[NHCOLL-L:4304] Museum materials online course in May

[Helen Alten]

Announcing an online course about materials used for storage and 
display in museums, cultural centers, archives and libraries.  The 
course starts May 4:

MS204: Materials for Storage and Display
May 4 to May 29, 2009
Price: $425
Instructor: Helen Alten

Description:
One of the great benefits of the 21st century is the abundance of 
materials for storing and displaying collections. Materials for 
Storage and Display covers this vast array in detail. Lectures and 
handouts separate materials by properties: rigid, padding, barrier 
and attachments. Slide shows illustrate the use of each. The course 
emphasizes acid-free materials and how to retrofit less appropriate 
materials. Materials for Storage and Display keeps current with the 
latest materials available for preservation. Using material testing 
as a decision making tool is covered. Participants receive notebooks 
with samples of all of the materials discussed.

Course Outline:
1. Introduction
2. Choosing and Testing
3. Rigid Materials
4. Padding Materials
5. Barrier Materials
6. Tie Materials
7. Bad Materials
8. Conclusion

Logistics:
Participants in Materials for Storage and Display work at their own 
pace through eight sections. Instructor Helen Alten is available at 
scheduled times during the course for email support. Students work 
individually and interact through forums and scheduled online chats. 
Materials include PowerPoint lectures, readings and lecture notes, as 
well as message forums, projects, quizzes, and links to relevant web 
sites. The course is limited to 20 participants.

Materials for Storage and Display lasts four weeks. To reserve a spot 
in the course, please pay at 
<http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html>http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html 
If you have trouble please contact Helen Alten at helen at collectioncare.org

Student Comments from MS204: Materials for Storage and Display:
"The PowerPoint slides were really helpful; I need to visually see 
what the material looks like and how it is used. Being able to touch 
the samples also was a plus."

"A high mark because you obviously know the material well, and the 
lectures and readings have been very informative."

"I enjoyed the format of the lectures, the additional reading lists 
provided and the feedback from the professor."

The Instructor:
Helen Alten, is the Director of Northern States Conservation Center 
and its chief Objects Conservator. For nearly 30 years she has been 
involved in objects conservation, starting as a pre-program intern at 
the Oriental Institute in Chicago and the University Museum of the 
University of Pennsylvania. She completed a degree in Archaeological 
Conservation and Materials Science from the Institute of Archaeology 
at the University of London in England. She has built and run 
conservation laboratories in Bulgaria, Montana, Greece, Alaska and 
Minnesota. She has a broad understanding of three-dimensional 
materials and their deterioration, wrote and edited the quarterly 
Collections Caretaker, maintains the popular www.collectioncare.org 
web site, lectures throughout the United States on collection care 
topics, was instrumental in developing a state-wide protocol for 
disaster response in small Minnesota museums, has written, received 
and reviewed grants for NEH and IMLS, worked with local foundations 
funding one of her pilot programs, and is always in search of the 
perfect museum mannequin. She has published chapters on conservation 
and deterioration of archeological glass with the Materials Research 
Society and the York Archaeological Trust, four chapters on different 
mannequin construction techniques in Museum Mannequins: A Guide for 
Creating the Perfect Fit (2002), preservation planning, policies, 
forms and procedures needed for a small museum in The Minnesota 
Alliance of Local History Museums' Collection Initiative Manual, and 
is co-editor of the penultimate book on numbering museum collections 
(still in process) by the Gilcrease Museum in Oklahoma. Helen Alten 
has been a Field Education Director, Conservator, and staff trainer. 
She began working with people from small, rural, and tribal museums 
while as the state conservator for Montana and Alaska. Helen 
currently conducts conservation treatments and operates a 
conservation center in Charleston, WV and St. Paul, MN.
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