[CPProt.net] Prof leads efforts to save cultural heritage

[Ton Cremers]

Prof leads efforts to save cultural heritage 

 
Debra Hess Norris, Henry Francis du Pont Chair in Fine Arts and 
chairperson of UD´s Department of Art Conservation and head of 
Heritage Preservation 
3:54 p.m., Jan. 9, 2006--When the nation´s leading conservation 
advocacy organization Heritage Preservation released its survey, A 
Public Trust at Risk: The Heritage Health Index Report on the State 
of America´s Collections, at a December press conference at the New 
York Public Library, it was national news. An article appeared in The 
New York Times, and the Associated Press ran a story that was picked 
up by newspapers nationwide. National Public Radio also did an 
interview with the project director on "All Things Considered."

UD has a strong link with Heritage Preservation as Debra Hess Norris, 
Henry Francis du Pont Chair in Fine Arts and chairperson of the 
Department of Art Conservation, serves as its chairperson.

A national organization of institutions and individuals whose goal is 
the preservation of cultural objects, Heritage Preservation estimates 
that in the United Sates there are 4.8 billion artifacts, held by 
more than 30,000 institutions, which are visited 2.5 billion times a 
year.

The Heritage Health Index survey was developed five years ago in 
partnership with the federal Institute of Museum and Library Service, 
Norris said. It was sent out electronically to large, medium and 
small institutions, and was completed by 3,370 museums, archives, 
historical societies, libraries and scientific research 
organizations.

The data is compelling and a wake-up call that the nation´s cultural 
heritage is at risk, Norris said. 

Among the Heritage Health Index findings were:

65 percent of collecting institutions reported their collections have 
been damaged due to improper storage; 
80 percent reported they do not have an emergency plan for their 
collections and do not have paid staff dedicated to collections care; 

26 percent have no environmental controls to protect their 
collections from the damaging effects of temperature, humidity and 
light; 
190 million objects are in need of conservation treatment, including 
4.7 million works of art, 13.5 million historic objects, 153 million 
photographs and countless other artifacts; and 
70 percent do not have a current assessment of the condition of their 
collections.
Heritage Preservation concluded that institutions must give priority 
to providing safe conditions for the collections they hold in public 
trust. All collecting institutions must develop an emergency plan to 
protect their collections and assign collection care responsibilities 
to members of their staff. 

Preservation funds should be secured from the federal government and 
other public and private sectors. 

 
Remains of the Pleasant Reed House, destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, 
which housed the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi, Miss. Photo by 
Betty Fiske, courtesy of the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art. 
The survey included case studies of some of problems that can arise 
in caring for collections, such as flooding, fire, insect infestation 
and poor environmental conditions. 

For example, Hurricane Katrina severely damaged the Ohr-O´Keefe 
Museum in Biloxi, Miss. However, its collection of pottery by artist 
George Ohr was safely stored in a secure building, although a 
historic frame house was washed away and many artifacts sustained 
water and mold damage, which is now being addressed. 

Apollo-era space suits that were disintegrating after several decades 
on Earth recently have been housed in a stable environment to protect 
them from further degradation. 

Norris, whose specialty is photography conservation, said that the 
University of South Dakota stored part of its photographic collection 
next to photographic chemicals, which caused the photographs to fade 
and discolor. The photographs are now being stored properly and 
provide an important record of life in the mid-20th Century, she 
said.

The hides of elephants on display at the American Museum of Natural 
History in New York City have suffered damage from polluted air, dust 
and relatively high humidity conditions, and the museum is trying to 
raise funds to create stable conditions to protect them.

"There is an urgent need to care for collections, but progress has 
been made," Norris said. "More attention is being paid to 
preservation, and as the report points out, it is everyone´s 
responsibility to support efforts to save and preserve our cultural 
heritage, which is irreplaceable." 

Article by Sue Moncure
Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson