[Nhcoll-l] Unique online course covering museum, library and archives environments starts May 6

[helen at collectioncare.org]

MS211: Preservation Environments
Instructor: Ernest A. Conrad
Dates: May 6 to June 7, 2013
Location: Online at www.museumclasses.org

Description:
The museum's brick exterior wall is crumbling. The powder
coated metal storage shelves have active rust under the
foam padding. Objects in fur storage are covered in mold.
It is raining in the exhibit hall. This is the damage that
occurs to museum buildings or collection when staff do not
understand preservation environments. Preservation
Environments is essential knowledge for any collecting
institution. Everyone should understand how humidity and
temperature are controlled by a building and its mechanical
system. For museum staff considering a new building - and
any institution planning to expand or rebuild an existing
one - Preservation Environments provide important
information for calculating whether the proposed
improvements will actually improve the environmental
control of your protective enclosure. Participants learn
the advantages and disadvantages of numerous methods of
temperature and humidity control. Preservation Environments
does not try to turn museum professionals into engineers.
Rather, it arms them with the knowledge they need to work
with engineers and maintenance professionals. And helps
explain why damaged occurred and how to keep it from
happening again.

Logistics:
Participants in Preservation Environments work at their own
pace through six sections and interact through online
chats. Instructor Ernest Conrad is available at scheduled
times for email support. Preservation Environments includes
online literature, slide lectures and
student-teacher/group-teacher dialog. The course is limited
to 20 participants. 

Preservation Environments runs four weeks. To reserve a
spot inearn more about the course, go to
http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html If you have
trouble please contact Helen Alten at
helen at collectioncare.org

The Instructor:
Ernest A. Conrad's greatest contribution to the
preservation field was the development of environmental
guidelines for engineers who work on museums, libraries and
archives. For over 20 years, Mr. Conrad has focused on
environmental issues. He is president of Conrad Engineers
and Past Founder of Landmark Facilities Group, Inc., an
engineering firm specializing in environmental systems for
museums, libraries, archives and historic facilities. A
licensed mechanical engineer in several states, Mr. Conrad
holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and a
master's in environmental engineering from Drexel
University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For more
information visit his web site Landmark Facilities Group,
Inc.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and
Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE) publishes
standards in the areas of HVAC and refrigeration. Mr.
Conrad recently co-authored the ASHRAE Applications
Handbook "Chapter 20: Museums, Libraries and Archives." For
the first time, there are guidelines specific to our needs
in the engineering literature. Mr. Conrad has studied
environments and designed special climate control systems
throughout the United States for clients as well-known as
the National Gallery of Art, Library of Congress, The Frick
Collection, Getty Conservation Institute, The Pierpont
Morgan Library, National Trust for Historic Preservation,
and National Park Service. He has a special interest in
house museums and how climate affects structures and
collections housed within those structures.

Helen Alten
Director
Northern States Conservation Center
www.collectioncare.org
www.museumclasses.org