Good storage is the foundation of effective collection care, advancing conservation while at the same time promoting accessibility and use. Preventive Conservation: Collection Storage covers the storage of all types of collections, including science, fine and decorative art, history, library, archive, and digital collections. It concentrates on preventive conservation and emphasizes a risk management approach. Reflecting the breadth of its scope, the new book is collaboration between The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections; the American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works; the Smithsonian Institution; and the George Washington University Museum Studies Program.

This book covers the physical care of botanical and zoological collections for scientific teaching and display purposes with emphasis on preservation for scientific value. A manual for curators and collections managers containing practical guidance, recommendations and advice across the whole field of natural history curation (excluding palaeontology). A wide range of international experts with hands-on experience of collections have been chosen to contribute chapters on the care and conservation of both dried and fluid-preserved collections of plant material, vertebrates and invertebrates. The emphasis is on remedial conservation, ie the employment of best practice to prevent or arrest the long-term deterioration of specimens to preserve their scientific and cultural worth. Special chapters will cover the fields of genetic material, pest control, the museum environment - policies and procedures, with appendices on such topics as documentation and disaster planning. *Practical manual containing guidance, recommendations and advice for natural history curation and conservation *Clearly presented, well illustrated, including colour photographs and extensive references *Multi-contributor work by the best in their respective fields

A resource for the photographic conservator, conservation scientist, curator, as well as professional collector, this volume synthesizes both the masses of research that has been completed to date and the international standards that have been established on the subject.

Written in accessible, nontechnical language, this book's twenty-three essays provide invaluable conservation guidelines for a variety of materials and media. Focusing also on proper storage techniques and environmental control, contributors offer information on emergency planning, disaster management, and identifying damages that may require professional treatment.

"Preventive conservation seeks to minimize needless deterioration, damage, and loss to cultural property. This requires a comprehensive understanding of all hazards that might affect property and all values needing protection from those hazards. The past effects of hazards must be apprehended, the efficacy of current conservation practices must be calculated, and the predictability of future changes must be judged. Risks may manifest gradually or sporadically. In either case, the time scale over which risks to cultural properties must be considered is measured in centuries. Feedback on the consequences of preventive conservation decisions taken is too slow and too confounded to support meaningful experience-based learning. A risk-based approach to decision-making is necessary."

Includes bibliographical references and index.