• 47th AIC Annual Meeting – 15th to 17th May 2019

American Institute for Conservation - Uncasville, CT

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Program description: The theme of the AIC's 47th Annual Meeting was "New Tools, Techniques, and Tactics in Conservation and Collection Care."

Are conservation professionals innovators ? We think so. From developing new approaches to conservation treatment and preventive care, to utilizing cutting-edge technological research, to examining how cultural heritage is defined and valued, conservation professionals are innovative, dynamic, forward-looking agents of change. And how does collaboration with related fields and allied professionals influence the dynamics of the conservation – innovation process ?
We asked for papers that explore all types of new work: practical, method-focused treatment projects; advances in collections care and management; discoveries in conservation science; and conservation initiatives that intentionally have a positive impact on communities. In 2019, we came together to share new ideas for solving conservation and collections care problems large and small.

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• Integrated Spectral Reflectance Transformation Imaging Workshop - 16th to 17th January 2019 

Led by Dr. Todd Hanneken, Ken Boydston and Jonathan Kaplan - University of Texas, Austin, TX

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Program description: Spectral RTI is emerging as an important tool for Digital Humanities and has become an essential tool for scholars working on ancient manuscripts, particularly for those working on recovering illegible texts and deciphering palimpsests. During this two-day workshop, participants will be introduced to the basic techniques, methods, and best practices for Spectral RTI, and will have the opportunity to produce images using Spectral RTI.

The University of Texas Libraries will be hosting this workshop in cooperation with the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, the Jubilees Palimpsest Project at St. Mary’s University and MegaVision imaging.

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• Asian Papers and their Applications in Paper Conservation -  7th to 9th August 2018 

Led by Minah Song, private paper conservator - Library of Congress, Washington DC

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Program description: The workshop combined theoretical and hand-on practical sessions. Participants studied history and characteristics of Chinese, Korean and Japanese papermaking, including an overview of contemporary East Asian paper production. Several factors that can change the quality of paper during the papermaking process will be indicated and discussed. Participants were shown microscopic images of the different fibers in Eastern papers and paper samples for examination.​

Practical sessions included : making small-sized paper using simple tools, to understand basic papermaking techniques and assist in the creation of their own repair paper of appropriate weight and color, various methods of mending, lining and drying using different Asian papers and adhesives, as appropriate for specific objects.

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• 46th AIC Annual Meeting - 29th May to 2nd June 2018

American Institute for Conservation - Houston, TX

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Program description: The theme of the AIC's 46th Annual Meeting was "Material Matters 2018."

How does a better understanding and appreciation of the properties of materials change their treatment, interpretation, and preservation? Papers were solicited that demonstrate the impact of material studies – or studies of materials – on the conservation profession, including the emergence of innovative treatments, new ways of “looking” and “seeing,” shifts in decision-making and desired outcomes, and changes in collection care strategies. Also welcome are explorations of the impact of trending “materiality” studies on related disciplines including archaeology, museum and curatorial fields, and art history among others. Topics included, but were not limited to: cutting-edge imaging and analysis techniques of materials, new materials having conservation applications, revelations about the meaning and significance of materials within an artist’s work, and improved methods of authentication.

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• Pulp Repair of Archival Documents on the Vacuum Table - 7th to 8th March 2017

Led by Alan Buchanan independent Paper Conservator and Ciara McQueirns, private paper conservator - National Archives of Ireland, Dublin

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Program description: The purpose of this workshop was to present the methodical visual system to create matching infills for missing areas in archival documents with coloured paper pulp, a strong and effective way of repairing and retouching documents at the same time. Over the two days the workshop featured two complementary types of presentations: theory (with explanations of the technique’s background, concrete examples and material needed), and practice (with trials for colour matching and actual repairs on damaged documents).

A complete review is available here : https://aranewprofessionals.wordpress.com/2017/03/24/claire-valero-workshop-on-pulp-repair-of-archival-documents-on-the-vacuum-table/

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• Risks and Priorities in Conservation and Collection Management for Archives, Libraries and Museums - 7th October 2016

Led by Agnes Brokerhof, Dr Anna Bülow and Janien Kemp and organised by ICRI - Chester Beatty Library, Dublin

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Program description: This workshop is about setting priorities for conservation and collection care, weighing the opportunities for improving the collection against the threats for preservation. It introduces the ‘Diamond of Value Management', a four step approach to seek ‘value for money'. In a series of practical exercises participants will learn to assess and rank collections based on their significance and identify opportunities to increase value using the methodology developed by the Cultural Heritage Agency of The Netherlands.

Participants will be introduced to the newly developed QuiskScan methodology for a quick risk assessment and apply it to identify and rank threats to the collection. Ultimately, risks and opportunities are compared to determine priorities for conservation and collection management. The workshop will be concluded with a discussion of what this value - based approach to collection management means for archives and museums, for managers of conservation departments and for conservators.

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• International RE-ORG Seminar: Reconnecting with Collections in Storage – 28th to 29th September 2016 

Organised by KIK IRPA, Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI), and ICCROM  - Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels

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Program description: In 2011, ICCROM and UNESCO created “RE-ORG” (www.re-org.info), a step-by-step holistic approach to help small museums reorganize their storage areas. Five years later, RE-ORG has been visited nearly 80,000 times and 13 RE-ORG training projects have been implemented in 9 countries all over the world.

This seminar will feature presentations by the participating museums of the RE-ORG Belgium initiative, as well as of the other RE-ORG projects worldwide. The talks will focus on collections of various types and sizes. We will discuss different practical solutions for when space is limited, when objects are scattered, when storage furniture can be reused or adapted. Special emphasis will be placed on the meaningful outcomes of reorganized storage for communities and on the various ways in which these projects were communicated to the public. The program will include a poster session, videos and special guided tours in some newly reorganized museum storages in the Brussels area.

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• Joint tacketing workshop (Basic book repair technique) - July 2016

Led by Ray Jordan, Senior book conservator - Trinity College, Dublin

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Program description: One of the most common and vexatious conservation problems in all library collections is the steady stream of well-used books with broken or detached covers. In all books, the part of the binding that bends when the covers are opened is the principal point of wear and consequent failure, resulting in cracked or broken joints. Among the methods used to repair books with broken joints, there is the method of "board reattachment with joint tackets", named as such because the covers are tacketed or tied directly onto the book at the joints. In effect the original binding method is reproduced by simulating new slips. These slips are tacketed to the shoulder of the textblock and laced through the boards. They are tied-off on the inner board in a simple square knot. This restores the original movement of the boards because the anchoring points are at the apex of the shoulder.

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• Building a repertoire of basic book conservation techniques - 4th to 5th February 2016

Led by Sonja Schwoll, instructor at West Dean College - London Metropolitan Archives, London

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Program description: The boundaries between book and paper conservation are very fluent. Book conservators need to cover specialist paper conservation knowledge and paper conservators often need to address mixed collections, which also contain bound material. While each specialist conservator needs to know the limitation of their skills, a fruitful exchange will assist the other. This workshop addresses the need of paper conservators with a basic knowledge about book structures and their typical damage to build up a basic repertoire of book conservation techniques. This will allow them to help stabilise book collections and/ or to better assess damage and organise their repair. It will also allow to better identify iconic bound material with damage, which will have to be addressed by professional accredited book conservators.