"Assessing and Managing Risks to your Collections" Canadian Museums Association Pre-conference Workshop I would like to clear up some confusion about the registration deadlines for the workshop. There is a discrepancy between the workshop information sheet and the announcement in the CMA conference program. The sheet was printed later and the dates cited in it were adjusted to be more compatible with the time the mailing actually came out. Please note that the correct information is in the announcement herein, indicating an early bird registration deadline of April 15 and final registration deadline of May 10. Depending on the number of registrants, we may be able to take applications after May 10. Please contact us before deciding you are too late to register. Please also keep in mind that in the days surrounding the workshop, you might take the opportunity to visit the new storage facility that was purpose-built to house the Canadian Museum of Nature's 10 million specimens. This building project was a success that was, in part, attributable to the CMN carrying out its own risk assessment for its collections. This would also give you an opportunity to see some of the other mitigation methods such as the new object containers that were designed to move objects and to manage risks during that phase. If you wish to visit our new building before or after the workshop please inform the workshop coordinator. Hope to see you there. [[ LISTSERV.TXT : 3844 in LISTSERV.TXT ]] ASSESSING AND MANAGING RISKS TO YOUR COLLECTIONS INTERACTIVE TRAINING WORKSHOP Canadian Museums Association (CMA) Annual Conference June 9-10, 1997 Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa PROTECTING AN INVALUABLE HERITAGE Museum collections continue to grow and their maintenance is increasingly costly. These collections often contain irreplaceable objects and represent centuries of painstaking work and incalculable monetary investment. Every institution must invest in preventive conservation to protect this invaluable heritage for generations to come. In these challenging times of public accountability and financial restraint, it is becoming increasingly important to manage these collections in a cost- effective manner. It is critical to establish priorities of action to ensure their care and safekeeping. THE WORKSHOP: This 2-DAY non-technical workshop has been designed for directors, managers, administrators, curators, collection managers, researchers, conservators, preparators, volunteers, indeed any stakeholder in collection preservation. It will highlight a methodology developed by the Canadian Museum of Nature which gives a global framework for establishing priorities in the area of preventive conservation. The methodology is based on risk assessment processes and risk management principles applied in business and industry. During the workshop, participants will learn how to: - identify all agents of deterioration, - identify risk types, - estimate magnitudes of risks, - rank their relative importance, - mitigate risks, and - evaluate the relative costs, benefits and collateral risks of implementing the proposed mitigation measures. The workshop is a highly interactive training session which includes both theoretical and practical components in which participants play an important part. Information is obtained through lectures, demonstrations, brainstorming in small groups, assembling of ideas, presentation and discussion. The teaching approach fosters team-building and mutual understanding. Participants will receive different learning tools including the workshop manual which contains the complete course content, exercises, references and a glossary of terms. KEY BENEFITS FOR YOUR STAFF AND INSTITUTIONS This workshop will enable anyone involved with collections to: - communicate clearly preventive conservation issues, requirements and their relative importance to other staff and to management and funding bodies, - convince management and funding bodies of the importance of the issues and of the necessity to invest in preventive measures, - consider all issues related to proposed mitigation strategies from an institutional perspective, - compare different risks among different collections, - prioritise and identify preventive conservation issues and mitigation measures, - work in teams within their own institution, - develop cost-effective plans to reduce overall risks. The workshop will be presented by Robert Waller (Chief, Conservation) and Sylvie Marcil (Senior Conservator) of the Canadian Museum of Nature, at its Victoria Memorial Museum Building location, McLeod at Metcalfe St., Ottawa. REGISTRATION INFORMATION Registration is limited to 60 participants. Final deadline for registration is May 10, 1997. Registration fees are 235$ before April 15, 1997 and 255$ before May 10, 1977, and include lunch both days. To obtain a registration form or more details please contact Wilda Corcoran, tel. (613) 566-4771/ 566-4244, fac. (613) 364-4022, e-mail : [log in to unmask], or write to CMN Risk Workshop, c/o Wilda Corcoran, P.O. Box 3443, Station D, Ottawa, ON, K1P 6P4, CANADA.