When I first learned of the museum, I sat down with Jordan and Cairnes and began speaking to them about their vision for the museum and the steps they had taken up to that point to realize them. That first conversation revealed that there were some key elements missing from the basic starting point of museum creation, such as a Mission Statement and Collections Development Policy. After explaining to them what these documents were, I began making drafts of a mission statement.
To help narrow down the scope of the mission statement, I first looked up the definition of mission statement in the Handbook for Museums by Edson and Dean: it is “a document that establishes the limitation of the collection and defines the role of the museum.”30
I thought about the conversations which I had had with Jordan and Cairnes and began to draft some ideas. In order to get a professional perspective and see a museum in practice, I next arranged a meeting with the Registrar‟s Office at the Ackland Art Museum. In meeting with them, I learned how Ackland processes new items, accepts loaned collections, and navigates the legal intricacies of museum systems. They
suggested specific books that would be helpful in creating the legal framework for the Saxapahaw Museum and Marie Malaro‟s Legal Primer was one.31 I consulted the Ackland‟s documents in order to create a professional mission statement and Deed of
30
Gary Edson and David Dean, The Handbook for Museums (New York: Routledge, 1996), 28.
31
Marie C. Malaro, A Legal Primer on Managing Museum Collections (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998).
Gift for the Saxapahaw Museum, i.e. their Deed of Gift, Proposed Acquisition Forms, and Warranty and Indemnification Form. These documents, as well as other forms discovered on various museum websites were helpful as a guide to creating two Deeds of Gift32 so that the Museum would have options from which to choose.
I created the mission statement based upon the goals put forth by Jordan and Cairnes in our initial meeting. Jordan, Cairnes, and myself discussed the first mission statement I drafted and made changes to more accurately represent the focus of the museum, mainly adding county information so as not to limit the scope of the collection just to this area but rather being more inclusive. The revised and current statement reads as follows:
The Saxapahaw History Museum is committed to expanding the public's sense of community through an understanding of the history of Southern Alamance County and its place in North Carolina society. The Museum exists to preserve, exhibit, and advance the evolving history of Saxapahaw and the surrounding towns by making the Museum and its items available to the public.33
Cairne‟s and Jordan‟s main goal is to keep the past alive through exhibits with the idea that with each exhibition the locals would become increasingly more involved in the retelling of history as it is displayed in the museum. Community involvement is the main idea behind having a “Family of the Month” photo album, detailed later in this paper, and holding lectures and reunions in the museum would stimulate conversation between the older and younger patrons. The mission statement is intended to establish the intent of the institution and its public role in the community; the Saxapahaw History Museum‟s mission statement does just that.
32
See Appendix B. 33
Creating an Ideal Preservation Environment
Going forward with the building renovations in the Village Hut, I would like to propose some suggestions to adhere to preservation standards put forth by the Society of American Archivists.34 The most important thing to keep in mind is that it is essential that an archive and museum be cool, dry, and stable in order to ensure long-term
preservation of items. Specifically, when creating an ideal preservation environment, one should think of the HVAC system specifications, temperature control, humidity
monitoring systems, disaster prevention and preparedness, lighting control, and storage.
HVAC:
Currently, none of the three buildings comprising the museum have heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. This is unfortunate because the best way to control temperature and humidity, as well as remove gaseous and particulate pollutants is by using an HVAC system, which is expensive to install and maintain. An HVAC system provides all of the following basic functions35:
1. Uniform distribution of treated air throughout the area, 2. Bringing in the minimum necessary outside air,
3. Cooling during hot weather to overcome heat loads (such as lighting and people), 4. Heating during cold weather,
34
“Standards and Best Practices,” Society of American Archivists, 2011, available from http://www2.archivists.org/standards; Internet; accessed 1 April 2011.
35
Paul N. Banks and Roberta Pilette, Preservation: Issues and Planning (American Library Association, 2000), 127.
5. Adding to or removing moisture from the air as needed to maintain steady relative humidity, and
6. Reducing gaseous and particulate pollutants in the conditioned space. Temperature control is one of the biggest functions of an HVAC system. In North Carolina, temperature ranges can go from -35°f to 110°f36, so it is imperative what a constant temperature is maintained to reduce the possibility of collection deterioration due to extreme heat or extreme cold exposure. The recommended temperatures for an ideal preservation environment are between 60-70°F, plus or minus approximately 5 degrees.37
Particulate levels can also be damaging to collection, yet can be reduced by using an HVAC system. Air Conditioning would reduce the amount of dust and soil
accumulations on a collection, as the system would keep the air circulating and suck the pollutants out of the building. Gaseous pollutants include sulfur dioxide, ozone, and oxides of nitrogen, which can cause the break down of paper, fabric, and leather molecules, weakening the materials and causing their deterioration; this leads to
photographs fading or discoloring. These pollutants are difficult to measure and control and the damage they produce is irreversible and cumulative.38
36
North Carolina: History Geography, Population, and State Facts – Infoplease.com, 2005, available from http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001416.html; Internet, accessed 15 March 2011.
Alamance County, in which Saxapahaw resides, is much more moderate than these temperatures would imply; however I could not find specific figures for this county. 37
Banks, Preservation, 127-129. 38
Relative Humidity
Another main function of an HVAC system is dehumidification, which occurs during the cooling process. This means that the amount of dehumidification that can occur depends on the HVAC system installed – the more advanced the HVAC, the more stable the humidity in the environment. Alternate methods of humidity control include operating a dehumidifier or a desiccant machine. Dehumidifiers often have settings that can detect the temperature and set the relative humidity levels between 40-50%, plus or minus 3% humidity.39 Desiccant machines absorb moisture and discharge the absorbed water outside; they are most appropriate for photographic collections, and so would be perfect for the Saxapahaw History Museum.
To monitor the preservation environment‟s humidity levels, one item that is useful is the hygrothermograph, which senses temperature and humidity, monitoring the
readings with a pen that draws lines on a paper chart attached to a cylinder that is driven by a wind-up or quartz clock; it is checked once a week. There are electronic alternatives to hygrothermographs that produce better readings and are less sensitive; however, the cost of these instruments is prohibitive. Other items that would be useful are sling
pscyhrometers, cobalt salt humidity cards, and dial thermohygromters; these items are not necessary if the museum uses an electronic humidity meter.
Lighting Control:
In the Scout Hut, where the majority of photographs and other donations, such as uniforms, medals, et cetera, are currently being stored, there is an abundance of sunlight.
39
Some sources say that between 30-40% relative humidity is a fine number, dependent on the materials being preserved.
This sunlight is not filtered by shades or special glass to block Ultraviolet light, which is extremely damaging to photos in particular. The intensity of daylight is not constant and when combined also with the overhead lighting of track spotlighting, readings may or may not be useful in determining light exposure. However, some methods available are photographers‟ light meters and the “blue wool standards,” cards with dyed textiles that fade at a known rate relative to each other. The wool cards can be placed in display cases to measure the amount of visible light exposure to which the objects in the case will be or are being exposed; the visible light levels should be between 50-150 lux.
Storage recommendations for the Saxapahaw History Museum
When creating a storage vault for the photographic and archival collection, it is important to keep the above preservation standards in mind throughout the process, leaving room for proper HVAC installation, lighting controls, and humidity detection and control. The building will have to be inspected for flooding possibilities, and prepared accordingly to avoid disaster. Shelving for the vault should be steel40 to avoid shelf buckling and attached to the walls for stability; the first shelf should be approximately two inches off of the ground in the case of flooding. I would recommend investing in archival quality boxes, reboxing the current collection of archival documents, which would increase the box count of the collection three times; these boxes would go on the shelves. In the case that an item requires special housing, it is good practice to fit the item in a snug box so that the edges do not bounce around and become damaged when the box is handled. I think that creating storage underneath the Village Hut would be a
40
University Products has good quality shelving and archival boxes; however, their prices can be a little outrageous.
great chance to maximize space usage, provided that the conditions of the vault are cool, dry, and stable.
Storing photographs, which is the majority of the Saxapahaw History Museum‟s collection, can be tricky. Temperature should be, at maximum, 65-70° and should really remain below 40°41, and relative humidity should be around 30%, with allowable
fluctuations of ±2° and ±5%, respectively.42 Color photographs require the colder
temperatures (40° or less) in order to preserve the original coloring. High humidity levels and temperatures will accelerate deterioration severely, as can fluctuating temperatures. Where the photographs are kept now, within the Scout Hut, temperature fluctuates continually, dependent on the local weather, which has gone below freezing, and above 80° in the last six months alone. As there is no humidity or temperature control, the situation will only worsen as the summer draws closer. In the Scout Hut, there is also no lighting control or shading, and “exposure to visible and ultraviolet (UV) light is
potentially damaging to photographs. Light can cause embrittlement, yellowing and color fading in prints and hand-colored surfaces.”43 The Library of Congress recommends using UV-filtering plastic or glass in window and exhibit framing in place of regular glass; this way, although there will still be exposure to some UV and visible light, it will be reduced and the photographs will last longer. Also according to the Library of
Congress, “gas by-products given off by fresh paint fumes, plywood, deteriorated
41
The Library of Congress, “Caring for Your Photographic Collections,” 18 April 2007, available from http://www.loc.gov/preserv/care/photo.html; Internet; accessed 17 March 2011.
42
Banks, Preservation, 325-326. 43
cardboard and many cleaning supplies may cause accelerated image deterioration.”44 Storage in non-acidic containers is recommended to decrease exposure to pollutants and light exposure.
The following paragraphs are taken from the Library of Congress “Caring for Your Photographic Collections” article, available online. The article provides detailed information on exactly how to house a photographic collection, and I found the entire section useful, which is why it is reprinted here.
House photos in protective enclosures to keep out gritty dirt and dust which can abrade images, retain moisture, and deposit contaminants. Avoid and/or remove materials such as acidic paper or cardboard,
polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, rubber bands, paper clips, and pressure- sensitive tapes and rubber cement. Suitable storage materials should be made of plastic or paper, and free of sulfur, acids, and peroxides.
Paper enclosures must be acid-free, lignin-free, and are available in both buffered (alkaline, pH 8.5) and unbuffered (neutral, pH 7) stock. Storage materials must pass the ANSI Photographic Activity Test (PAT) which is noted in supplier's catalogs. Buffered paper enclosures are recommended for brittle prints that have been mounted onto poor-quality secondary mounts and deteriorated film-base negatives. Buffered
enclosures are not recommended for contemporary color materials. Paper enclosures are opaque, thus preventing unnecessary light exposure; porous; easy to label in pencil; and relatively inexpensive.
Suitable plastic enclosures are uncoated polyester film, uncoated cellulose triacetate, polyethylene, and polypropylene. Note: Photographic emulsions may stick to the slick plastic surface at high relative humidity (RH); the RH must remain below 80% or do not use plastic enclosures. Plastic enclosures must not be used for glass plate, nitrate, or acetate- based negatives.
Prints of historic value should be matted with acid-free rag or museum board for protection. Adhesives should not touch the print. Matting should be done by an experienced framer or under the direction of a trained conservator.
Store all prints and negatives that are matted or placed in paper or plastic enclosures in acid-free boxes. If possible, keep negatives separate from print materials. Store color transparencies/slides in acid-free or metal boxes with a baked-on enamel finish or in polypropylene slide pages. Commonly available PVC slide pages, easily identified by their strong
44
plastic odor, should never be used because of their extreme chemical reactivity.
Place early miniature-cased photographs, including
daguerreotypes, ambrotypes and tintypes, carefully into acid-free paper envelopes and house flat; keep loose tintypes in polyester sleeves, or, if flaking is present, in paper enclosures.
Storage of family photographs in albums is often desirable, and many commercially available albums utilize archival-quality materials. Avoid albums constructed of highly colored pages. Never use
commercially available "magnetic" or "no stick" albums for the storage of contemporary or historic photographic prints in black-and-white or color. These materials will deteriorate quite quickly over time.45
The last paragraph involving album storage is especially applicable to the Saxapahaw History Museum, as portions of the photographic collection are stored in family photo albums, handed out to specific families in the area to fill with their photos of the Mill and Mill life. The binders for the albums were purchased at Office Depot, as were the
magnetic, self-adhesive insert sheets for the photographs. The magnetic sheets may prove problematic in the future, as indicated by the Library of Congress‟s guide, and will lead to quicker deterioration than if kept in an archival quality album or in box storage.
I would also like to see these albums cataloged and documented properly before they go on display in the museum. If the museum is not accepting these photographs as permanent additions to the collection, as exhibited by some families coming in and removing photos after they have returned their albums back to the museum, then this could be a problem, leading to issues in maintaining a collection that is never stable. If possible, these items could be digitized and given back, and grant monies could provide a television screen on which to display these Family of the Year photo albums in an
automatic and predetermined order. A touch screen would be a fun way to make the exhibit interactive yet stable for visitors to peruse at will.
45
In summary, an ideal preservation environment for archival collections would be cool, dry, and stable with reduced pollutants46; the temperature of the environment would be between 60-70˚F (± 5˚), with relative humidity between 40-50% (± 3%), visible light levels between 50-150 lux, and UV exposure at 75 microwatts/lumen. The recommended conditions for photographic collections are 40° or below in temperature, and relative humidity of about 30%, with allowable fluctuations of ±2° and ±5%.
46
sulfur dioxide (≤0.4ppb, ≤1µg/m3); nitrogen dioxide (≤2.5 ppb, ≤5µg/m3); ozone (≤1ppb, ≤2µg/m3