Exhibiting Collections

LIS 619

Team 4Nicki Garces 

Valancy RasmussenSarah Vornholt

October 25, 2011

Agenda

• Introduction to exhibits • The standards in exhibit preservation &

conservation• The use of technology• Short "field trip" to Curator's Choice Exhibition

Introduction to Exhibits

Exhibit:

"A physical object placed on display in a museum, gallery or other public place, usually because of its historical, cultural, or scientific importance or its aesthetic qualities, extraordinary characteristics or monetary value.  Libraries typically exhibit rare and valuable books, manuscripts, personal papers and memorabilia associated with authorship, publishing, book history, and reading.  Exhibits may be permanent or rotate periodically, depending on the availability of materials suitable for display and the policy of the library."

-ABC-CLIO Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science

Definition (con't)"An exhibit is a physical environment designed for the experience of embedded knowledge." 

-Eugene Dillenburg, 2011

• Information of the items are imbedded based on how the items are displayed

• An exhibit is a medium of media (utilization of sound, written word, image, moving image, performance, etc.) in which someone can immerse him/herself in

• An experience

https://www.msu.edu/~dillenbu/

Reasons for Exhibits and Exhibitions

Museums-To foster discussion, -Challenge the visitor, -Make connections to issues that interest the visitor, and -Provide guidance for applications to the world

Libraries & Archives-To show off their collections to the public including newly acquired acquisitions, -Traveling exhibits, and-As community/public spaces, local artists and organizations can showcase their work or "collections"

U.S. National Park Service

• Published Exhibit Conservation Guidelines: Incorporating Conservation into Exhibit Planning, Design and Fabrication (1999)

• Guidelines and standards created due to past conflicts between exhibit specialists and conservators 

-Lack of training and preparation for museum staff on preservation -Lack of cross-training between exhibit specialists and conservators-"Evolution of a flawed exhibit development process"-Tradition of poor communication 

http://www.nps.gov/index.htm

Exhibit Preservation & Conservation

Goal:"to design and produce preservation-friendly exhibits that attract and inform the public."

-Toby J. Rafael (2005)

The Importance of Standards 

• Sets guidelines and regulations for basic responsible preservation that can be followed

• Allows compliance and acceptability in the field for preserving artifacts

• To protect the items • Allows for collaborative team work

 (many museum exhibition and conservation guidelines and standards can be directly transferred to libraries and archives)

First Steps to Exhibiting the Materials

1.Select items that are fit to display. 2.A record of all items exhibited should be kept.

o Assessment of their condition before going on displayo Call numbers of bookso Exact pages displayedo Length of exhibito Environmental conditions

3.  For items on loan, both the lending institution and borrowing institution should make adequate provisions for safekeeping.

The Environment

Temperature & Humidity • Same temperature and humidity requirements as

special collections storage area • RH (relative humidity) should be constant and

moderate for length of the show• Make sure all windows are sealed for air quality

control• For libraries and archives: when considering

exhibition space, monitor the space a year in advance  

LUX Concept

• Lux = lumens per square meter• Lumens = amount of light omitted from a source • 50 lux essential for exhibitions on paper, drawings and

water colors, feathers and other light-sensitive organic materials

• 150-200 lux for oil  and acrylic paintings and other moderately light sensitive objects

• 300 lux for ceramics, glass, stone and most metals (not light sensitive)

• 120,000-50,000 lux-hours per annum propose for highly sensitive 50-lux items (i.e., paper, textiles)

• 10,000 lux on a clear day 

Example of the Affects of Light 

• 5 mlux hours = 20 years on display at standards.           

• (a) 0 Mlux-hrs        (b) 1.8 Mlux-hrs    (c) 8.4 Mlux-hrs   (d) 229 Mlux-hrs 

Picasso's Woman with a Flower (watercolor on paper)

Blue Wool Cards

Al= aluminum foil       UV= UV filter  

Difference is shown after 8 months facing a window (sunlight). 

Lighting in Exhibits

Albert Einstein's Original Theory of Relativity Manuscript Goes on Display

Artificial Lighting

Fiber Optic Lighting Options

• Florescent Lighting• Incandescent Lamps• Halogen Lights

Fiber Optics and LED Lighting

Fiber Optic Lighting Options

Yale School of Medicine: Crushing Center

UV and Materials    • Solutions to UV natural light and artificial lighting

(Vancouver Public Library Photographer: Alex Ramon - July 2005)

• Wood cases • Anodized Aluminum

Cases for Exhibition    

Oak Case Aluminum Case

Dangers of Cases

• Off-Gasing: evaporation of volatile chemicals in non-metallic materials at normal atmospheric pressure.o Dangerous Case Materials

 polyurethanes green woods wood paneling plywood  particle board newsprint, construction paper, kraft paper, wrapping

paper 

Barrier Materials

• Safe barrier materialso some plastics including polyethylene, polypropyleneo glasso ArtCor or FoamCor (laminated panel board)o fishing lineo velcroo acid free archival papers     

• Safe fabricso  unbleached linens washed in hot with no

detergent•  Unsafe fabrics

o woolo carpetso fabrics treated with fire-retardants   

Silica Gel

Gaylord: Indicating Silica Gel

Silica Gel Pack

How to Display Books• Sensitive paper should not be displayed longer than 3

months in a period of two years

Yale Law Rare Library: Medieval Exhibit

Photographs

• Possible and recommended to display reproductions of photographs

Wisconsin Library Heritage Museum Advertising Envelope

Matboards for Framing

Border from a Poor Quality Mat

Preservation and Exhibitions Technology

• Virtual Exhibitions• Digital Materials• Specialty Equipment and

Security for Exhibitions

Virtual Exhibitions 

Bibliothèque Nationale de France

http://expositions.bnf.fr/usindex.htm

Digital Materials

Bibliothèque Nationale de France - digital collections

http://gallica.bnf.fr/

Specialty Equipment and Security for Exhibitions

• Louvre-- the Mona Lisa• National Archives-- the Declaration of Independence• Specialty products• Protection from human damage

Louvre--the Mona Lisa

-Moved in 2005 into specially designed case.-Fitted with new devices to protect from cracking and to monitor relative humidity and temperature.

http://www.cyf-kr.edu.pl/~ncbratas/oslo/UzielliOslo2010.pdf

National Archives--the Declaration of Independence-Case design and properties-Previous light damage

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration.html

Specialty Museum Equipment

-Goppion http://www.goppion.com/en/welcome.htm

-Glasbau Hahnhttp://www.glasbau-hahn.de/english/vitrinen/vitrinen_en.php

Protection from Human Damage

• Attacks on the Mona Lisa• Attacks at the National Gallery

References"About the Louvre". http://www.louvre.fr/llv/musee/liste_metiers.jsp?bmLocale=en  "The Declaration of Independence: A History". http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_history.html “Matting and Framing” American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, accessed October 21, 2011, http://www.conservation-us.org/_data/n_0001/resources/live/mattingandframing.pdf

"Mona Lisa Gains a New Louvre Home", BBC News, (April 6, 2005). http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4413303.stm Balloffet, Nelly and Hille, Jenny. Preservation and Conservation for Libraries and Archives. Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 2005.

Dillenburg, Eugene. “What, if Anyting, Is a Museum?” Exhibitionist 30, no. 1 (Spring 2011), pp. 9-13.

Falk, John H., Lynn D. Dierking and Susan Foutz (eds.) In Principle, In Practice: Museums as Learning Institutions. New York, NY: Altamira Press, 2007.

Glaser, Mary Todd. "Protecting Paper and Book Collections During Exhibition" Northeast Document Conservation Center (2007), accessed October 21, 2011, http://www.nedcc.org/resources/leaflets/2The_Environment/05ProtectingCollections.php

 

Gorman, G.E. and Sydney J. Shep, Preservation Management for Libraries, Archives and Museums, (London: Facet Publishing, 2006), 223. Laboratorio Museotecnicio  Goppion. Projects- Musée du Louvre, Salle des Etats (Mona Lisa room). http://www.goppion.com/en/progetti_show.asp?ID=30 Jordon, Anne. “Exhibit Mounting Variations For Objects On Paper” Conserv-O-Gram, 13-04 National Park Service (1993), accessed October 21, 2011,http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/13-04.pdf

Lord, Gail D. and Lord, Barry. The Manual of Museum Management, 2nd edition. New York, NY: Altamira Press, 2009.

Martin, Susan B. “Polyester Film Book Supports” Conserv-O-Gram Vol. 18-01, National Park Service, accessed October 21, 2011,  http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/18-01.pdf Maverick, Vance. "The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution in Storage", 2003. http://edgeofthewest.wordpress.com/2009/12/23/the-declaration-of-independence-and-the-constitution-in-storage/ Merriam-Webster Dictionary, s.v. "Relative Humidity,"http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/relative%20humidity

Morris, Hannah R. “‘Virtual Fading’ of Art Objects: Simulating the Future Fading of Artifacts by Visualizing Micro-Fading Test Results” Journal of the American Institute for Conservation Vol. 46, No. 3 (Fall - Winter, 2007) : 215-228,    http://www.jstor.org/stable/40024996

Munro, Susan Nash. “Window Mats For Paper Objects” Conserv-O-Gram Vol. 13-01, National Park Service, accessed October 21, 2011,  http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/13-01.pdf

Ritzenthaler, Mary Lynn and Catherine Nicholson, "A New Era Begins for the Charters of Freedom", 2003. http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/charters_preservation_01.html

Samuel, Henry. "Woman Attacks Mona Lisa", The Telegraph, (August 11, 2009). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/6009693/Woman-attacks-Mona-Lisa.html

Trescott, Jacqueline and Timothy R. Smith. "Gauguin Masterpiece Unharmed After Attack at National Gallery", The Washington Post, (April 4, 2011). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/6009693/Woman-attacks-Mona-Lisa.html

Raphael, Toby J. "Preventative Conservation and the Exhibition Process: Development of Exhibit Guildlines and Standards for Conservation." Journal of American Institute for Conservation 44 (2005): 245-257, http://cool.conservation-us.org/jaic/articles/jaic44-03-008_indx.html

Reitz, Joan M. Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science. ABC-CLIO, accessed October 20, 2011, http://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/searchODLIS.aspx

Visser, Michelle. “Considerations in the Preparation of Library Exhibits Featuring Rare Books and Manuscripts.” College and Undergraduate Libraries, Vol. 11, Issue 2 (December, 2004) : 51-62, accessed October 21, 2011, http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/13-01.pdf

Munro, Susan Nash. “Window Mats For Paper Objects” Conserv-O-Gram Vol. 13-01, National Park Service, accessed October 21, 2011,  http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/13-01.pdf

Ritzenthaler, Mary Lynn and Catherine Nicholson, "A New Era Begins for the Charters of Freedom", 2003. http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/charters_preservation_01.html

Samuel, Henry. "Woman Attacks Mona Lisa", The Telegraph, (August 11, 2009). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/6009693/Woman-attacks-Mona-Lisa.html

Trescott, Jacqueline and Timothy R. Smith. "Gauguin Masterpiece Unharmed After Attack at National Gallery", The Washington Post, (April 4, 2011). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/6009693/Woman-attacks-Mona-Lisa.html

Raphael, Toby J. "Preventative Conservation and the Exhibition Process: Development of Exhibit Guildlines and Standards for Conservation." Journal of American Institute for Conservation 44 (2005): 245-257, http://cool.conservation-us.org/jaic/articles/jaic44-03-008_indx.html

Reitz, Joan M. Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science. ABC-CLIO, accessed October 20, 2011, http://www.abc-clio.com/ODLIS/searchODLIS.aspx

Visser, Michelle. “Considerations in the Preparation of Library Exhibits Featuring Rare Books and Manuscripts.” College and Undergraduate Libraries, Vol. 11, Issue 2 (December, 2004) : 51-62, accessed October 21, 2011, http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/13-01.pdf