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Accession numbers can also be sewn onto garments
Photo Courtesy of {http://www.wornthrough.com/2012/01/museum-life-numbering-objects/} |
This week I decided to
blog about some of the small tasks that a museum team must accomplish that make
a big difference to both the museum and the collection. I'm referring to
marking objects, de-installation, and filling out condition reports. Marking
objects means to have the accession or loan number of the object visible
somewhere on the object itself, or on a tag or label attached to the object. To
learn more about this process, I read chapter 5 in Museum Registration
Methods, 5th Edition, edited by Rebecca A. Buck and Jean Allman Gilmore. I
will be marking museum objects in the near future, and reading this was preparatory measure. Marking objects requires
studying the contents of the objects; and this is particularly
important for hazardous collections and historic medicine collections. Marking
hazardous objects is important because if a problem arises in the future, a collections manager needs to be able to look to the
records to find exactly what ingredients are in the medicine, and/or where the
medicine came from. Historic pharmaceuticals have the potential to be leaky,
weak, or harmful, so marking the collection could prove to be difficult. Many
medicines are kept in glass, cardboard or paper packaging, or plastics. Out of
the five methods shown in Museum Registration Methods, there are two
which stuck out to me to be the most useful for pharmaceutical collections. The
first marking method that would be ideal for medicine collections is Barrier
Coat with Ink. No matter which method you choose, the key is to make sure that
all marks can be reversed by a conservator. The barrier method involves painting a clear liquid barrier onto the object, writing the accession number on the
barrier in ink, then sealing the number with a top coat. The museum products available
for this method are easily removed by a conservator. The second best method is
marking a tag, and attaching the tag with a natural cotton string. Tags can be
dangerous because they are easily detached or lost from the object. However,
they are the least damaging to leaky or weakened collections. If either of
these methods fail, or if the barrier method does not work for your cardboard
or paper-sealed medicines, marking the object, or the storage box holding the
object, lightly with pencil is also reliable and removable. Marking your
collection is the first step towards an organized and well-documented hazardous
collection.
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This is me and the Registrar, Gillian, cleaning an exhibit space
after de-installing a few objects
Photo Courtesy of {Stephanie Lampkin} |
Another important step
for keeping your collection organized is to fill out condition reports.
Condition reports are an important step when de-installing an object,
installing an object, accessioning an object, loaning or taking a loaned
object, or when sending an object to a conservator. Having condition reports on
file keep a record of when the objects are damaged, and keep track of the
object's condition when coming back from being loaned. This week I was able to
help with the de-installation of some objects, and the condition reports that
went along with that process. It was a great week for research, and I was happy
to help with some hands-on projects!
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