AIC 53rd Annual Meeting

Cost/Registration: TBA

In partnership with a small local institution, AIC’s Sustainability Committee and Preventive Care Network will host a full day practical seminar exploring some of the multitude of factors in consideration when providing holistic recommendations for sustainable practices at a collecting institution. This seminar would have the same structure as the ones previously offered at the AIC Annual Meetings in Jacksonville and Salt Lake City, however specific points of concern will be highlighted based on the host institution. Instructors would be identified based on availability and budgeted payment would be divided among them. The moderator would facilitate activity content development with the instructors and define materials and equipment cost.

Morning talks by experts would provide examples of what everyone can do to make their institutions more sustainable; this would be followed by greetings from the institution’s staff and an introduction to the three areas covered in the seminar: 1) energy usage from the operation of HVAC systems and lighting; 2) materials and waste, specifically around packaging and transport for loans and exhibitions; and 3) regional environmental adaptation for the institution to protect the collection in a rapidly changing climate.

Participants would then be divided into one of the three groups and guided through the process of applying the concepts to the host institution during an onsite visit. The seminar would conclude with time for each group to record their findings and report out, with the goal of generating a preliminary checklist for collecting institutions to examine these areas and identify opportunities for advancement beyond the seminar.

The contextual framework of this seminar, which would consist of one day broken into lecture, discussion, and onsite practicum, is that collection and conservation professionals are one part of a larger system and must work in conjunction with other specialists and colleagues across disciplines. Discussions would be held on cooperative, people-centered approaches where the role of the conservator or collections manager is to facilitate and aid discourse and innovation, rather than strictly observing and enforcing standards.