The National Museum Directors' Conference (NMDC), led by Tate director Nicholas Serota, is looking to cement international agreement by the end of 2009 for a new set of guidelines on environmental conditions for collections.
Tate is working with independent consultant Rachel Madan on sustainability, as part of the government-funded Cultural Leadership Programme.
She said Serota would be focusing on the need to introduce standards for different materials - paper, canvas, ceramic and metal are all under the same standard - and to relax the guidelines on the range of temperature and humidity at which things are stored.
"Most people realise that some sort of new consensus needs to be found," said Madan. "There is a lot of politics involved, but we are confident [that this will happen], as we have a lot of people looking at this issue, from directors to conservators. "We are aiming by the end of 2009 to have international agreement on the new guidelines."
A spokeswoman for the NMDC said Serota had raised the issue at the European meeting of the Bizot Group of international museum directors in Budapest earlier this year, while Serota and Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) director Mark Jones jointly chaired a meeting of UK conservators last month.
"The feeling [at the meeting] was that things need to change, and that it was more a question of what steps need to be taken," the NMDC spokeswoman said. "It is a delicate matter, getting everyone onboard. We are doing it one step at a time."
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has approved the initiative, which features in its Sustainable Development Action Plan 2008-2011.
The plan also features a series of action points, including the introduction of a waste system at the National Portrait Gallery that allows for increased recycling, an education and training programme for staff at the Imperial War Museum that focuses on sustainability, and a pledge by the V&A to cut its transport carbon footprint by 5 per cent by 2011.
Maurice Davies, deputy director of the Museums Association (MA), welcomed the initiative. A recent MA consultation found that a significant number of people in the sector thought issues around collections care standards were important. Davies said the use of air-conditioning - an issue the NMDC is focusing on - needed particular discussion.
Tate is working with independent consultant Rachel Madan on sustainability, as part of the government-funded Cultural Leadership Programme.
She said Serota would be focusing on the need to introduce standards for different materials - paper, canvas, ceramic and metal are all under the same standard - and to relax the guidelines on the range of temperature and humidity at which things are stored.
"Most people realise that some sort of new consensus needs to be found," said Madan. "There is a lot of politics involved, but we are confident [that this will happen], as we have a lot of people looking at this issue, from directors to conservators. "We are aiming by the end of 2009 to have international agreement on the new guidelines."
A spokeswoman for the NMDC said Serota had raised the issue at the European meeting of the Bizot Group of international museum directors in Budapest earlier this year, while Serota and Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) director Mark Jones jointly chaired a meeting of UK conservators last month.
"The feeling [at the meeting] was that things need to change, and that it was more a question of what steps need to be taken," the NMDC spokeswoman said. "It is a delicate matter, getting everyone onboard. We are doing it one step at a time."
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has approved the initiative, which features in its Sustainable Development Action Plan 2008-2011.
The plan also features a series of action points, including the introduction of a waste system at the National Portrait Gallery that allows for increased recycling, an education and training programme for staff at the Imperial War Museum that focuses on sustainability, and a pledge by the V&A to cut its transport carbon footprint by 5 per cent by 2011.
Maurice Davies, deputy director of the Museums Association (MA), welcomed the initiative. A recent MA consultation found that a significant number of people in the sector thought issues around collections care standards were important. Davies said the use of air-conditioning - an issue the NMDC is focusing on - needed particular discussion.
Alternatives to air-con
The NMDC, in its response to the MA's consultation, points out that air-conditioning is costly, as well as energy intensive. It suggests that an alternative would be to keep air change to a minimum, stabilising relative humidity and temperature. For more vulnerable objects, local conditioning, perhaps using silica gel, is an easy and cheap solution.
The NMDC, in its response to the MA's consultation, points out that air-conditioning is costly, as well as energy intensive. It suggests that an alternative would be to keep air change to a minimum, stabilising relative humidity and temperature. For more vulnerable objects, local conditioning, perhaps using silica gel, is an easy and cheap solution.
Links
Museums Journal, October 2008, p21
Museums Journal, October 2008, p21
