Join us October 7, 2019 for the four week course Practical Strategies for Emergency Response. The unpredictable impact of emergencies and disasters on cultural property can be minimized by training in emergency preparedness and response techniques. This course is designed to develop knowledge and skills in emergency actions and salvage decision making. Students will increase their ability to respond and recover from disasters of all types and sizes. Class participants can be at any level of expertise.
A Disaster Preparedness/Emergency Response Plan is one of the 5 core documents listed by the American Alliance of Museums “because they are fundamental for basic professional museum operations and embody core museum values and practices.” Whether you are dealing with a minor leak or a major fire, responding effectively to an emergency requires adequate preparation. Creating a robust emergency management program at your cultural institution will help create a culture of prevention and preparedness. It will prepare your staff to respond to the challenge of salvaging collections and returning to fulfilling your institutional mission. Join us beginning April 1 for this four week course that will discuss initiating an emergency planning effort, writing an emergency plan, assembling and training a recovery team, and evaluating and maintaining readiness.
Housekeeping in the museum or historic house is a vital activity. Dust building up on an object is not only unsightly, it will also cause damage. An unkempt museum or historic house is not appealing to the visitor nor is it healthy for the staff and collection. Yet cleaning collections can be risky as well.
This course will provide the participants with a foundation as to how to clean objects and facilities safely. We will explore a variety of subjects, including health and safety for the staff and the objects, cleaning methods for a large variety of collection types common in cultural institutions and the importance of documenting what you do. Join us for this four week course. Join us for Keeping Keeping Historic Houses & Museums Clean beginning July 1, 2019.
The discovery of mice living (and eating) objects in your collection is a terrifying experience. You are not alone - many of us have had this unpleasant experience. Silverfish will eat your paper materials, moths will eat your woolens and feather objects, mice will gladly nest in anything they can! How can you protect the collection in your care from this very real and very serious threat?
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a holistic approach, using low-toxicity strategies to manage the threat. First developed for the agriculture industry to reduce the use of pesticides, it has become the preferred method of pest control in cultutral institutions. It is more labor intensive than the traditional poison them approach, but it also presents less health risk to staff and collections. A good IPM program will prevent future infestations as well as control current ones.
This course explores the foundation of knowledge needed to solve pest problems in a myriad of situations that might be encountered in cultural institutions. Participants will receive an introduction to IPM, learning how to quantify the actual pest risk. They will learn how to identify pests, develop a monitoring program and assess options to both solve and prevent pest problems in a safe and effective manner. Join us November 4, 2019 for this four week course.
The 4 week course Protecting Cultural Properties – Your Protection Planning Guide walks managers and supervisors through practical steps toward protecting people, collections, and other assets in institutions of any size or scope. The program identifies common threats found in many small to medium sized facilities, and introduces recent concerns keeping current with worldwide events and the latest recommendations of the Department of Homeland Security, Federal, State, and Municipal agencies, and security professionals.