Marc,

 

Though I can't get to New England for the meeting in Maine, I'd be very
interested in what you come up with, particularly in any solutions that
would also apply to our region's more prevalent and pressing problem -
extreme temperature fluctuation  (sometimes more than 40 degrees in a single
day).   While the solutions seems simple (central heating and A/C with a
thermostat) the fact is that many small museums are in old, poorly insulated
buildings, and wind up not running their heat or AC when not in the building
due to extremely high utility bills.   Any Low Tech solutions to humidity
conditions that also effect temperature modification would be welcome.

 

Lucy Sperlin

Butte County Historical Society

California 

 

  _____  

From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Marc A Williams
Sent: Monday, September 10, 2007 11:12 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Wanted: NEMA session presenters

 

I will be chairing a session at the New England Museum Association's annual
meeting in Portland, ME on Friday, November 9.  It is entitled: Low-Tech
Environmental Control: What's Real, What's Fantasy, What's Achievable.  I
will be presenting on environmental monitoring basics, various low-tech
control options, and a few examples of successful implementation.  I am
looking for 2-3 presenters who can share their own successes or failures in
implementing low-tech environmental controls in a 5-minute or so
presentation.  The session is technically in the form of a panel, so at the
end you will also help answer audience questions as is appropriate.  

 

Low-tech is loosely defined as environmental control options that are
simple, effective and inexpensive.  These include dehumidistatic control of
heat, room-within-a-room construction, centralized dehumidification,
envelope tightening procedures, and so forth that provide more stable
relative humidity conditions for collections.  Please bring on your
unconventional issues or solutions, including the good old sleuthing process
to determine sources of problems!  Don't worry about being polished - this
session is intended to discuss what's real, not ivory-tower.  And, failures
also are sought, to help illustrate what does not work, or the difficulty in
choosing effective options.  Ideally, you will have monitoring results
before and after, or some other method of verifying improvement (or lack
thereof).

 

In true museum conference fashion, your only reward will be fame, and the
assistance you will provide to your museum colleagues!  Please email me
off-list if you are interested.  Thanks so much!

 

Marc


American Conservation Consortium, Ltd.
     4 Rockville Road
     Broad Brook, CT 06016
     www.conservator.com
     860-386-6058

 

*Collections Preservation Consultation
*Conservation Assessments & Surveys
*Environmental Monitoring & Low-Tech Control
*Moisture Management Solutions
*Collections in Historic Structures
*Collections Care Grant Preparation
*Conservation Treatment of:
     Furniture
     Painted Wood
     Horse-Drawn Vehicles
     Architectural Interiors

 

Marc A. Williams, President
     MS in Art Conservation, Winterthur Museum Program
     Former Chief Wooden Object Conservator, Smithsonian Institution
     Fellow, American Institute for Conservation (AIC)

 

 

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