Cristina Menegazzi

During evaluations of the Teamwork for Preventive Conservation ICCROM pilot project, museums encouraged more international networking, to support each museum and its partners in their efforts to promote and increase preventive conservation. Lacking concrete information on the needs of museums in various nations, and the services available to them, ICCROM begun organising another project named Preventive Conservation Survey of European Museums and Services.

The project will develop, together with a network of European museums and services in support of preventive conservation, a European strategy on preventive conservation in the 32 European ICCROM Member States (see attachment n^o1).

The aim of the project is: to monitor and analyse the situation of museums and services in support of preventive conservation in the 32 ICCROM European State Members, providing useful data, information and suggestions for the development of a European strategy on preventive conservation.

The results expected by the end of December 1999 are:

1. a list of major public and private agencies responsible for services germane to preventive conservation;
2. reference materials about assessment systems, standards, methodologies, job description, legislation, publications, course curricula, etc. concerning preventive conservation;
3. at least 150 European museums where the state of preventive conservation has been assessed, by using the ICCROM Preventive Conservation Indicators;
4. a document reporting major analysis results and suggestions for the development and improvement of preventive conservation in Europe.

This project is partially financed by the European Commission in the frame of the Raphael program of the DGX.

The project is divided in two parts:

A. the survey of European services which will be implemented by using the Preventive Conservation Survey of European Services questionnaire (see attachment n^o2);

B. the survey of European museums which will be implemented by using Preventive Conservation Indicators (see attachment n^o3) for museums.

In order to contribute to the accomplishment of part A of the project European institutions are invited to answer the Preventive Conservation Survey of European Services questionnaire, which will monitor the state of the art of the services in support of preventive conservation. The questionnaire is being sent to European institutions which, directly or indirectly, deal with the conservation of museums collections.

In order to contribute to the accomplishment of part B of the project European museums are invited to answer the Preventive Conservation Indicators which is a self-evaluation tool to assess the status of preventive conservation in museums. This document will be sent to at least 5 museums for each European ICCROM Member States in order to monitor the state of preventive conservation in European museums.

Preventive Conservation Europe Strategy: P.C.Strat

A network of 5 European institutions (see Partnership details) will use the results of the Preventive Conservation Survey of European Museums and Services and will organise, in June 2000, a Preventive Conservation Europe Strategy seminar in order to develop a European strategy on preventive conservation and to identify new directions in European conservation.

Aim of the project

By means of the Preventive Conservation Europe Strategy (P.C.Stra) seminar, involving comparisons between the situation of at least 15 European nations to propose improvements for the development and implementation of preventive conservation in Europe.

Objectives

1. To use the printed results of the Preventive Conservation Survey of European Museums and Services, to ensure seminar participants are informed of on the Europe-wide state of preventive conservation.
2. To use oral and written reports from seminar participants to add detailed information on national services for preventive conservation (e.g. advisory services, university level training, mid-career training, standards, assessment systems, legislation, etc.)
3. To produce and agree on a document of guidelines for the development and implementation of preventive conservation in Europe.
4. To publish, also in the internet, and diffuse a document in at least 6 languages (Finnish, Portuguese, French, Italian, English and Hungarian) which includes the results of the Preventive Conservation Survey of European Museums and Services and the guidelines for the development and implementation of preventive conservation in Europe

Partnership details

5 organisations are involved in the project: the EVTEK Institute of Art and Design – Finland as the co-ordinator, the Instituto Jose de Figueiredo – Portugal and ICCROM (The International Centre for the study of Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property) – Italy as co-organisers, the Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des musйes de France – France and the Ministry of Cultural Heritage – Hungary as partners.

Since 1995 the organisations involved in the project have been working together.

In the past years 4 meetings have been organised: in Rome June 1995, in Belfast October 1997, in Budapest January 1998, in Rome February 1999.

Otherwise the organisations are regularly communicating through post, e-mail, fax, telephone, courier, etc.

The members added to the network have been 9 national conservation advisory services and 11 museums from Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. These institutions have co-operated to complete:

• An international project to develop and promote the application of team management to preventive conservation

• Numerous publications in European press and professional journals to involve a broader network of museums in similar projects

• (The network is now preparing a newsletter and a published guide (3500 copies) on teamwork for preventive conservation, for broad promotion of the teamwork strategy, and growth of the network).

• A Preventive Conservation Survey of European Museums and Services (Survey)

ICCROM was the original initiator of the co-operation network described above. The co-ordinator and the four P.C. Strat co-organisers and partners are members of the previous co-operation network. They will draws on previous work for resource documents and development of the project strategy. It would also draw on the established network for advice in planning the seminar, agenda and techniques, and in inviting key directors of national conservation services, national museums, ministries of culture to participate.

The shared guidelines produced by the seminar will be the first Europe-wide opportunity for further international co-operative strategies and projects about preventive conservation.

Target audience

The P.C. Strat seminar participants will be directors of national conservation services and museums, and representatives of ministries of culture, responsible for museums, national administrator of cultural heritage. The participants will be invited from 15 nations: half from EU Member Nations (selection will be from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom) and half from ICCROM members nations which are not EU members (selection will be from Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Macedonia, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Switzerland, Turkey). This balance ensures a complete view of services for preventive conservation in Europe.

Implementation

Planned main stages :

• November 1999 – January 2000, Consultation: with co-organisers and partners, on selection of participants, agenda, methods, preparatory instructions to seminar participants

• January 2000, Preparatory meeting: with co-organisers and partners to design the seminar

• January – May 2000, Preparation: invitations, instructions to participants, preparation of reference materials, etc…

• June 2000, Implementation of the seminar

• June – July 2000, Evaluation of seminar

• September – March 2001, Publication of results: booklet and web page which includes the results of Preventive Conservation Survey of European Museums and Services and the guidelines for the development and implementation of preventive conservation in Europe

• April 2001, Evaluation of the project.

Co-ordinator, co-organisers and partners will plan all aspects of the project implementation, including selection of the participants (above). The seminar participants will use the printed results of the Preventive Conservation Survey of European Museums and Services, and will provide written and oral presentations to add further data on the status of preventive conservation in museums, and give examples of a variety of national services: University level training, short-course mid-career training, advisory services for museums (lending libraries, equipment loans, advice on sources of supplies), legislation for preventive conservation, standards for preventive conservation, etc.

Results

1. 15 comparative national reports on the status of preventive conservation in European museums and services.
2. Publication of a document which includes the results of Preventive Conservation Survey of European Museums and Services and the guidelines for the development and implementation of preventive conservation in Europe. The document will allow the project co-operation network to develop an international strategy and activities for implementation of preventive conservation in Europe. It will allow ministries of culture, directions of museums and conservation services to justify, plan and implement services in support of preventive conservation.
3. Publication and/or presentation of the summary of the document above on ICCROM web page, in ICCROM newsletter, on Conservation Distribution List and in the International Council of Museums Triennial Congress.
4. Publication of at least one article concerning the Seminar and its results in professional journals of each of the 15 participating nations.
5. Translation of a follow-up publication into 6 languages at least (Finnish, Portuguese, French, Italian, English and Hungarian).