BACKUS-PAGE HOUSE - CONSERVATION POLICY
DATE CREATED: October 19, 2006
AUTHORITY: BOARD MOTION
REVISED: January 17, 2013
1. The Board of the Tyrconnell Heritage Society and Backus-Page House Museum is responsible for the safe
guarding and preservation of the artifacts, archival material, art and buildings (cultural property) in its
collection. Through the practice of appropriate conservation principles and techniques, it will provide the
best possible physical environment, preventive maintenance programs and conservation services to meet this
responsibility.
2. The museum will consult with qualified experts in the field of conservation before taking
any course of action which may affect the cultural or physical state of the artifacts, including cleaning, repair
or restoration, should staff not have adequate knowledge, training, or equipment for conservation treatments
that maintain the historic and artistic integrity of the artifact.
3. The museum will take all necessary actions to achieve optimum environmental standards for the preservation
of the collection in all physical areas where artifacts may occur through the provision of optimal conditions
of storage, use and handling. Control standards for temperature, relative humidity, lighting and air
cleanliness will be established in consultation with qualified experts. The museum will provide the facilities
and equipment to achieve and maintain these standards, and will delegate responsibility for regulation and
maintenance of these standards and systems to the Cultural Manager or designate.
4. The museum will establish procedures and provide support for protection of the collection from damage or
loss through fire, flood, water, theft, vandalism, accident and damage from insect pests and vermin.
5. The museum will establish procedures in an Emergency Plan for care of artifacts in the event of physical
emergencies such as fire, flood, accident, etc., pre-designate an emergency work area, and ensure that all
staff and designated volunteers are thoroughly familiar with these procedures.
6. The museum will maintain and monitor an appropriate security alarm system, will meet all local and
provincial fire regulations and conform to all firearms regulations and other relevant legislation.
7. The museum will provide secure storage areas exclusively for the collection which will be orderly, clean,
environmentally controlled and will allow adequate physical access to the objects. Storage areas will be
sufficient to accommodate the size and material composition of the collection. Access will be restricted to
the Cultural Manager or designates. The storage area will be used only for the storage of museum artifacts.
8. The museum will develop standards and procedures and the Cultural Manager will designate appropriate
responsibility for handling, storage, exhibition, packing and transport of its artifacts in order best to preserve
the collections. All artifacts loaned to other institutions will be protected from damage both in transit and in
the borrowing institution.
9. The museum will provide in-house training for all staff and/or volunteers, in the handling and preventive
care of artifacts as it pertains to their area of work. Where further training is deemed necessary the museum
will provide (financial or other) support for staff and/or volunteers to participate in outside training
programs. Only staff or volunteers with appropriate training will be permitted to handle artifacts.
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10.
The museum will ensure that a sufficient size of staff and/or volunteers is provided to implement
preventive care of collections programs.
11.
The Cultural Manager or designate is responsible for determining conservation priorities and the nature
and extent of conservation treatments to be carried out.
Priority for attention will be given to the collection in the following descending order:
·
cultural property requiring emergency treatment or stabilization
·
cultural property of particular historic significance
·
cultural property required for display
·
cultural property required for education programming
·
cultural property owned by the Tyrconnell Heritage Society
·
cultural property not owned by the Tyrconnell Heritage Society
12.
The Backus-Page House Museum will not undertake any conservation treatment for an object which is
not the sole property of the museum without the consent of the Cultural Manager and the written permission
of the owner/lender.
13.
The museum will ensure that all artifacts in the collection, whether owned or borrowed, are correctly
documented with respect to ownership, incoming and current condition, and need for conservation treatment.
The Cultural Manager or designate will examine and record condition details of an object prior to assessment
for treatment. All persons who complete condition reports must be trained in proper condition reporting
procedures. The documentation of conservation treatments will be retained on file in the artifact’s
documentation file. Written documentation (condition reports and records of conservation treatment) and
photo documentation when applicable will be maintained as permanent records.
14.
Since historic buildings are among the most valuable artifacts in the collection, the department will give
them the same considerations as outlined above. Every reasonable effort will be made during restoration and
maintenance to retain original components and features of the buildings, while attempting to maintain a
museum-quality environment for the artifacts housed within them. Maintenance will be carried out in a
cyclical manner, identifying and correcting problems in building fabric due to deterioration.
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