Colections & Research
Conservation
Conservation staff are responsible for safeguarding the Museum's collections and ensuring their long-term preservation through both prevention and treatment. At MOA, preventive conservation is a key part of the conservation process. One of MOA's primary concerns is to maintain an environment that will help stop, or at the very least, slow down the deterioration of the materials from which the objects are made. To do this, conservators try to monitor and control such factors as light, air pollution, humidity and temperature. When unchecked, these may lead to problems such as fading, mould growth, corrosion and tarnishing, all of which can cause irreparable damage. An additional important aspect of preventive conservation is an integrated pest management program that minimizes damage to objects caused by insects such as cloth moths and carpet beetles. Visit the Entomology Department's website at Clemson University, North Carolina, for more information on insects: http://entweb.clemson.edu/index.htm.
Conservators are specially trained to preserve museum collections according to a professional code of ethics (www.car-accr.ca/ecodeth1.html). MOA houses many objects from indigenous cultures, and while the stewardship role of museum staff ensures that collections are well taken care of, aboriginal peoples have their own interests in objects from their heritage. MOA conservators are currently developing protocols with First Nations communities regarding the care and understanding of objects housed at MOA.
The term "preservation" is subject to more than one interpretation. For conservators, the term usually implies using physical and scientific methods to ensure that material fragments from the past do not disappear. For First Nations, the term often means to continue and/or to renew past traditions and their associated material culture; in other words, preserving the past by being actively engaged in it, and thereby ensuring its living future. You can read more about First Nations peoples' perspectives on preservation in a book by MOA's former Senior Conservator, Dr. Miriam Clavir, "Preserving What is Valued: Museums, Conservation and First Nations," UBC Press, 2002.
