Collection Management and Conservation Intervention

You should let your supervisor know immediately if you notice any mold, water, or insect damage on collection material. In this case, your supervisor will contact Collection Management, who will assess the condition of the materials, and determine an appropriate remediation plan. Often this involves shipping materials to a vendor to freeze or clean the damaged items. See Collection Management’s Hazardous Collection Material Management (HCMM) Program. Additionally, you should complete the Pest Sighting Form when a live insect is found. 

Preservation issues are usually identified during accessioning or your survey, but they may also appear well into the processing stage. Notify your supervisor of any preservation issues as you discover them. Material that requires conservation treatment can be sent to the Conservation Lab. Discuss with your supervisor about what items should be prioritized for treatment. If you and your supervisor determine that conservation consultation is necessary, you should email the appropriate conservator to schedule a time for a Conservation staff member to come and review the collection material. Make sure to copy both your supervisor and the Associate Director of Conservation on your email.

The scheduling and movement of items between the Archival Processing unit and the Conservation lab are tracked by Archival Processing unit management in trello, and information about the collection materials being treated by conservation are recorded by the processing archivist in the Conservation Tracking Google Form. See the Conservation Tracking Workflowfor more detailed information about this process.

The Conservation Lab can also create custom enclosures for unique items that cannot be safely housed in standard archival boxes. Full details on conservation treatment are found on the Conservation department’s internal Google site. Conservation treatment may not always be completed during the duration of your processing project, but you should still plan to arrange and describe the materials if it is determined that they will remain in the collection. The materials can be suppressed, or an access note can be added in the finding aid that the materials are currently unavailable. 

Custom Kasemake boxes can be ordered from the Collections Care Lab. This should be limited to certain volumes in poor condition, items of significant intellectual or artifactual value, or materials that cannot be accommodated by any standard archival containers. Always consult with your supervisor before ordering a custom box.

See the Housing, Storage, and Handling section of this manual for further information on how to house various types and sizes of collection material.