Northern States Conservation Center announces the return of six of its popular courses and the introduction of two new courses this fall.  In September, Gretchen Anderson will teach Integrated Pest Management for Museums, Historic Houses and Archives.  In October, Lin Nelson-Mayson will teach Exhibit Fundamentals:  Ideas to Installation. All of our courses are taken at your own pace, on-line, with a regular on-line chat with the instructor.  You can take our courses from any computer with Internet access.  There are no travel costs.  If you are interested in any course, please sign up at www.museumclasses.org and pay for the course at http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html . If you have trouble completing an on-line order, or have any other questions, please contact Helen Alten at [log in to unmask] or Eric Swanson at [log in to unmask]

We offer a 10% discount for individuals signing up for more than one course or for institutions signing more than one individual up for a course.  California Association of Museums members and Bio-Integral Resource Center (BIRC) members are also eligible for discounts on certain courses. Please note, if you receive a discount due to a membership organization, the group discount does not apply. A complete list of our 2005 courses is available at: http://www.collectioncare.org/training/training.html .  Here is a list of the classes offered for the last part of 2005:

August
MS104: An Introduction to Collections Preservation
(Aug 15 - Sep 9, 2005) $275.00
The tools of a museum professional include a basic understanding of preservation principles and techniques. This course provides an overview of current preservation issues, from environmental monitoring to collection cleaning, exhibit mounts and storage furniture. Covering every aspect of the modern museum, and how the building, staff and fixtures affect preservation of the collection, this workshop provides an overview that participants can use in future decision-making about their collection. Agents of deterioration, risk management, object handling and transport, object labeling, exhibit lighting, security, emergency preparedness, materials for storage and display, storage and exhibit philosophies, and condition assessments will be discussed. This introductory course provides basic knowledge that is expanded in all of our other courses.

Course Outline:
1.      Preservation Principles
2.      Agents of Deterioration
3.      Monitoring
4.      Collection Handling
5.      Collection Labeling
6.      Collection Cleaning
7.      Storage Principles
8.      Exhibit Principles
9.      Emergency Preparation
10.     Conclusion

September
MS210: Integrated Pest Management for Museums, Historic Houses and Archives  ***NEW***
(Sep 5 - Sep 30, 2005) $350.00

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a low-toxicity method of controlling pest infestations. In museums, IPM has become the standard method of treating incoming collections and monitoring collection holdings. This course, new to the Northern States Conservation Center’s on-line course catalog, defines IPM, discusses how infestations occur, helps you identify your risks, provides feasible mitigation strategies, discusses the different techniques of treating infested materials, and helps you complete an IPM plan and monitoring schedule tailored for your institution. The course covers insect, rodent/mammal, bird, bat and mold infestations. Other infestations will be covered according to student needs. Pest identification and eradication are covered.  Students will complete the course with a written IPM plan and monitoring schedule that fits the needs of their institution.

Support for the course is provided by Bio-Integral Resource Center (BIRC) in Berkeley, California. BIRC members will receive a 10% discount for this course.  Please note your membership status on your order in our comments field.

Course Outline:
1.  IPM Introduction
2.  Pest Risks / Environmental Causes
3.  Monitoring
4.  Mitigation Strategies
5.  Treatment Strategies
6.  Regular review
7.  Staff Support
8.  Conclusion

MS201: Storage for Infinity: An Overview of Museum Storage Principles
(Sep 19 - Oct 21, 2005 start) $350.00 
Do your collections overflow their storage? This course concentrates on storage philosophy and planning, collections handling, materials and techniques for storing collections.  The course’s goal is to teach students the fundamentals of storage conditions, housing materials, security and handling.

Course Outline:
1. Introduction
2. Storage Philosophy
3. Agents of Deterioration and Preservation Planning
4. Storage Facilities
5. Storage Furniture
6. Preparing Collections for Storage
7. Storage Materials
8. Storage Mounts
9. Storage of Specific Collections
10. Funding Improvements
11. Conclusion

MS207: Collections Management: Cataloging Your Collections
(Sep 18 - Oct 15, 2005) $350.00
This workshop will cover the basics of collections cataloging. Cataloging procedures will be discussed in detail. Sample forms to support these procedures will be available. Best practices for numbering artifacts will be presented, as well as how to perform inventories and condition reports. Procedures for handling, measuring, and describing of all types of objects and materials will be discussed. Students will be asked to describe an everyday object and practice cataloging several items from their own collections or households.

Course Outline:
Cataloging Procedures: Why do we catalog our artifacts?
Forms
Numbering
Appropriate Materials
Specific Types of materials
Placement
Handling
Conservation and Storage
Condition Reports
General Care and Storage of Specific Objects
Inventories
Cataloging
General information
Describing Objects
Considerations for Specific Objects
October
MS106: Exhibit Fundamentals:  Ideas to Installation ***NEW***
(Oct 3 - Oct 28, 2005) $350.00

Nearly every museum develops exhibits, but how can we improve communication with our visitors while presenting our objects to their best advantage? This course explores museum exhibits from initial idea to final installation in a variety of museum settings. Topics covered include exhibit theory, the role of the museum's mission, creating a time line, intellectual and physical accessibility, writing the exhibit script and other interpretive texts, the role of design elements (sequencing, color, graphics, lighting, audio-visual), basic installation techniques (including placement guides and hanging framed artwork), object safety and security (including mount-making), visitor safety, and types of exhibit evaluations. Each student will develop an exhibit plan based on their museum's own exhibit goals. 

Course Outline
1.  Introduction: Exhibition Theory and the Museums Mission
2.  Intellectual and Physical Accessibility & Exhibition Evaluations
3.  Creating a Timeline and Writing Texts
4.  The Role of Design Elements and Basic Installation Techniques
5.  Object and Visitor Safety
6.  Conclusion

MS205: Disaster Planning I: Introduction to Disaster Preparedness Planning
(Oct 3 - Oct 28, 2005) $350.00
The purpose of Disaster Preparedness and Response Planning, DPRP is to outline for Museum staff and volunteers procedures to be followed in various emergency situations. Emergencies, disasters, accidents, and injuries can occur in any setting and at any time, usually without warning. Museum collections are by their nature both vulnerable and irreplaceable; even small accidents can harm a collection. Being prepared physically and psychologically to handle emergencies is an individual as well as an organizational responsibility.

You will learn how to form a team, dynamics of team participation, on-going nature of planning, personnel safety, board governance, insurance, that plans must be reviewed and updated twice a year. You will identify community partners, fire prevention personnel, emergency medical providers, government officials, insurance providers, and invite them to participate in planning. A staff member, and/or a team, will be chosen to serve as an emergency coordinator(s). You will learn what the team/person's duties and responsibilities are before, during and after the emergency. The emergency coordinator will formulate a simple, easily accessible flip-chart of information pertaining to contacts, personnel locations, immediate action steps, emergency numbers, signals, sirens, and visual aids if necessary. With this information you will be ready to actually write the Disaster Preparedness and Response Plan.

Course Outline:
1.      Introduction to Disaster Planning
2.      Disaster Team
3.      Risk Assessment and Management
4.      Health and Safety
5.      Insurance
6.      Documentation
7.      Prioritizing Collections
8.      Conclusion

MS206: Disaster Planning II: Writing a Disaster Preparedness Plan
(Oct 31 - Dec 16, 2005) $350.00
The purpose of a Written Disaster Preparedness and Response Plan is to educate all participants in their role and responsibilities in an emergency situation. Each participant from the planning team will be required to research and fully understand the emergency response and recovery steps. Participants will learn how to document the collection so you know what collection information is useful before an emergency. You will identify important institutional records, collection inventories, research materials, location of certain items on exhibit and in storage. A copy of records to be stored off-site will include blue prints, inventory lists, hazardous materials list, computer back-ups, financial records, community partners telephone lists, and Emergency Response Salvage Wheel. You will become familiar with other emergency information and documentation systems, such as Homeland Security, Red Cross, FEMA, and local government entities. Participants will receive an emergency preparedness and response supply list and participants will customize it for specific threats. As you write the DPRPlan you will also begin assembling supplies. The instructor will guide you through each step, assist you with checklists forms, organization, review narratives, edit the final written plan, and guide you to grant funding for on-site or regional training to conduct practice drills.

Course Outline:
1.      Introduction: Why do you need a written Disaster Preparedness and Response Plan?
2.      Writing the Disaster Preparedness Plan
3.      Emergency Procedures
4.      Disaster Response
5.      Emergency Procedures  Recovery
6.      Emergency Procedures  Salvage
7.      Emergency Procedures  Salvage Techniques and Guidelines
8.      Emergency Supplies and Location of Regional Resources
9.      Appendices
10.      Next Steps:  Planning Drills and Further Resources
11.     Conclusion

November
MS208: Applying Numbers to Collection Objects: Materials and Methods of Object Numbering
(Nov 7 - Dec 2, 2005) $350.00
A popular AAM workshop, now available on-line by its pioneering instructor. Applying Numbers to Collection Objects covers the materials and methods of Object Numbering. Topics covered by the lecture include registration steps, handling objects, labeling and marking overview, number placement and documentation, health and safety concerns, tags and labels, transponders and barcodes, surface marks, inks and paints and barrier coats. Each student will receive a collections labeling kit.

Course Outline:
1.      Basic Concepts
2.      Associating Numbers and Objects
3.      Applying Numbers to Objects:  Barrier Coats and Direct Surface Marking
4.      Tools of Numbering
5.      Recommended Numbering Procedures for Specific Objects
6.      Conclusion



 

 ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).