Memory institutions such as libraries, archives, galleries and museums all share pressing concerns about preserving heritage, whether in the form of material and documentary cultural artefacts in collections, or in the form of new digitally born material. Recent incidents of natural disaster and cultural genocide, together with the global turn to digitization, have forced librarians, archivists and curators to rethink and restructure their primary modes of operation. Preservation management now sits at the top of the agenda for heritage institutions around the world, as collection development policies and practices are negotiated between libraries, museums, archives, funding agencies and governments. Historically separate cultural institutions are now converging to share limited resources, develop compatible ideologies and co-ordinate distributed collections. This forward-looking collection charts the diversity of preservation management in the contemporary information landscape, and offers guidance on preservation methods for the sustainability of collections from a range of international experts. The authors are connected to a wide international network of professional associations and NGOs, and have been selected not only for their specific expertise, but for the contribution they are making to the future of preservation management. The chapters cover: managing the documentary heritage: issues for the present and future preservation policy and planning intangible heritage: museums and preservation surrogacy and the artefact moving with the times in search of permanence a valuation model for paper conservation research preservation of audiovisual media: traditional to interactive formats challenges of managing the digitally born artefact preserving cultural heritage in times of conflict access and the social contract in memory institutions redefining 'the collection' in the 21st century. Readership: There is urgent need for heritage management initiatives and robust disaster planning that will safeguard our cultural heritage and recognize the right of the end-user to ownership of it. This is an informed and essential guide to managing collection and preservation strategies for anyone working in the library, archive, museum or broader cultural heritage sectors.

Preservation how-to for every medium. Cultural heritage professionals—museum curators, museum professionals, archivists, and librarians— use their specialized knowledge to prioritize the needs of their collections. Preservation managers and collections care specialists draw from experts in climate control, fire safety, pest management, and more in assessing a collection and its needs. And all the special materials within the collections have their experts too. This revised second edition contains a wide range of topic-specific expertise that comprises both an enduring text for preservation and collections care students, as well as an essential one-stop reference for cultural heritage professionals—particularly those in small- to medium sized organizations where resources are limited and professional help, is not always accessible. Chapter coverage includes: PART I: FUNDAMENTALS Chapter 1: Mapping the Preservation Landscape for the Twenty-first Century Chapter 2: Preservation Principles Chapter 3: Managing Preservation: Policy, Assessment, Planning Chapter 4: Security and Disaster Planning PART II: COLLECTIONS Chapter 5: Artifacts and Information Chapter 6: The Environment Chapter 7: Creating Preservation-friendly Objects PART III: MEDIA AND MATERIAL Chapter 8: Putting it all together – environment and storage quick reference guides Chapter 9: Paper Objects and Books Chapter 10: Photographic Materials Chapter 11: Digital Prints (A. Carver-Kubik) Chapter 12: Sound Materials Chapter 13: Moving Image Materials Chapter 14: Digital Storage Media and Files Chapter 15: Textiles Chapter 16: Paintings In addition to updated and expanded existing content, a new chapter on digital prints has been added to the Media and Material. Also new is Expanded information on disaster planning; A quick guide to good, better, and best preservation practices to help institutions strive to improve their own activities; A comparative terminology guide to assist in greater understanding between LAMs; and two quick references for temperature and relative humidity preferences for a wide range of collection materials. This comprehensive handbook is an invaluable reference.

This new edition of Digital Preservation in Libraries, Archives, and Museums is the most current, complete guide to digital preservation available today. For administrators and practitioners alike, the information in this book is presented readably, focusing on management issues and best practices. Although this book addresses technology, it is not solely focused on technology. After all, technology changes and digital preservation is aimed for the long term. This is not a how-to book giving step-by-step processes for certain materials in a given kind of system. Instead, it addresses a broad group of resources that could be housed in any number of digital preservation systems. Finally, this book is about “things (not technology; not how-to; not theory) I wish I knew before I got started.” Digital preservation is concerned with the life cycle of the digital object in a robust and all-inclusive way. Many Europeans and some North Americans may refer to digital curation to mean the same thing, taking digital preservation to be the very limited steps and processes needed to insure access over the long term. The authors take digital preservation in the broadest sense of the term: looking at all aspects of curating and preserving digital content for long term access. The book is divided into four part: 1.Situating Digital Preservation, 2.Management Aspects, 3.Technology Aspects, and 4.Content-Related Aspects. Digital Preservation will answer questions that you might not have even known you had, leading to more successful digital preservation initiatives.

The current economic climate, coupled with an all embracing desire for museums to be respondent to 'the market' make a proper grounding in management essential. The 'bottom line' is one of the most powerful measures of management performance. Museums and galleries invariably have a neutral bottom line, they are not set up to make a profit and many of them are constrained by governmental accounting rules and charity legislation. Managing these organisations is difficult and this book tackles the issues that make it easier. Managing the Museum examines the highly sophisticated principles and techniques of modern business management from the perspective of museums and galleries and delineates their practical application. This volume surveys the day-to-day issues of time management, delegation and recruitment to the problems of strategic planning and initiating and controlling conflict and change. This study incorporates the needs of both the independent and national sectors and discusses the links between the museum and commerce.

Museum curators, professionals, archivists and librarians deploy specialized knowledge to prioritize the needs of their collections. This revised volume has a wide range of topic-specific expertise that comprises both an enduring text for preservation students as well as an essential one-stop reference for cultural heritage professionals.

Surveying over thirty different positions in the museum profession, this is the essential guide for anyone considering entering the field, or a career change within it. From exhibition designer to shop manager, this comprehensive survey views the latest trends in museum work and the broad-ranging technological advances that have been made. For any professional in the field, this is a crucially useful book for how to prepare, look for and find jobs in the museum profession.

Museum Exhibition is the only textbook of its kind to consider exhibition development using both theory and practice in an integrated approach. This comprehensive study covers care of exhibits, writing accompanying text, using new technology, exhibition evaluation, administration and content for a wide range of collections. It provides a complete outline for all those concerned with providing displays in museums and other cultural heritage contexts.