services

surveys & consultations

NEDCC provides three levels of preservation surveys that identify preservation problems within an institution and make suggestions for improving conditions. They are:

• General Preservation Planning Surveys
• Collection-Specific Surveys
• Item-by-Item Condition Surveys

A survey normally requires one or more days on site, plus two to four days of report writing. Costs for surveys are based on the number of days required for the survey at NEDCC's regular daily consulting rate and travel expenses.

General Preservation Planning Surveys

A general preservation planning survey identifies hazards to collections overall and helps preserve materials by suggesting preventive maintenance strategies. For example, this type of survey examines building conditions, storage and handling procedures, disaster preparedness, and policies that impact preservation. Each building is inspected outside and inside, room by room, from a preservation perspective. A formal report is then prepared, which:

• identifies potential hazards to the collection from the environment or from storage and handling procedures
• identifies actions required to ensure the long-term preservation of collections, e.g. improving housekeeping, storage enclosures, fire protection, environmental management, etc.
• prioritizes the needs of the collections and identifies steps necessary to achieve required preservation actions.

The general survey is often the first step in an institution’s long-term preservation initiative. Many granting agencies require such surveys before funding storage improvements or treatment. NEDCC's latest publication, Assessing Preservation Needs, provides guidance for performing a self-survey.

For information about general surveys contact Angelina Altobellis, Field Service Representative, (978) 470-1010 ext. 244, email .

Collection-Specific Surveys

These surveys focus on a specific collection within an institution. Examples are photographic materials, rare books, maps, or architectural drawings. An NEDCC conservator will visit the institution to assess the collection, making recommendations for its care, including overall preventive maintenance actions as well as conservation treatment options. A collection-level survey may also identify groups of objects and individual objects in need of treatment and provide treatment proposals along with cost estimates for treatment at NEDCC. Priorities for a treatment program are included in the written report.

Item-by-Item Condition Surveys

Item-by-item condition surveys focus on a preselected group of artifacts. These surveys are more detailed in their object-level assessment of materials than collection surveys and generally consist of in-depth examination of a relatively small group of objects. Treatment priorities are developed and cost estimates are prepared. Item-by-item surveys are often an appropriate next step after a more general collection-level survey has been completed. Condition surveys are performed by members of NEDCC's conservation staff and can be undertaken for a group of books, works of art, photographs, or archival materials with little attention addressing general preservation needs.

For information about collection surveys or item-by-item condition surveys, e contact Walter Newman, Director of Paper Conservation, (978) 470-1010 ext. 228 , or Deborah Wender, Director of Book Conservation, (978) 470-1010 ext. 234, .