We are all devastated by the news of the earthquake around Christchurch and the damage it has caused.
The NZCCM is keen to help the Christchurch members if we can, and our thoughts are with you as you deal with the effects of the disaster.
Canterbury earthquake information – salvaging damaged collections materials
For information on damaged heritage buildings or homes, please refer to:http://www.historic.org.nz/en/ProtectingOurHeritage/FAQs-Earthquake.aspx Canterbury Disaster Salvage Team
For local advice in the Canterbury region, including salvage assistance forinstitutions please contact the Canterbury Disaster Salvage Team:
Lynn Campbell (03) 941- 7380, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it http://www.disalteam.co.nz/
Their website also contains many useful links to other sources of disaster preparedness and recovery information.
General advice: Please ensure that your home or building housing your collections has beenapproved for entry by officials before attempting any salvage. Take appropriate personal safety precautions when entering sites – for example,protective footwear, gloves, safety glasses, and where advised, a hard hat. If your collections area contains shelving or other types of storage units thatmay have become damaged, ensure they have been inspected by an expert prior to attempting any salvage. If water has entered your collections area be aware that it may be contaminated and hazardous to your health.Take photographs and/or digital video – general images as well as detailedand close up images of any damaged or broken collections materials as wellas surrounding storage areas. Make notes on the type and location of damage and where damaged materials are located in your building, prior toremoving collection items. This will assist not only with any related insuranceclaims, but also in any conservation treatment work that may be carried out at a later date. For institutions, delegate the role of coordinating collections recovery efforts to one person who can then organise, prioritise and document all aspects of the salvage response. This person can then also delegatesomeone to identify and label collections materials as salvage begins. This will help prevent confusion and well-meaning recovery efforts that may resultin more damage or loss.
There are many websites with useful detailed information on practicalsteps for recovery of a wide range of collections formats and media. These tend to focus on water or fire damaged materials, which are the most commonforms of damage that tend to result from a range of disasters. These include:·
The Minnesota Historical Society http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/conservation/emergency.html·
The Western Association for Art Conservation’s “Salvage at Glancechart” http://cool.conservation-us.org/waac/wn/wn19/wn19-2/wn19-207.html
Betty Walsh’s related article: “Salvage Operations forWater damaged Archival Collections: A Second Glance” http://cool.conservation-us.org/waac/wn/wn19/wn19-2/wn19-206.html·
Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts technical bulletins onsalvaging art on paper, photographs, and books http://www.ccaha.org/publications/technical-bulletins
For broken and damaged objects, contain all pieces of the artefact within one container, with each piece being wrapped or protected from each other, andensure the container is labelled. If the materials are wet, allow them to air dry before wrapping them.Other useful information:·
American Institute for Conservation of Art and Historic Works:“Emergency! If you are first”: http://www.conservationus.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageId=596·
National Services Te Papa (includes information on Helping Handsgrant for organisations to purchase conservation supplies and packingmaterials):http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/NationalServices/Pages/NationalServices.aspx·
National Preservation Office Collections Salvage Guidelines:http://www.natlib.govt.nz/about-us/catalogues/librarydocuments/collection-salvage-guidelines-sept-2010·
Archives New Zealand freeze drying service: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call Diana Coop at (04) 495 6221 orJennifer Koerner at (04) 496 1398
Salvage supplies:
The types of supplies that you may have on hand or are available for salvagemay vary greatly depending on your circumstances. The focus should be on personal protective equipment as well as clean and appropriate materials forsorting, drying, temporarily packing and storing collections items. Additionalhealth and safety equipment such as lighting, tables and work areas are alsoimportant, as are supplies for identifying and documenting collections items aswell as the recovery work.If temporary storage of your collections materials is an issue, renting ashipping container may be an option to consider. Similarly, if you have a largeamount of wet material that you cannot air dry, storage of the material in afreezer container will help prevent mould growth and allow time for the materials to be freeze dried at a later date.·
National Park Service Conserv-o-gram “An Emergency Cart forSalvaging Water Damaged Objects” which is geared towards a smaller event but contains a useful list of the types of supplies needed:http://www.nps.gov/history/museum/publications/conserveogram/21-02.pdf·
The Studio Protector website, a guide to emergencies for artists, has alist of basic and easily available supplies that can be used for salvage(note that the vendors listed are located in the USA):http://www.studioprotector.org/OnlineGuide/Salvage/SalvageBasics/ListofUsefulSalvageSupplies.aspx·
Local New Zealand vendors of conservation and packing suppliesinclude:o ConservationSupplies http://www.conservationsupplies.co.nz/o Port Nicholson Packaging http://www.pnp.co.nz/o Triptych Conservation www.triptychconservation.co.nz
