Regarding Jessica's comment on Conservators, there's a need to draw a
distinction between preservationist and conservationist.  A preservationist
wants things left alone..."in the dark" forever.  There is a place for that.
Conservationists, or more correctly, conservators must look at how to
mitigate the inevitable loss of information as the objects are "used up"
by people who want to study them.  An example comomon in museums is the
problem of how to light objects on display so that they can be viewed (used)
by the public with the least amount of damage to the objects.  Filters,
dim lighting, etc. help to control the damaging effects but the objects
are still going to deteriorate faster over time than in a more protected
environment.  The cost/benefit is what causes the friction between
educators, researchers, collections folks and conservators.  They all have
different break even points...An educator may feel that an object that lasts
10 years and teaches 5,000 students is a valid use of an object.  A researcher
may feel that only qualified researchers with very defined purposes may
have access to the object and that no amount of public access is defensable.
And a few conservators may wish that the access to an object be even more
limited in order to allow the object to last as long as humanly possible.
 
_Richard Efthim, Naturalist Center
_National Museum of Natural History
_Washington, DC 20560
_(202)357-1503   fax:(202)786-2778   [log in to unmask]