompeii: Strategies for Sustainable Co-existence

ABSTRACT

The extraordinary surviving paintings and floor surfaces at Pompeii are subjected daily to environmental degradation and anthropic pressure. In 2017, the ancient city was visited by 3,400,000 tourists – almost 1,000,000 more than a mere 5?years earlier. This figure looks set to increase, as a result of the revival that the site has undergone in recent years, thanks to generous funding from the European Union and the work of the Great Pompeii Project, which has enabled the reopening of a large number of domestic properties and indeed entire urban quarters which had been closed for decades. However, the increase in site usage necessitates more attention to be paid to conservation. Preventive conservation and planned maintenance, overseen by the Great Pompeii Project, represent the first response. It is conducted by a multi-disciplinary team of archaeologists, architects, conservators and specialists who are present on the site every day, responsible for the management of emergencies, and policy planning through organisation, study, application and evaluation of the consequences. Due to increased tourist numbers, the monitoring team covers every single accessible building, to study the dynamics of visitor flow, and to identify possible interventions to mitigate the effects of anthropic pressure.     

Building an Environmentally Sustainable San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

ABSTRACT

In June 2016, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) completed a three-year expansion project that more than doubled its overall size. The SFMOMA expansion complies with one of the most rigorous sustainable building requirements in the USA, the City of San Francisco’s Green Building Ordinance. The ordinance requires that the new addition achieve at least Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold certification and an energy reduction of 15% or better over California’s energy code. The new SFMOMA thus balances its commitment to preserve works in the collection with the demand to maximize energy efficiency and minimize its carbon footprint. Cross-disciplinary expert teams – including curators, conservators, architects, engineers, and sustainability consultants – were integral to a project design process that affirmed the museum’s promise to its collection while also realizing its broader vision to enhance visitor experience and public access and they continue to be essential to evaluating these design outcomes.     

Moving or Leaving

Abstract

Difficult decisions about the collection had to be madeby the library staff planning the moveto thenew Walter C. Koerner Library at the University of British Columbia. Thislibrary wasto bethe center for servicesto Humanities and Social Sciencesusers, but could accommodate only 60% of the Humanitiesand Social Sciences collectionshoused in the old Main Library. The staff had to decide what parts of the collection to move and what to leave in the old building, against the day when the second phase of the Koerner Library should be built. This article describes howthese difficult choices were made, including the consultation process, the development of criteria to split the collection, and their implementa-tion.     

馆藏动物剥制标本的管理及预防性保护

动物剥制标本作为自然博物馆、高校博物馆、部分综合性博物馆以及科研机构标本馆的重要收藏对象和展示资源,具有极高的收藏价值、展览价值、艺术价值、科研价值和科普教育价值等,但在长期保藏过程中,因受制作工艺、环境条件、人为活动的影响,极易受到损坏。本文论述了馆藏动物剥制标本的常规管理、保藏环境管理以及预防性保护,旨在为我国自然标本管理,特别是为动物剥制标本的管理和保藏工作提供参考资料。     

Sailing the Digital Seas: Charting a New Course with CONTENTdm

With the transition of government publications from print to digital over the last decade, the State Library of North Carolina saw the need to implement a content management system for the state’s digital publications. The State Library formed a Digital Information Management Program (DIMP) in 2006 to address the challenge of managing their digital collections. The library chose to utilize OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. (OCLC)’s CONTENTdm software to manage their digital materials and associated metadata. The presentation described below outlined the processes and challenges in managing their collections with this software.     

Renovating Special Collections Facilities

ABSTRACT

Special collections play an increasingly important role in university libraries. As library collections move to digital formats and collections are similar from one library to another, special collections are one of the ways in which libraries can build a distinct identity. Because of their unique nature, special collections must be permanently retained because of their artifact value and need specialized storage conditions with appropriate levels of security. Library administrators will increasingly face the need to provide expanded space for special collections as well as improving storage conditions to ensure that unique and valuable materials are preserved for research in the future.