[NHCOLL-L:5750] An Introduction to Collections Preservation course begins January 9

[Helen Alten]

MS 104: An Introduction to Collections Preservation
Instructor: Helen Alten
Price: $475
Dates: Jan 9 to Feb 2, 2012
Location: Online at www.museumclasses.org

Description:
Every museum professional needs a solid foundation in preservation 
principles and techniques. Introduction to Collections Preservation 
provides an overview of current preservation issues from environmental 
monitoring to collection cleaning, exhibit mounts and storage furniture. 
Participants learn about every aspect of the modern museum and how the 
building, staff and fixtures affect preservation. Subjects include the 
agents of deterioration, risk management, object handling and transport, 
object labeling, exhibit lighting, security, emergency preparedness, 
materials for storage and display, storage and exhibit philosophies, and 
condition assessments.

Logistics:
Participants in An Introduction to Collections Preservation work at 
their own pace through 10 sections and interact through online forums 
and chats. Instructor Helen Alten will be available at scheduled times 
for email support. Materials include online readings and lecture notes, 
slide shows, quizzes and links to relevant web sites. The course is 
limited to 20 participants.

An Introduction to Collections Preservation runs for four weeks. To 
reserve a spot in the course, please pay at 
http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html If you have trouble please 
contact Helen Alten at helen at collectioncare.org

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.

-- 
Brad Bredehoft for Helen Alten
Northern States Conservation Center
www.collectioncare.org
www.museumclasses.org